Turtle Capital’s Andrew Brenton: The Public Market Leveraged Buyout – A Better Kind of Private Equity

At The Ben Graham Centre’s 5th European Value Investing Conference, Andrew Brenton, CEO and co-founder of Toronto-based Turtle Creek, presented his firm’s distinctive approach to public equity investing, encapsulated by the phrase, “A Better Kind of Private Equity”. Turtle Creek, which manages approximately $4 billion, posits that they can replicate - and often surpass - the returns associated with traditional leveraged buyout (LBO) funds while offering superior liquidity, lower cost of leverage, and transparency, all within a fundamentally-driven, public market value investing framework. Brenton argues that public markets are currently suffering from a scarcity of fundamental investors, creating deep informational and behavioral arbitrage opportunities for long-term owners who prioritize intrinsic value over market noise.

The conference took place on October 14th 2025 in Lisbon Portugal and Hedge fund Alpha was there to provide in-depth coverage.

Also see our coverage of the 2025 Ben Graham Conference, 2025 Morningstar Investment Conference and the 2025 Value Investing Seminar.

Core Tenets: Intrinsic Value and Competitive Avoidance

Turtle Creek’s philosophy is rooted in value investing, defining itself through two phrases: "a different kind of value investing" and "a better kind of private equity". Brenton fundamentally challenges prevailing market attitudes that de-emphasize intrinsic value, stressing that “the biggest risk is the price you pay for an investment”. He illustrates this valuation risk using Fairfax Financial, noting that while the stock yielded high-teens returns since its IPO, owning it between 1999 and the early 2020s resulted in "no return" due to the high entry price. This focus on entry valuation underscores their commitment to foundational Ben Graham principles.

The firm’s decision to operate exclusively in the public markets, having originated from a private equity heritage, is strategic. Brenton concluded 25 years ago that he could achieve superior risk-adjusted returns in the public market. He maintains this position today because there are "fewer fundamental investors in the public market today than there were 25 years ago". Turtle Creek’s strategy is simple: “go where the competition is the least”. By focusing on North American mid-cap opportunities - often benchmarked against the S&P 400 MidCap index- the firm finds an opportunity set "so rich" that heavy lifting beyond the continent is often unnecessary.