PenderFund: Recent Episodes
PenderFund Capital Management Ltd
PenderFund’s Podcast is focused on investing. We never stop learning and through these conversations we share the insights that shape our investment process. We interview industry experts and business leaders, and we cover public and private equities, small cap stocks, technology, fixed income, risk, value and more in the search for an investment edge and to make us all better-informed investors.
Geoff and Callum revisit the big themes in 2024 and tally which of their 2023 calls went right. They look ahead to 2025 and beyond and discuss the current market cycle, and where opportunities are in global small caps, Treasuries, commodities and the commercialization of space. A must-listen for professional and regular investors alike.
This is the first in a new Pender Ventures podcast series reflecting the scale-up stories of some of the great Canadian technology companies.
We kick off with the story of PMC-Sierra, a pioneering and leading semiconductor chipset supplier that specialized in the design and development of integrated circuits for networking, telecommunications and data storage.
Maria Pacella, Managing Partner of Pender Ventures sat down with three key executives and co-founders, each of whom made significant contributions to the semiconductor industry, Greg Aasen, Kevin Huscroft and Colin Harris.
They look back on the critical phases of PMC-Sierra's evolution, the strategic decisions made by leadership, its impact on the broader tech landscape, navigating 2000, and what they’d do differently if they had to do it all again.
In this discussion, hosted by Rita Silvan, Parul Garg, Pender’s distressed credit expert in default securities, reorganizations and recapitalizations, discusses the impending catalysts for generating meaningful alpha in distressed debt in the next 3-to-5 years, and how a public credit strategy complements investing in private credits. She explains the various approaches to creating value and managing risk in both the Pender Credit Opportunities Fund and Pender Corporate Bond Fund portfolios.
In a candid conversation, Parul Garg, hosted by Rita Silvan, provides an in-depth overview of the Pender Credit Opportunities Fund. Known for its strategic focus on distressed and stressed credits in public fixed income markets, the Fund leverages its nimble approach to capitalize on unique opportunities often overlooked by larger funds. Parul explains the Fund's investment strategy, the advantages of focusing on public over private credit, and how proactive credit management plays a crucial role in generating alpha for investors. This insightful discussion sheds light on the risk and rewards of investing in distressed credit markets, highlighting the Fund's distinctive position within the broader investment landscape.
Welcome to the PenderFund podcast! In today's episode, we delve into the intricate world of public distressed credit investing. Join Rita Silvan, Director of Content Strategy at PenderFund Asset Management, as she speaks with Parul Garg, a specialist in stressed and distressed public holdings within the Pender Credit Opportunities Fund and the Pender Corporate Bond Fund. With over a decade of experience, Parul provides a comprehensive look at the strategies and insights that drive success in this challenging yet rewarding investment landscape.
Subtitle: Expertise and experience, transparency and liquidity
Maria Pacella, Managing Partner of Pender Ventures gets an in-depth status report on Generative AI in this fascinating conversation with Duncan Stewart, Director of Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) Research at Deloitte Canada. Duncan’s research includes travelling the world for real-time, face to face updates from companies in every sector to unravel TMT and report resulting predictions. Maria and Duncan talk about Generative AI from a number of angles: company side implementation, client-side adoption, supply and demand, pricing and more. Listen to Duncan’s up-to-the-minute insights. But don’t leave it too long. He predicts that by the end of the year all his predictions will be wrong! Subtitle: “I predict by the end of the year all of my predictions will be wrong”
In this episode Geoff Castle, Lead Portfolio Manager of Pender’s Fixed Income portfolios, hosts Callum Thomas, founder and head of research of Topdown Charts for their annual podcast.
Subtitle: Building puzzles.
Geoff and Callum reflect on 2023 and review which of their December 2022 calls were right, and which were early. They look ahead to 2024 and really dive into a wide range of topics, both fixed income as well as small-cap equities, commodities and UAPs (formerly UFOs). Is the US government hiding something? Many would regard this as a “must-listen”.
Moderated by David Dufresne, Partner, CMD Capital chats with Maria Pacella, Managing Partner of Pender Ventures, Anne Phan, VP, Corporate Development at Wealthsimple and Brent Holliday, Founder & CEO of Garibaldi Capital Advisors. They discuss the final phase of the venture cycle.
Subtitle: Creating liquidity through exits.
Subtitle: "A rolling loan gathers no loss"
Geoff and Winnie jump right into discussing how to navigate credit markets in the current climate. There’s a lot to cover as they touch on the latest remarks from the Fed, public vs private debt, dealer inventories, maturity walls, what the rest of 2023 might hold and more, closing with Winnie’s book recommendation.
We are happy to bring you the latest installment in Pender’s Profiles in Credit podcast series, hosted by Geoff Castle, Lead Portfolio Manager of Pender’s Fixed Income. In this episode, Geoff is joined by Sabrina Fox, Founder of Fox Legal Training and Parul Garg, Associate Portfolio Manager, also jumps with her questions. The group covered Sabrina’s road to her current position and starting her company, the benefits of “speaking legalese” as well as some cautionary tales and lessons learned. And before you jump to any conclusions, if you think that a discussion of legal covenants in credit might be boring, think again.
We are delighted to welcome Greg Malpass, founder of Traction on Demand, to the podcast studio, with host, Maria Pacella, managing partner of Pender Ventures. With Traction on Demand having been acquired by SalesForce in 2022, Greg can reflect on the journey to build and sell Traction, creating a “best place to work in Canada” culture, his proudest moments and his new venture.
Welcome to Part Three of this six-part series on investing in stressed and distressed debt in which Parul Garg and Geoff Castle cover the complexities of stressed and distressed credit investing, the risks and rewards, the current opportunity and their history and experience in this area.
Highlights
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Capital priority for credit investors—a key advantage over equity investors.
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What it really takes to be a great distressed credit investor.
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Why distressed credit is an all-weather investing strategy.
