Sohn Hong Kong 2026: Converium’s Aaron Stern – This German Conglomerate Is Trading At A Negative Enterprise Value

Aaron Stern, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Converium Capital Management, a Montreal-based multi-strategy opportunistic investment manager specializing in distressed and event-driven situations, presented a German powerhouse as a textbook case of market overcorrection producing a negative enterprise valuation. His core thesis was simple: at roughly 10 euros per share, the cash and publicly listed stakes on Tthe company’s balance sheet alone are worth 50% more than the entire market capitalization, meaning investors are being paid approximately 3 billion euros to take ownership of a collection of businesses generating 30 billion euros in annual revenue.

Converium, which Stern co-founded in 2020, managed roughly US$760 million as of early 2026. Before launching the firm, Stern was a Partner and Managing Director at Fir Tree Partners, the multi-strategy investment firm, where he led an innovative restructuring of Puerto Rico’s Government Development Bank and a governance campaign at a newly privatized Japanese railway operator. Earlier in his career he held investment roles at O.S.S. Capital Management and Millennium Management, and started out as an investment banking analyst in Credit Suisse’s Leveraged Finance and Restructuring groups. He holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce, with a major in accounting, from McGill University, where he is a guest lecturer.

Stern noted that Converium focuses on situations where a bad event or a messy history causes security prices to overcorrect, creating the conditions for large appreciation once the overhang is removed. He drew a direct parallel to a previous appearance at Sohn Hong Kong roughly ten years ago, when he pitched sovereign bonds in Ecuador, which he said subsequently returned over 100 percent. He believes his latest pitch offers a comparable return profile today.