As a child, I would disappear down to the beach in Cornwall and spend hours investigating rock pools. From above they looked empty. Get down on your knees and suddenly there were fish, crabs and entire worlds. The UK stock market is rather like that.
The ice cream in Cornwall was pretty good too.
Years later, I met Edward Hugo. Smart, relentless and the sort of man you trust. He was waiting in a coffee shop. The rain was biblical. London was miserable. And yet, I had spent years dreaming about this moment. Now I just needed Ed to say yes.
In 2019, we founded Kernow. A contrarian investment manager specialising exclusively in UK equities.
The timing was terrible.
Everyone seemed to agree about Britain. Unloved. The UK stock market had become the financial equivalent of a seaside town in November. We thought this was wonderful.
Human beings have always struggled to distinguish an unpopular thing from a bad thing. Our job is to work out where the market has confused the two. We hunt for good businesses hiding behind bad stories.
Why go to all this trouble?
Mediocrity is now almost free. Imagine being back at school and being told everyone will receive the average mark of the class. Why would anyone bother revising? The average falls and everyone shares equally in the decline.
Our bet is that nobody grows up dreaming of being average. So we chose something else. To invest our family’s capital alongside a group of wealthy and wise clients. Preferably both. We cannot promise to always be right. We can promise to work tirelessly.
Cornwall taught me something I later rediscovered in markets: the view is usually better when the crowd is somewhere else.
If you believe in thinking for yourself.
If you believe Britain is worth a closer look.
If you still enjoy finding what others miss.
Professional investors only. Capital at risk. Issued by Kernow Asset Management Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Comments