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Ideal asset allocation to distressed credit in a balanced portfolio for enhanced long-term returns.
In this series, Parul and Geoff will cover the complexities of stressed and distressed credit investing, the risks and rewards, the current opportunity and their history and experience in this area.
In Part Two of this six-part series on investing in stressed and distressed debt, Geoff and Parul continue the conversation. They cover:
- The opportunity set they are seeing and cyclicality.
- Overvalued and undervalued sectors.
- Where investing ideas come from.
- The Four Ps: Pre-investment, Purchase, Pro-active credit management, Position exit.
- The Team’s 13-Point Credit Checklist.
Highlights
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A road-tested investment strategy spins out from the Pender Corporate Bond Fund.
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How the team looks beyond just the balance sheet to determine true value and calculate the margin of safety.
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The stressed debt cascade and how to separate the signal from the noise.
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A lesser-known secret on timing and investing in credit markets.
Subtitle: Actionable insights from a sea of economic and market data.
Geoff and Callum reflect on 2022 and look ahead to 2023. Geoff and Callum revisit their prior conversation and discuss how their understanding of the market has evolved over the year and what 2023 may bring. As is tradition, Geoff and Callum also do a deep dive on a variety of topics with a focus on recession, the US dollar, precious metals and more. The podcast ends with a recommendation from Callum and his thoughts on ChatGPT.
In this episode of Profiles in Credit, Geoff Castle, Portfolio Manager of Pender Corporate Bond Fund, reconnects with Dave Thomas, Principal and Co-Head of Training at The Marquee Group, one of Canada’s leading training organizations for financial analysts and investment bankers. Former classmates at Ivey Business School, Geoff and Dave discuss the art and science of financial modelling, why modelling is the most important shortcut to finding value, and where a financial model might find value today.
In this episode Rita Silvan, host, chats with Amar Pandya, Portfolio Manager of the Pender Alternative Arbitrage Fund and Justin Jacobsen, Portfolio Manager of the Pender Alternative Absolute Return Fund. Together the team looks at performance from the last quarter and discusses current market dynamics. Amar and Justin also share some insight into the opportunities that they believe may come up in the future. They shed some light into M&A activity and whether they believe the momentum is over. The team also discusses at length their current risk management tactics and how they are adjusting their strategy to respond to dynamic market conditions. The podcast closes with a reading recommendation from the team.
In this episode Rita Silvan, host, is joined by Geoff Castle, Portfolio Manager of the Pender Corporate Bond Fund (PCBF), and Parul Garg, Associate Portfolio Manager of the Fund. Together they look back at the last quarter and discuss in depth the challenges they faced. They also discuss the FED’s response to increasing volatility and share some insights into how the portfolio is being positioned, adjusted and assessed as market conditions change. Is there a silver lining? The podcast ends with an assessment of current and future opportunities and risks, and a reading recommendation from both Geoff and Parul.
In this special episode David Barr, CEO and Portfolio Manager is joined by Felix Narhi, Pender’s Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager, Maria Pacella, Managing Partner of Pender Ventures and Geoff Castle, Portfolio Manager. Together they celebrate episode 100 by looking back on the journey that has brought Pender to where it stands today. The group discusses the Pender way of doing things, growing the team and how processes and the business have evolved over the years. They also look back at some of their favorite moments from featured guests in our podcasts to major milestones for the firm. The podcast ends with a message from Dave to our listeners and the team.
In this episode, Melanie Moore, Vice President of Marketing revisits many of our podcasts to find the best book recommendations from our featured guests. From John Mihaljevic to Dylan Grice, the compilation provides recommendations for everyone, from knowledge seekers to seasoned investors. You will find direct links to all the books featured in this podcast in the shownotes below and don’t miss the Pender Investment Team’s own Summer Resources List. Enjoy your summer reading!
In this episode Geoff Scott, Senior Vice President, Investments, hosts Patricia Perez-Coutts, Portfolio Manager of the Pender Emerging Markets Impact Fund. Patricia talks about her childhood curiosity for foreign countries and formative experiences in investment banking on her journey to becoming a portfolio manager. Patricia also discusses her passion for emerging markets, the Pender Emerging Markets Impact Fund and her investment strategy. She also shares some thoughts on inflation, rising interest rates and her take on the economies in certain countries. The podcast ends with a book recommendation from Patricia
In this episode Geoff Castle, Fixed Income Portfolio Manager, chats with Winnie Cisar, Global Head of Strategy at CreditSights Inc. Together they discuss Winnie’s background, her foray into investment banking and the series of career steps that led her to CreditSights, especially her many experiences at Wells Fargo. Winnie looks back on her time as a strategist during the pandemic and the decision-making process that led to some memorable calls. Geoff and Winnie also discuss Investment Grade and High Yield bonds, with some examples drawn from past and present experiences. The podcast ends with a book recommendation from Winnie.
In this episode Maria Pacella, Managing Partner of Pender Ventures chats with Jill Earthy, CEO of InBC and Leah Nguyen, CIO of InBC. Jill and Leah discuss their career journeys, their entry into venture capital and the experiences that have inspired them to keep pushing boundaries. Leah and Jill also share life lessons for current and future women entrepreneurs and discuss missed opportunities as well as the mistakes they have made along the way. Other topics of interest center around DEI, sustainable development and the opportunities and challenges Leah and Jill see for BC when it comes to investing in Canadian companies. The podcast ends with book recommendations from Leah and Jill.
In this episode Geoff Scott, Senior Vice President, Investments, chats with Amar Pandya, Portfolio Manager of the Pender Alternative Arbitrage Fund and Justin Jacobsen, Portfolio Manager of the Pender Alternative Absolute Return Fund. Together the team looks at last quarter’s performance, the macro factors that contributed to volatility and the ongoing geopolitical situation that is affecting markets. The team also discusses rising inflation, the interest rate hike cycle and M&A opportunities the team has been seeing lately. Amar and Justin also provide some insight into portfolio positioning and discuss some holdings in detail. The podcast ends with a book recommendation from Amar and Justin.
