Insights

Board independence is typically central to good governance. But sometimes, levels of independence may not align optically with acknowledged best practice for very good reasons. One such example is Costco, where we believe the current board of directors is an important ingredient in the company’s ‘secret sauce’.

Dutch company Wolters Kluwer, founded in 1836, serves as a reminder that disrupters come in all ages. Whilst the focus is often on new disrupters, companies with long and successful track records will have adapted to change, pivoted strategically and utilised disruptive ideas. Despite profound marketplace changes, Wolters Kluwer remains a reliable and trusted provider of valuable information through their software and services.

At the tail end of a strong year for Japanese equities, Executive Director Charlie Macquaker, and Investment Analyst Connor Graham visited Japan, gauging the economic tempo of the country and meeting with a variety of companies. In this article, they discuss what there is to shout about.

With the era of cheap money now firmly in the rear view mirror, Roy Leckie, Executive Director, delves into the implications of today’s higher interest rate environment and the benefits to companies of adopting a conservative approach to debt financing.

In this podcast, directors Charlie Macquaker and Roy Leckie discuss the remarkable performance of equity markets in 2023. They also reflect on some of the year’s research trips and ask if the outperformance of the Magnificent Seven has been justified by fundamentals, and if it can continue.

After a period of extraordinary growth, the luxury sector is showing signs of slowing. An inevitable normalisation or evidence of something more fundamental? Lindsay Scott considers the long-term outlook for the industry and some of its most illustrious exponents.