There are various approaches to achieving performance. To use a gambling analogy: you can bet on a single number in roulette and chase a jackpot, or you can act as the house by managing multiple independent tables with slightly positive odds that compound gains over time.
Investing reflects similar dynamics: you can take directional and factor exposures, benefiting from favourable market conditions where performance may not reflect skill, or develop a genuine edge through superior information, implementation or execution.
Over the past year, our flagship fund has worked to increase capital efficiency, allocate to more teams with tighter drawdown stops, reduce factor risk, and focus on company-specific ideas while retaining the overall protection of the fund. This is facilitated by a large degree of complacency in the market, making hedges very cheap to hold.
read also: equities: adapting to market shifts, optimising for net zero
Our advantage comes from structuring trades that accurately express views while minimising unwanted risk, and managing multiple independent positions with slightly positive odds that deliver consistent performance in everchanging market environments.
As an overall result, our performance will be driven by a multitude of smaller bets, often at the company level. Not only will we avoid taking large factor or macro views, but we will look as much as possible to hedge them out. Importantly, we will aggregate different strategies, operating in different investment universes that also share that conviction. We are convinced that this is the most robust way to build an all-weather, balanced portfolio.