In this episode Geoff Scott, Senior Vice President Investments, is joined by Geoff Castle, Portfolio Manager of the Pender Corporate Bond Fund (PCBF), and Emily Wheeler, Associate Portfolio Manager of Pender’s Fixed Income mandates. Together they look at last quarter’s performance and discuss in depth the global challenges that are impacting credit markets, ranging from geopolitical challenges to rising inflation and interest rates. The team also outlines how they are positioning Pender’s fixed income funds defensively and what measures they are taking to ensure forward momentum. They highlight a few portfolio holdings in detail. The podcast ends with a shared book recommendation from the team.
In this episode Geoff Scott, Senior Vice President Investments, is joined by David Barr, CEO and Portfolio Manager of the Pender Small Cap Opportunities Fund and Felix Narhi, Pender’s Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager of the Pender Global Focused Fund and Pender Strategic Growth and Income Fund. They revisit last quarter’s performance and the headwinds faced, especially in small cap and tech sector equity. They discuss the trinity of risk, being balance sheet risk, valuation risk and business risk, and in particular the team’s thoughts about valuation risk, which has decreased in the last year and made for an interesting investment environment.
In this episode Maria Pacella, Managing Partner of Pender Ventures celebrates International Women’s Day 2022 by taking a listen back to some of the “best bits” from our podcasts featuring Judi Hess, Natalie Dakers, Norma Biln, Jacqueline Ovens, Christy Wyatt, Michelle Scarborough and Alison Nankivell. These excerpts have been specifically selected to impart timeless advice and guidance to women looking to take the next step in their career, possibly into a leadership position, or to start their entrepreneurial journey.
In this episode Geoff Castle, Fixed Income Portfolio Manager, chats with Stan Manoukian, founder of Independent Credit Research LLC. Together they discuss Stan’s background, his experiences with distressed debt and the motivation that led him to start his own firm. Stan also discusses in depth the lessons he has learned throughout his career and how he applies them to distressed debt investing. Finally, Stan shares his perspectives on a variety of topics from credit cycles, as they relate to distressed credit investing and the opportunity with reorg equities.
In this episode Kenndal McArdle, Principal, Pender Ventures chats with Wils Theagene, Senior Director Private Equity CDPQ - Equity 25^3 Fund. Kenndal and Wils talk about diversity within venture capital and the private asset class, discuss how EQ25^3 is leveraging diversity as a vector of development and expansion, the social issues surrounding diversity and the challenges that underrepresented entrepreneurs face when seeking funding or access to resources. Kenndal and Wils also discuss ESG in depth and how CDPQ has become a leader in this domain, and Wils offers his advice and opinions on how companies can do a better job when it comes to diversifying and empowering their EDI committees to make meaningful impacts.
In this episode Sarah Wildman, Director of Institutional & Family Office Wealth Services, is joined by Geoff Castle, Portfolio Manager of the Pender Corporate Bond Fund (PCBF), and Parul Garg, Associate Portfolio Manager of the Fund. They look back at market and fund performance in 2021, discuss factors and variables that have influenced market conditions and talk in depth about their thinking and process, which helped the team achieve positive returns in 2021. The team also looks ahead to the challenges and opportunities for 2022 and discuss what they have in their sights for this year. The podcast ends with a book recommendation and some economic observations from Parul after her recent travels.
In this episode Maria Pacella, Managing Partner of Pender Ventures, is joined by Mark Longo, founder, and Managing Partner of Osler’s Vancouver office. They look back at 2021 and discuss a variety of topics from talking about the M&A momentum, record IPO numbers, valuations, secondaries, and the factors responsible for record setting deals and compare 2021 to previous years. Mark also provides some detailed insight into founders turning into investors after successful exits, the current IPO trend, foreign investments, and how current and future entrepreneurs can go about raising money and what they should have ready in their tool kit. The podcast ends with a book question.
In this episode Geoff Scott, Senior Vice President, Investments, chats with Amar Pandya, Portfolio Manager of the Pender Alternative Arbitrage Fund & Justin Jacobsen, Portfolio Manager of the Pender Alternative Absolute Return Fund. Together they look back at fund for the quarter, discuss merger arbitrage and provide some insight into volatility and the taper tantrum we have seen in early 2022. The team also discusses how the funds are being positioned to handle a variety of scenarios and Justin talks about using leverage in his fund. The podcast ends with a book question.
In this episode Sarah Wildman, Director of Institutional & Family Office Wealth Services, is joined by David Barr, CEO and Portfolio Manager of the Pender Small Cap Opportunities Fund and Felix Narhi, Pender’s Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager of the Pender Global Focused Fund and Pender Strategic Growth & Income Fund. Together, they co-manage the Pender Value Fund. They look back on 2021 as a whole and provide their approach to 2022.
In our final episode for the year, Felix Narhi is joined by David Barr, Maria Pacella and Amar Pandya for a year end discussion on exits. The team looks back at the year through the lens of our record-breaking list of exits, with 11 public and 6 private liquidity events. They reveal some of the secret sauce and we learn why Maria has started to believe in unicorns. The team provides some in depth analysis on a few of the events and discuss where they see the M&A and IPO environment heading in the new year.
In this episode Geoff Castle, Fixed Income Portfolio Manager, picks up his conversation with Callum Thomas, founder and head of research of Topdown Charts. They revisit Callum’s predictions from March 2021 to see what went right and what came out as a surprise. They also talk in depth about inflation, the impact of COVID on a variety of sectors, the sudden shift in the Chinese real estate market and finally Callum provides some insight into where he thinks the market is headed in 2022. Callum also provides his outlook and thoughts for a post pandemic world. The podcast ends with a data series that Callum recommends listeners follow.
