Gabrielle Boyle and George Viney co-manage Troy’s Global Equity strategy. We discuss why the market persistently underestimates the compounding power of rare and exceptional companies, the importance of recognising one’s biases and striving to learn and improve as investors, and why Gabrielle and George work so well together as a team.

Show notes:

[01:26] Why the market persistently underestimates the compounding power of rare and exceptional businesses
[02:41] Companies don’t compound in a linear way
[05:09] Having the right environment to sustain success
[08:55] How Gabrielle and George complement each other
[10:35] The importance of having an inner critic
[12:45] Continuous improvement
[14:24] Combining resilience with reinvestment potential
[16:10] Characteristics of special businesses
[18:35] Sell discipline
[20:41] Minimising biases and ensuring accountability
[24:39] Balancing strong operational performance with fair valuations
[27:32] A concentrated portfolio with broadly diversified businesses
[29:17] Troy’s broader team
[30:57] Cognitive diversity with shared values
[33:04] Confidence in the future
[34:29] Back your conviction

Dan Davidowitz is lead portfolio manager of Polen Capital’s Focus Growth strategy. We discuss Dan’s evolution as an investor, Polen’s investment guardrails, and other factors that have helped the strategy deliver exceptional returns over the last 35 years.

Show notes:

[01:16] Dan discusses how he pivoted from public health to investing
[02:56] Thoughts on healthcare investing
[04:30] Shifting from a deep value shop to Polen Capital
[07:44] Keep things simple
[10:01] Time arbitrage with businesses that are the best-of-the-best
[12:12] Creating a high performance investment team
[14:23] The importance of being both optimistic and open-minded to change
[16:34] Getting better each day to remain competitive
[17:59] Polen Capital’s evolution
[20:40] Polen’s investment guardrails
[22:14] Vigilance and conservatism for continuous compounding of earnings growth
[24:35] Making sure companies are investing adequately for their future
[26:34] Acquisition-driven companies
[28:45] Investing across the growth spectrum
[31:17] Having a broad mix of competitively-advantaged businesses
[33:51] Valuation discipline
[36:45] Lessons from the last few years
[38:30] Impact of GenAI
[41:03] Why Amazon is a large holding
[45:35] Building any experience is good experience

In this episode we speak to Robbie Robertson. Robbie is on the Board of Personal Assets Trust and spent a nearly 40-year career in the investment trust industry. We discuss the evolution of the investment trust industry, the advantages of a closed-end structure and the role Personal Assets Trust can play in a portfolio.

Show notes:
[01:28] A different world
[03:17] Observations from a career in the investment trust industry
[06:42] Characteristics of successful investors
[08:03] How Robbie got involved with Personal Assets Trust
[09:03] Advantages of the investment trust structure
[11:39] Evolution of the investment trust industry
[15:05] Impact of higher interest rates and a changing cycle
[16:48] Are they investment trusts or operating companies?
[20:54] Valuing assets in newer parts of the market
[22:24] Appropriateness of the investment structure for alternative assets
[23:57] Is there demand for general equity investment trusts?
[25:51] Why some investment trusts scale and others fail
[27:25] Common pitfalls to avoid
[28:57] Trading discounts
[30:50] What makes a great investment trust Board?
[32:58] The role Personal Assets Trust plays in a portfolio
[37:56] Advantages of a discount control mechanism
[39:36] Why most Boards do not commit to a discount control mechanism
[40:47] Enjoy yourself