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The Global Leaders strategy passed its sixth anniversary on May 1 and we would like to thank our co-investors and all those who have supported, challenged and helped us along the journey so far. It’s a marathon not a sprint and like all those on a life-long odyssey we rely on a good team around us both professional and personal. We are very grateful to you all.
One of the joys of investing is the freedom and ongoing necessity to revisit and retest our most fundamental economic principles—we believe that having an expansive and open mentality in the mould of Carol Dweck’s1 growth mindset is one of the hallmarks of a good investor. Renowned technology entrepreneur and investor Marc Andreessen regularly talks of his belief in “strong opinions, loosely held”2 and our need to humbly update our views when the world changes. One of the core tenets of our team is our annual offsite where we test, improve or reaffirm our strategy to make sure it is as relevant today as when we formed and embedded each step into our process. In that spirit in our last quarterly letter we questioned: “what is invested capital in an asset light world?” Global Leaders has a 20% return on invested capital (RoIC) hurdle and the strategy has averaged 25% since inception. Mathematically, if you own a 25% return on capital business which is fully reinvesting for five years that business will return over 200% on the initial capital you invested in that short time—a powerful economic engine indeed! But what if times have changed and we are measuring invested capital inaccurately?
The Global Leaders Strategy invests in a concentrated portfolio of market-leading companies from across the globe. We believe that companies that combine exceptional outcomes for their customers with strong leadership can generate high and sustainable returns on invested capital (ROIC) which can lead to outstanding shareholder returns.
1 Dr. Carol S. Dweck, Mindset: How You Can Fulfil Your Potential
2 https://tim.blog/2018/01/01/the-tim-ferriss-show-transcripts-marc-andreessen/
The views expressed are those of the author and Brown Advisory as of the date referenced and are subject to change at any time based on market or other conditions. These views are not intended to be and should not be relied upon as investment advice and are not intended to be a forecast of future events or a guarantee of future results. The information provided in this material is not intended to be and should not be considered to be a recommendation or suggestion to engage in or refrain from a particular course of action or to make or hold a particular investment or pursue a particular investment strategy, including whether or not to buy, sell, or hold any of the securities mentioned. It should not be assumed that investments in such securities have been or will be profitable. To the extent specific securities are mentioned, they have been selected by the author on an objective basis to illustrate views expressed in the commentary and do not represent all of the securities purchased, sold or recommended for advisory clients. The information contained herein has been prepared from sources believed reliable but is not guaranteed by us as to its timeliness or accuracy, and is not a complete summary or statement of all available data. This piece is intended solely for our clients and prospective clients, is for informational purposes only, and is not individually tailored for or directed to any particular client or prospective client.