In this episode Tony Rautava, Associate, Pender Ventures is joined by David Barr, Pender’s CEO and Portfolio Manager, Brian Claire, former CEO of One45 and Derek Hemmes, Founder and Board Member of One45. Together they take a stroll down memory lane and talk about the early days of One45, the idea that launched the company, when they knew they had product market fit, the challenges they faced, the lessons they learned as they build the company for not just one but three acquisitions. Listen out for Brian’s recruitment and promotion stories!
In this episode Sarah Wildman, Director of Institutional & Family Office Wealth Services, is joined by David Barr, CEO and Portfolio Manager of the Pender Small Cap Opportunities Fund and Felix Narhi, Pender’s Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager of the Pender Global Focused Fund and Pender Strategic Growth & Income Fund. Together, they co-manage the Pender Value Fund. They revisit last quarter’s equity fund performance, looking at key contributors and discuss some of the holdings in detail. The podcast ends with a book recommendation.
In this episode Sarah Wildman, Director of Institutional & Family Office Wealth Services, is joined by David Barr, CEO and Portfolio Manager of the Pender Small Cap Opportunities Fund, Sharon Wang, Senior Equity Analyst and Tracy Tidy, Equity Analyst. They look back on what happened in the quarter, some key contributors to the Fund, positioning and a few key characteristics of companies poised to scale up, leaning on Sharon’s expertise in the tech space and Tracy’s in-depth knowledge of the food sector.
In this episode Sarah Wildman, Director of Institutional & Family Office Wealth Services, is joined by Geoff Castle, Portfolio Manager of the Pender Corporate Bond Fund (PCBF), and Emily Wheeler, Associate Portfolio Manager of the Pender Bond Universe Fund (PBUF). They look back at the last quarter’s performance, the rising rate environment and investing in areas that look uninvestable. The team also provides examples of holdings that were considered uninvestable but have performed well. The podcast ends with book recommendations from Geoff and Emily.
In this episode Geoff Scott, Senior Vice President, Investments, chats with Amar Pandya, Portfolio Manager of the Pender Alternative Arbitrage Fund. Together they will introduce the Fund and dive into the investing strategies behind the Fund, the opportunities that Amar sees on the horizon and the overall Fund positioning. They also explore the risk management and return strategies for the Fund, in particular Pender’s unique expertise and track record in identifying and analyzing M&A catalysts. Amar closes the podcast with a book recommendation.
In this episode Geoff Scott, Senior Vice President, Investments, chats with Justin Jacobsen, Portfolio Manager of the Pender Alternative Absolute Return Fund. Together they discuss Justin’s background in investing, his shift from equity to credit and introduce the Pender Alternative Absolute Return Fund. Geoff and Justin dive into the investing strategies behind the Fund, the opportunities that Justin sees on the horizon and the current market environment. They also explore the details of some of the external variables the Fund may be subjected to and talk about the risk management and return strategy for the Fund. The podcast ends with two book recommendations from Justin.
In this episode Geoff Castle, Fixed Income Portfolio Manager, chats with Stephen Foerster, Professor of Finance at Western University’s Ivey School of Business. They discuss Stephen’s thoughts on a variety of topics as laid out in latest book, In Pursuit of the Perfect Portfolio. The book features contributions from a star-studded cast of luminaries who have shaped the investing industry, including six Nobel laureates. Geoff and Stephen dive into detail on the many themes in the book.
In this episode Kenndal McArdle, Principal, Pender Ventures chats with Carlo Perez, Founder and CEO of Swift Medical Inc. Kenndal and Carlo talk about the series of decisions and choices that led Carlo down the path of entrepreneurship and the eureka moment that led him to launch Swift Medical. Carlo also provides some background on his upbringing and how his proclivity for programming and engineering combined with many of his family being in the medical profession gave him an edge. They also discuss the medical challenges Swift is tackling, the challenges of building the business, how entrepreneurship is a constant learning process and the opportunity that lies ahead of the company.
In this episode Maria Pacella, Managing Partner of Pender Ventures, is joined by Stephanie Andrew, founding partner of Women’s Equity Lab (WEL). They discuss Stephanie’s background, the history behind the formation of WEL, the success it has achieved so far and the direction it is headed in. They also talk diversity issues, the benefits of having women in leadership roles and the quantifiable difference it has made in the way WEL is investing in women. Stephanie also provides some insight into the success it has achieved with its process and how it is inspiring more women to create chapters in different countries.
In this episode Sarah Wildman, Director of Institutional & Family Office Wealth Services, is joined by Geoff Castle, Portfolio Manager of the Pender Corporate Bond Fund, and Parul Garg, Associate Portfolio Manager. They look back at the last quarter’s performance, the shift in credit markets and talk about risk buckets, drivers of return and the new opportunities they are excited for.
In this episode Sarah Wildman, Director of Institutional & Family Office Wealth Services, is joined by David Barr, President, CEO and Portfolio Manager of the Pender Small Cap Opportunities Fund and Felix Narhi, Pender’s Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager, who manages the Pender Global Focused Fund and Pender Strategic Growth & Income Fund. Together, they co-manage the Pender Value Fund. They revisit the quarter’s performance, look at key contributors and identify which ones would fall into the special situations bucket. The team also takes a moment to talk about M&A and the number of take-outs they have had this quarter.
In this episode Kenndal McArdle, Principal, Pender Ventures chats with Andrew Mosawi, President of iATS Payments. Kenndal and Andrew discuss how he pivoted from being a scuba diving instructor to the world of payments. They talk about the challenges that Andrew saw in the payments industry, current innovations and where Andrew thinks the payment industry will go next. They also talk about crypto, the future of money and why Andrew believes giving consumers a choice when it comes to payments is important.
