Purpose, Patience,
Independent Thinking.
Griffin Value Fund is a global equity fund that aims to compound its capital over the long term by investing in undervalued high-quality businesses.
Who we are
A committed and experienced investment team with a Complete alignment of interest
Large personal commitments and decades of shared investing experience define the fund's identity. When we invest in companies, we look for businesses run by owners that allocate capital in the best interest of all shareholders. Likewise, investors in the fund can rest assured that our own capital is at stake. We have a large percentage of our wealth invested in the fund and are among the largest shareholders. This ensures a strong alignment of interest with other investors.“If you win, we win. If you lose, we lose more.”
Read More About Our team
What we do
A focus on long-term value creation
As an investor it pays to be a rational optimist. Businesses are the engines that drive wealth creation in our society. Through equity ownership, investors can participate in this process and compound their capital. This is why we started the Griffin Value Fund; to invest in high-quality businesses, without overpaying for the privilege of owning them.
Our thinking around business models evolves constantly, yet the guiding principles of the fund have remained the same throughout its existence. GVF invests in companies that meet strict criteria on predictability of cash-flows, returns on capital, financial strength, quality of management and valuation. Our criteria have been chosen to identify opportunities with a low probability of permanent loss and a high potential return. Opportunities that score high on each of our requirements are rare. We therefore cast our net wide and invest with a global focus.
Track record
Since inception GVF has achieved a return of 17% on the equity investments
In 2011, we set out to invest in equities with a potential annual return of 15%+. Since then, GVF has realised a 17% return on equity investments, surpassing our target. Significant losses on very large positions can quickly turn a good long-term track record into an average one. To manage risk effectively, we permit up to 10% at cost per position, but only when the risk-return profile is exceptionally favourable, ensuring a prudent balance between risk and return while sustaining robust performance.
What makes us different
Investing globally in hidden champions
Superior returns are unlikely to be sustainable unless we can create a durable competitive advantage for the fund. Why would great businesses at bargain prices be available to us and not to everybody else? We believe GVF has characteristics few other professional investors have.
Larger Opportunity Set
We can invest where most professional investors cannot. Griffin Value Fund is unconstrained by geography or company size. These opportunities are not pursued for reasons unrelated to risk or reward and result in a sub-optimal portfolio for the investor. We believe that investments in smaller or foreign companies do not make them necessarily riskier. GVF has a global mandate and a small capital base which ensures a larger opportunity set compared to most other professional investors. This advantage results in investments with a superior risk/return.
Less Competition From Other Investment Managers
The mid-to-small sized companies are typically less efficiently priced in the equity markets than their larger counterparts. Less coverage by analysts and the financial press results in more hidden gems to discover.
Stable Capital Base
We run the investment fund as a partnership in all but name, with a limited number of like-minded investors. Large personal investments of the founders and the fund’s redemption terms guarantee a stable capital base which offers GVF the ability to invest with a long-term perspective, in a stock market that is primarily focused on short-term earnings.
Investment Strategy
Protecting & compounding capital
GVF invests in safe companies at prices that offer the potential for 15%+ returns. Downside protection is the result of the characteristics of the companies we invest in, the price we pay, diversification and a long-term investment horizon. We generally invest when the share price is depressed as a result of issues that we believe to be temporary.
Great Businesses At Bargain Prices
Great businesses grow intrinsic value at an attractive rate and are less vulnerable to market downturns. GVF invests when the share price offers the potential for a 15%+ annualised return under conservative assumptions.
Downside Protection
The word ‘risk’ means different things to different people. At GVF, we see risk as the possibility of permanent loss of capital. Our investment criteria have been chosen to limit this risk by investing in companies that have predictable cash-flows, show financial strength, have quality management and are priced at an attractive valuation in the stock market. Limiting the number and the impact of loss-making investments will always be our first priority.
Long Term Investment Horizon
GVF aims to compound capital at an attractive rate over the long term. We define the long term as a period in excess of five years. Short-term and relative performance will not influence investment decisions.
Concentrated Portfolio
Exceptional investment opportunities are scarce and we therefore want to maximise their impact on the return of the fund. However, unexpected things do happen. At GVF, we limit the allocation per company to a maximum of seven percent, based on the purchase price. This allows for diversification of risk combined with a meaningful impact on the fund if the investment is a success.
No Market Timing
We do not forecast economic activity or the performance of equity markets but focus intensely on the future of our businesses. We invest when we find companies that meet our investment criteria. When not enough opportunities can be identified to be fully invested, the fund will hold cash.
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