As always, Value Invest New York 2025 brought a plethora of great ideas and commentary from top managers across the asset management world. Here’s a roundup of some of the best commentary from the conference.
Exclusive Conference Offer: 20% off Hedge Fund Alpha subscriptions from March 26-31. With Code Conference. Don’t miss out!
David Samra, Artisan Partners
Artisan Partners’ David Samra pitched his thesis for Koninklijke Philips, pointing out that the company once had problems like declining gross margins and high corporate overhead. He also said the company’s R&D spending was high, although he feels like that will be a long-term advantage despite the history of high, unproductive R&D spending.
Since Artisan’s involvement with Philips, it has brought in a new management team. Samra said they know the company’s chairman very well and left their management-related questions “in his very capable hands.”
Going through Philips’ business units, he said it’s clear that the company is of high quality and operating in secular growth markets. Samra expects to see rising profits and an expanding multiple on those profits — if Philips’ growth and profitability improve.
However, he feels that even if perception is the only thing that changes and its profits don’t, a significantly higher multiple is still possible.
Django Davidson, Hosking Partners
Django Davidson shared Hosking Partners’ Capital Cycle Investment approach. Jeremy Hosking developed the contrarian framework in the 1980s at Marathon Asset Management, and it’s still in use today at Hosking Partners.
The Capital Cycle theory offers a lens for understanding inefficiencies in the market, showing how investor expectations often surpass reality.