In this episode Geoff Castle, Fixed Income Portfolio Manager, chats with James Grant, editor of the iconic Wall Street newsletter, Grants Interest Rate Observer. They discuss James' early years in Long Island, his start in journalism at the Baltimore Sun, his tenure at Barron’s, where he first gained national recognition and how his interest in credit markets and capital markets formulated there. In particular they talk about the three big anniversaries rolling around for the American economy in 2021, as well as where James sees the market heading in the next decade.
In this episode Geoff Castle, Fixed Income Portfolio Manager, chats with Stephen Poloz, former Governor of the Bank of Canada. They discuss Stephen’s formative years, his interest in economics, his tenure as governor and the challenging events he led the Canadian economy through. They also discuss Stephen’s thought process, his views on emerging trends and what he thinks will change in the next decade.
In this episode David Barr, President and Portfolio Manager is joined by Tobias Carlisle, founder of The Acquirer’s Multiple and Acquirers Funds. They discuss Tobias’ background in investing, the memorable guests he has had on his podcasts, cryptocurrency, value traps, small cap stocks, social media and what defines a successful investor. They also look back at how investing has changed over the years and what keeps them moving forward during tough times.
In this episode Sarah Wildman, Director of Institutional & Family Office Wealth Services, is joined by David Barr, President, CEO and Portfolio Manager of the Pender Small Cap Opportunities Fund and Felix Narhi, Pender’s Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager, who manages the Pender US All Cap Equity Fund. Together, they co-manage the Pender Value Fund. They revisit the last 12 months of portfolio performance and look at how Pender’s investment process was both stress tested and set Pender’s equity funds up for their current performance profiles. They also take a moment to talk about the opportunities they are seeing at the moment, including what they are referring to as “Phoenixes”.
In this episode Sarah Wildman, Director of Institutional & Family Office Wealth Services, is joined by Geoff Castle, Portfolio Manager of the Pender Corporate Bond Fund, and Parul Garg, Associate Portfolio Manager. They take a short look back on the last quarter, discuss inflation and the term premium, and review some of the sectors that have caught their eye recently.
In this episode Geoff Castle, Fixed Income Portfolio Manager, chats with Dylan Grice, Co-founder of Calderwood Capital. They discuss Dylan’s background in finance, his transition from sell side to buy side and his approach to investing, Dylan’s new company Calderwood Capital and his views on a number of areas of credit markets.
In this episode David Barr, President, CEO and Portfolio Manager, chats with Kenndal McArdle, Principal, Pender Ventures. They discuss their private equity approach to public markets, and in particular, how this approach relates to Pender Growth Fund. They also discuss Kenndal’s career path from public small cap to venture capital; mergers and acquisitions; how they analyze a business both from the public and the private side and their views on Canadian companies to going public.
In this episode Geoff Castle, Fixed Income Portfolio Manager, chats with Callum Thomas, founder and head of research of Topdown Charts. They discuss Callum’s background and early career, the path to launching Topdown Charts and what it offers, Callum’s approach to credit cycles and their perspective on potential interest rates over the next few years as we enter the recovery.
In this episode Maria Pacella, Managing Partner of Pender Ventures, is joined by Jacqueline Ovens, Alison Nankivell and Heather Conradi. Gathered to mark International Women’s Day, the guests discuss how they invest in women fund managers and entrepreneurs, how gender diversity plays a role in returns, how they measure diversity within their organizations and how we need to continue to close the gender gap in the investing world.
In this episode David Barr, President, CEO and Portfolio Manager, chats with Andrew Wilkinson, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Tiny Capital. They discuss Andrew’s early entrepreneurial background and his transition to investor, his experience in the tech sector, value investing and taking his company, WeCommerce, from private to public.
In this episode Maria Pacella, Managing Partner of Pender Ventures, is joined by David Smith, CEO of Teradici. They discuss the acceleration of the work-from-home movement caused by COVID-19 and how Teradici was well-equipped to support existing and new clients in this digital shift. They also cover Teradici’s engineering Emmy win for their work in media and entertainment, and their recent update to support Mac OS in virtualized environments.
In this episode Sarah Wildman, Director of Institutional & Family Office Wealth Services, is joined by Geoff Castle, Portfolio Manager of the Pender Corporate Bond Fund, and Emily Wheeler, Associate Portfolio Manager who manages the Pender Bond Universe Fund with Geoff. They take a short look back on 2020 with the benefit of hindsight, but are mainly focused on the potential headwinds and tailwinds they are seeing for fixed income and the Funds in 2021.
In this episode Sarah Wildman, Director of Institutional & Family Office Wealth Services, is joined by David Barr, President, CEO and Portfolio Manager of the Pender Small Cap Opportunities Fund and Felix Narhi, Pender’s Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager, who manages the Pender US All Cap Equity Fund. Together, they co-manage the Pender Value Fund. They look back on 2020 as a whole, with a focus on the resurgence of equities, and in particular small-caps. They also look towards 2021, how they are positioning the funds for the coming year, with a detailed dive into cryptocurrency.
In this episode David Barr, President, CEO and Portfolio Manager, chats with Ian Cassel, the founder of MicroCapClub, CIO of Intelligent Fanatics Capital Management and co-founder of intelligentfanatics.com. As two avid microcap investors, there was a lot of ground to cover. The benefit of years of micro and small cap investing wisdom is packed in this one-hour podcast.
In this episode Geoff Castle, Fixed Income Portfolio Manager, chats with Ben Rabidoux, President of North Cove Advisors. They discuss Ben’s background and his role at North Cove Advisors, how to navigate the Canadian real estate sector as well as the broader Canadian economy.
Additional Resources: Canadian Credit Trends – October 2020
In this episode Maria Pacella is joined by Kenndal McArdle, Principal of Pender Ventures, and their new team member, Kristina Bergman, Partner at Pender Ventures. Maria chats with Kristina to learn more about her background and experiences working as a tech product marketer and manager, an entrepreneur and an investor. Then Kristina turns the tables and interviews Kenndal about what makes Pender Ventures stand out from the competition.
