Cohesion Asset Management has, for many years, stuck to a simple single objective: to find the very best money-making opportunities for our investors.
In order to deliver on this objective, we believe there are three key elements:
We believe that a crucial part of our role is identifying truly rare investment talent. There are lots of investment managers who can deliver exceptional returns when their particular style is in vogue, but they are usually found out when the investment winds change. We look for a manager who has not only produced great returns when markets are being kind to them but have also demonstrated the ability to preserve capital during more turbulent times.
We believe that our differentiated approach to investment management can best be described in a Venn diagram.
It is, of course, important that an investment manager has a stream of great ideas. We look for asymmetric opportunities that we believe have significant upside and limited downside. We describe these as “corks underwater” because their earnings momentum is likely to pull the shares substantially higher but also their valuable assets and strong fundamentals should limit our risks. We also look for optionality in our investment thesis and seek multiple catalysts that each have the potential to transform how other investors view a company. The one thing that no-one can control is time. Sometimes value can be realised much more quickly than we had expected but we are willing to be patient if our base-case remains intact and also add to holdings if they remain undervalued. To follow this approach, a manager needs a well-resourced team of analysts but also privileged access to subject matter external experts.
In order to turn these great ideas into exceptional returns, they will also need to have the right mindset. We have an absolute return mindset and only ever invest where we believe we will make money. Too many investment managers focus on their business or career risks and their best ideas get lost in a portfolio filled with index heavyweight padding. We want investment managers who believe in their extensive due diligence and are prepared to back their conviction, so our investors get the maximum benefit.
In order to implement their best ideas, an investment manager needs a nimbleness and so we have designed our whole business around allowing investment managers to be free spirited. Our AUM target was set well within the potential capacity of our investment strategy and the market within which we work.
Our approach to investment management has risks management at its heart. We very deliberately describe risks in the plural as we do not believe risk management can be captured using a simple measure of volatility. The Cohesion Asset Management team brings together seasoned investment professionals, many of whom have worked together for several decades in major investment houses from around the world. We have worked across different regulatory environments in a wide range of senior roles. Our business also draws on an extensive network of consultants who bring us deep knowledge of adjacent subjects.
We understand that robust governance, seamless administration and investor protection are fundamental to all that we do. That is why we chose to work under the most stringent regulatory framework in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and partner with the most respected service providers including fund accounting and administration, custody, audit and legal. We consider ourselves a boutique with the utmost institutional quality.
We also believe that we should give a bit back to the world we all share. That is why we have committed to distribute part of our fees each year to charitable causes that align with our values. Please take a look at the link here that will show you some of the recent philanthropy work we have supported.