Platinum International Fund

Our research process brings together the two key requirements of quality and value. Only businesses that meet both standards earn a place in the portfolio. We draw our investment ideas from in-depth research and in-person conversations with company management around the globe.

When we assess a company, we look closely at five areas:

• Business drivers – what really drives a firm’s cashflow, revenue, margins and profits, and how sustainable those drivers are.
• Industry structure – how competitive the industry is, how much room there is to grow, and what risks (like new technology or regulation) might arise.
• Financial strength – companies with pricing power, strong margins, predictable cashflows, and limited financial risk stand out to us.
• Management – we want leaders with a proven track record of good decisions, smart capital allocation and skin in the game.
• ESG – we believe responsible and sustainable ESG practices are key to long-term success. 

We give each company we research a Quality Rating on our six-point scale:

• 1 – Excellent: outstanding across all categories, the kind of business we want to own for the long haul.
• 2 – Very good: strong overall, with only minor areas for improvement.
• 3 – Good: above average, with solid fundamentals but perhaps not as exceptional as a 1 or 2.
• 4 – Average: acceptable quality but not compelling enough unless the valuation is very attractive.
• 5 – Below average: weak in several respects, and unlikely to make it into the portfolio.
• 6 – Poor: significantly deficient and automatically excluded.

We only invest in companies that we rate 1, 2 or 3 – meaning they pass a high bar for quality and they also need to meet our valuation test. If a company looks promising on quality but is too expensive today, it may go onto our “bench” of closely watched businesses until the price becomes attractive.

From there, we build a portfolio of 20–40 stocks, usually holding around 25 at any one time. Each company typically makes up 2–7% of the portfolio, sized according to the risk it adds, not just the potential return. The portfolio is focused mainly on developed markets in around the world. While we generally stay fully invested (less than 5% in cash), we can hold up to 25% cash if equity assets look excessively risky.