In this episode David Barr, President, CEO and Portfolio Manager, chats with Chris Mayer, Portfolio Manager of the Woodlock House Family Capital fund and co-founder of the firm. They discuss Chris’ novel 100 Baggers: Stocks that Return 100-to-1 and How to Find Them, including his motivation to write the book, themes from key chapters and how his knowledge from experiencing COVID-19 would influence the book if he wrote it today. They also cover names that they both hold in their portfolios and the key principles Chris turns to when looking for the next “100 bagger”.
In this episode Geoff Castle, Fixed Income Portfolio Manager, chats with Frances Donald, Global Chief Economist at Manulife Investment Management. They discuss Frances’ role and how she got her start in economics, her three-phased approach to navigating the COVID-19 pandemic along with modern monetary theory and the sustainability of credit spreads.
In this episode David Barr, President, CEO and Portfolio Manager, chats with Bill Wignall, President and CEO of Sangoma Technologies. They discuss Bill’s nine years at the helm of Sangoma, starting from his initial goals for the company and how they have achieved the growth they have, including migrating away from hardware and declining market segments to where they are today. They also cover the impact of COVID-19 on the business and the key lessons Bill has learned since becoming CEO.
In this episode Sarah Wildman, Director of Institutional & Family Office Wealth Services, is joined Geoff Castle, Portfolio Manager of the Pender Corporate Bond Fund, and Parul Garg, Associate Portfolio Manager of the Fund. They look back on the five-year anniversary of Geoff and Parul managing the Fund, look out to the next five, and discuss volatility and “the hunt for yield”, or as Geoff likes to say “managing for value”.
In this episode Sarah Wildman, Director of Institutional & Family Office Wealth Services, is joined by David Barr, President, CEO and Portfolio Manager of the Pender Small Cap Opportunities Fund and Felix Narhi, Pender's Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager, who manages the Pender US All Cap Equity Fund. Together, they co-manage the Pender Value Fund. They discuss their areas of focus including M&A and IPOs, the digital economy, and explore some portfolio holdings.
In this episode Geoff Castle, Fixed Income Portfolio Manager, chats with former Bank of Canada Governor, David Dodge. They discuss a number of critical economic events that occurred during his seven-year term including 9/11, the commodities boom in the mid 2000s and the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis along with his current voice in Canadian economic circles as a senior advisor at Bennett Jones.
In this episode David Barr, President and Portfolio Manager, chats with Lauren Templeton, Founder and President of Templeton & Phillips Capital Management. They discuss Lauren’s early interest in investing, her family ties to Sir John M. Templeton, value investing and how to engage the next generation of investors.
In this episode Geoff Castle, Fixed Income Portfolio Manager, chats with Morley Conn, Director of Equity Hybrids at Scotiabank Global Banking and Markets. Together they take a deep dive into the convertibles market to uncover the opportunities, inefficiencies and features of convertibles, as well as swapping war stories.
In this episode David Barr, President and Portfolio Manager, chats with John Mihaljevic, chairman of MOI Global and managing editor of The Manual of Ideas. They discuss value investing, the history of MOI global, technology businesses and small and micro-cap investing.
In this episode Geoff Castle, Fixed Income Portfolio Manager, chats with Edward Altman, Professor Emeritus of Finance at NYU’s Stern School of Business. They discuss Professor Altman’s background in distressed credit, the Altman Z-Score, Professor Altman’s recent paper which assesses default and bankruptcy rates and conditions before and after COVID.
In this episode David Barr, President and Portfolio Manager, chats with Savneet Singh, President and CEO of PAR Technology Corp., a holding in several of Pender’s equity mandates for over a year. They discuss software as a platform, entrepreneurship, corporate culture and the transformation of PAR since Savneet became CEO.
In this episode Sarah Wildman, Director of Institutional & Family Office Wealth Services, is joined by Geoff Castle, Portfolio Manager of the Pender Corporate Bond Fund and Pender Bond Universe Fund, and Emily Wheeler, Associate Portfolio Manager of the Pender Bond Universe Fund. They cover the Fund’s performance in the last quarter, the Fed’s inducement to take on risk, distressed credit and some interesting names in the portfolio.
In this episode Sarah Wildman, Director of Institutional & Family Office Wealth Services, is joined by David Barr, President and Portfolio Manager of the Pender Small Cap Opportunities Fund and the Pender Value Fund and Sharon Wang, Senior Equity Analyst. They cover the quarter for small and micro-cap tech stocks, review the continuing impact of COVID-19 on small-cap markets and our portfolios and talk about a few interesting ideas.
In this episode Geoff Castle, Fixed Income Portfolio Manager, is joined by Parul Garg, Associate Portfolio Manager of the Pender Corporate Bond Fund, and Amar Pandya, Associate Portfolio Manager on the equity team. They discuss the current market conditions that have led to some interesting opportunities in distressed credit. They look back at prior dislocations, including 2016, as well as the risks associated with investing in distressed credit.
In this episode David Barr, President and Portfolio Manager, is joined by Felix Narhi, Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager to discuss how they apply the Pender investment process through periods of uncertainty. They cover predictive attributes, successful business models during the global pandemic, and some of the benefits of investing in the small and micro-cap space.
In this episode Kenndal McArdle, PE/VC Investment Associate, talks to Matias Marquez, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Buyatab Online Inc. They discuss Buyatab’s start in 2009, Matias’ entrepreneurial spirit, and the decisions Matias has made along the way to put Buyatab’s success first.
In this episode Geoff Castle, Pender’s Fixed Income Portfolio Manager, talks to Glenn Reynolds, Chief Global Strategist and Co-Founder of CreditSights. Pender’s fixed income team have worked with the research analysts of CreditSights for a number of years. Geoff and Glenn talk about the early days of high-yield, moving up to the present day and how past events may shape the post-COVID-19 future.
