Investment Approach

Matterhorn is a value investor dedicated to a hands-on, fundamental, bottom-up approach to equity research.

“Original thought through independent research.”

We do all research ourselves, visiting more than 1,000 companies every year to ensure that we understand deeply all potential investments. We insist on knowing stocks and industries inside and out, viewing companies from an owner-operator’s perspective and building on our years of experience of operating real businesses throughout the emerging markets. We nurture and maintain close relationships with entrepreneurs, innovators, business and thought leaders in the emerging economies.

Our research team looks for stocks with strong sales and earnings growth, significant re-investment potential, sustainable healthy margins, material optionality for alpha generation, outstanding management and high standards of corporate governance. We seek exciting companies that point towards strategically significant thematic stories, within which these stocks are positioned to be the major beneficiaries.

On the short side, we seek companies where an inevitable decline or serial underperformance has yet to be recognised by the market. We search for mediocre companies that are not priced accordingly, selecting companies that demonstrate lacklustre management, inferior assets, poor strategic positioning, weak balance sheets and vulnerability to macro forces.

We believe that outstanding equity returns can only be generated by taking concentrated positions in high conviction stocks where we see exceptional alpha. Our investments must meet a set of strict investment criteria, have significant upside potential and display the characteristics of winning stocks. We look for companies facing opportunities or paradigm shifts that are not yet understood by the broader market. We challenge consensus thinking and avoid crowded trades wherever possible. Consequently, our portfolios will often have comparatively lower factor correlation with more traditional investments and can sit as a complement to any broader emerging market portfolio.