In this episode David Barr talks to Hamed Shahbazi, founder and CEO of Well Health Technologies. They discuss how they first met and their connection, Hamed’s first company, TIO Networks and how he is applying all the experience and learning from that enterprise to Well Health Technologies.
We re-recorded a key part of the conversation. This episode was taped before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. At that time, Hamed discussed waiting for the adoption of digitization in healthcare to catch up to other industries, and in particular how doctors were slow to adopt technology into their practices. Our re-record gives you an up-to-date picture of how COVID-19 has increased the uptake of technology in healthcare virtually overnight, from someone at the epicentre of adoption.
Since recording this podcast on April 27, 2020, small cap markets have begun to rally.
Sarah Wildman, Director of Institutional Family Office Wealth Services, is joined by David Barr, Portfolio Manager of the Pender Small Cap Opportunities Fund and the Pender Value Fund, and Don Walker, Portfolio Manager of the Pender Small/Mid Cap Dividend Fund, to provide a quarterly equity update. They look back on the events of late March, their impact on small cap markets and our portfolios, and discuss potential trends and opportunities coming out of the crisis, and the steps they are taking to position portfolios for an eventual recovery.
Sarah Wildman, Director of Institutional Family Office Wealth Services, is joined by Geoff Castle, Portfolio Manager of the Pender Corporate Bond Fund and the Pender Bond Universe Fund to provide a quarterly fixed income update. They discuss the actions of Geoff and the fixed income team to protect portfolios and maintain liquidity, and cover the areas that Geoff views as having early potential upside and how he is positioning the fund for the eventual recovery.
In this episode Sarah Wildman, Director of Institutional & Family Office Wealth Services, sits down with Geoff Castle and Emily Wheeler, Portfolio Manager and Associate Portfolio Manager respectively of the recently launched Pender Bond Universe Fund. They discuss the new Fund, introduce Emily and highlight her experience, and talk about the current credit market and where both managers see opportunities.
In this episode, David Barr welcomes PenderFund’s newest portfolio manager, Don Walker to the team to manage the Pender Small/Mid Cap Dividend Fund. They discuss all things small cap Canada including the current environment and where they see opportunities right now, their differentiated approach to managing small cap equity as well as Don’s new fund.
Sarah Wildman, Director of Institutional Family Office Wealth Services, is joined by Geoff Castle, Portfolio Manager of the Pender Corporate Bond Fund to provide the quarterly fixed income update. They look back on the last quarter, on 2019 as a whole, and anticipate the challenges and opportunities that await the Fund in 2020.
Sarah Wildman, Director of Institutional Family Office Wealth Services, is joined by David Barr and Felix Narhi to provide their quarterly equity update, with a twist. They are in the perfect position to not only reflect on the last quarter, but to look back on all of 2019, while looking forward to what 2020 might hold for Pender.
Sarah Wildman, Director of Institutional Relationships and Eric Tse, Vice President of Retail Sales look back on the many podcasts we recorded in 2019. They showcase excerpts from discussions on Pender’s funds and how we navigate markets, and highlight conversations with our many guests who shared insights on entrepreneurship and leadership, culture and investing in China.
Maria Pacella is joined by Christy Wyatt, CEO and member of the board of directors at Absolute Software. They discuss Christy’s education at the College of Geographic Sciences, her career as a software engineer and her rise to executive leadership positions at Palm, Sun Microsystems, Apple, Motorola, Citigroup, Good Technology and Dtex. Christy talks us through her journey that saw her named one of Inc. Magazine’s Top 50 Women Entrepreneurs of America, while providing advice for balancing a successful career and a fulfilling family life. She also touches on how diversity is one of the key benefits of being a truly global organisation.
Sarah Wildman is joined by Geoff Castle and Parul Garg, Portfolio Manager and Associate Portfolio Manager of the Pender Corporate Bond Fund. They discuss their thirteen-step decision-making checklist for analysing securities for inclusion in the portfolio.
Felix Narhi is joined by Rui Ma and Ying-Ying Lu, co-hots of Pandaily’s TechBuzz China podcast, who are both seasoned China-watchers with years of experience working in the China technology space. Felix recently joined their TechBuzz China Investor Trip to various cities in China, where they visited a number of public and private companies. In this episode, they discuss investing in Chinese companies, the intricate nuances of daily life that only a visit can highlight and the significant implications these have on investing in China.
David Barr is joined by Felix Narhi, Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager on the equity side, and Geoff Castle, Portfolio Manager of the Pender Corporate Bond Fund who come together to discuss current markets and the opportunity we see for our balanced fund, the Pender Strategic Growth and Income Fund.
Sarah Wildman is joined by Geoff Castle for the Pender Quarterly Fixed Income Update Podcast. They discuss negative interest rates, rate reset preferred shares, current contributors to the Pender Corporate Bond Fund and the potential occurrence of another economic recession.
Maria Pacella, SVP and co-manager of Pender Technology Inflection Fund is joined by Natalie Dakers and Norma Biln, role models for any young girl looking for a career in the STEM disciplines. Natalie is the President, CEO and founder of Accel-Rx Health Sciences Accelerator and Norma is the CEO of Augurex. They discuss how they zoned in on how they wanted to channel their interest in the sciences, and how they made a successful career happen for themselves. They also talk about some of the obstacles they had to overcome, how they have honed their leadership style and other things they have learned.
Felix Narhi, Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager at Pender is joined by President and Portfolio Manager David Barr to discuss how Pender minimizes the odds of finding ourselves stuck in a value trap by looking for catalysts in advance. They discuss the criteria that they look for in small and micro-cap stock picking and Pender’s long history of identifying catalysts. They also discuss which books David has been reading lately.
Sarah Wildman, Director of Institutional Relationships, is joined by David Barr and Felix Narhi to provide an early quarterly equity update. With investor sentiment turning more fearful, concerns over trade wars and political unrest we wanted to bring our update forward to address these global events and their effect on current markets, while providing an update on our portfolios.
Maria Pacella, Senior Vice President of Private Equity at Pender, is joined by Michelle Scarborough, Managing Director of Strategic Investments and the Women in Technology Venture Fund at the Business Development Bank of Canada. They discuss the challenges and rewards of investing in venture capital enterprises, building bridges, talent spotting, hitting target markets and managing stakeholder expectations. They also discuss what Michelle has been reading lately.
Sarah Wildman is joined by Geoff Castle for the first of the Pender Quarterly Fixed Income Update Podcasts. Geoff is the portfolio manager of the Pender Corporate Bond Fund. They discuss the current fixed income environment, negative rates, the preferred shares market, current investment stories and current market risks. Geoff also shares what he’s reading this summer.
Sarah Wildman is joined by David Barr and Felix Narhi for the first of the Pender Quarterly Update Podcasts. David and Felix are both are analysts and portfolio managers of the Pender Value Fund. David also manages the Pender Small Cap Opportunities Fund, and Felix, the US All Cap Equity and Strategic Growth and Income mandates. They discuss the current equity environment, contribution, M&A, current investment stories and more. They also share what books are on their summer reading lists.
David Barr interviews Michael Lombardi, former NFL executive and author of Gridiron Genius. Michael shares his experiences as a member of the coaching staff for several NFL teams working alongside head coaches Bill Walsh, Al Davis and Bill Belichick and how these remarkable experiences led to the publication of his book, “Gridiron Genius”. Touching on culture and leadership in football strategy, Michael shares how the importance of building teams in the NFL relates to the business world today.
David Barr is interviewed by Sarah Wildman, Director of Institutional Relationships at PenderFund. They look back on the past 10 years of Pender, highlighting key events and stories, the Pender culture, and of course, investing.
Key Takeaways
[01:03] The key events for Pender over the past 10 years.
[05:11] The key factors which have contributed to Pender's growth.
[05:53] The Pender Edge. What are the three core components?
[10:47] “There are two types of companies in the market: Those with problems and those that will have problems.”
[13:30] The core characteristics of Pender’s clientele.
[17:30] Michael Lombardi’s Gridiron Genius – How this applies to Pender when evaluating companies to invest in.
[23:47] David’s must-read books on investing, building a business, leading teams and decision making.
Maria Pacella sits down with the founder of Clarius Mobile Health, Laurent Pelissier. Laurent has been at the forefront of developing and commercializing cutting-edge ultrasound technology for nearly 20 years. Clarius is an inflection-stage tech company which has developed and commercialized wireless handheld ultrasound scanners which can be used anywhere from a physio office to remote emergency service calls. Laurent and Maria talk about his entrepreneurial journey, what he hoped to achieve when he founded Clarius, the problems the company is trying to solve and the breakthroughs they have made.
Maria Pacella sits down with the founders of Point Grey Research, a global leader in innovative, high-performance digital cameras. She was joined by Vlad Tucakov, Don Murray and Malcom Steenburgh who share stories from their days at the University of BC to building an organisation of over 300 employees worldwide. They give insights into how Point Grey grew over the years, the challenges they faced and the tough decisions that had to be made, until it was eventually acquired by FLIR Integrated Imaging Solutions in 2016.
In this episode Maria Pacella talks to Judi Hess, CEO of Copperleaf Technologies, a Vancouver based venture capital backed firm which has developed decision analytics software for companies around the world managing critical infrastructure. Judi talks about her experience of rising through the ranks, being overlooked for leadership positions, how she arrived in her current role as CEO and how she still sees instances of gender bias in the workplace today. Maria asks her about who inspired and influenced her, what she learned along the way, and the advice she has for women generally in business and in leadership positions, “When you're offered a leadership position say, "Yes."”.
In this episode David Barr sits down with Amar Pandya, Senior Investment Analyst and Associate Portfolio Manager, to discuss the Canadian equity market. They discuss the opportunities, mis-priced securities and compounders vs close the discount businesses.
They talk about their approach to the energy sector and also the unknowable risks that keep them up at night. Throughout they highlight various portfolio holdings as they discuss where they see growth in Canadian compounders today.
David Barr interviews Maria Pacella, Pender’s SVP Private Equity, on the trends she sees in private equity in 2019. They discuss this from the investment angle, highlighting financing and exit strategies on both sides of the border, also touching on the impact of uncertainty and volatility on private equity. They also looks at trends from the technology perspective. What’s going to be of interest in 2019, the problems and challenges and which sectors will take a lead in adoption?
In this episode, David Barr and Felix Narhi discuss the equity key themes from 2018. Volatility was a big factor in the markets and consequently, in how they managed the Pender Value Fund and their other equity portfolios. They talk about strategies from market cycles which Felix has nicknamed “needle in the haystack investing” and “tide goes out investing”. They highlight a few stock picks from the last year as well as looking ahead to what 2019 may bring.
*Any reference to stocks/ stock prices are as of the date of recording, December 21st 2018.
In this episode David Barr and Geoff Castle discuss the key themes and events from credit markets during 2018. They talk about the Pender Corporate Bond Fund positioning during a changing environment, some non-traditional credit picks in the portfolio and why Geoff finds them attractive. They discuss interest rates and inflation, recycling old ideas and how the Pender investment team works as a whole, in terms of sharing information and ideas across sectors and asset classes. They also look forward to 2019 and some of the challenges they may, or may not, face. Geoff talks about how he looks at securities with these potential outcomes in mind.
This is the last in the four part series on Disruptive Technology. Maria Pacella, SVP, Private Equity and Portfolio Manager of the Pender Technology Inflection Fund, has been talking with Silicon Valley veteran, Rich Miller. In this last podcast they are joined by Toufic Boubez, VP Engineering at Splunk and a serial entrepreneur and tech industry leader with expertise in disruptive solutions. Having discussed blockchain and big data, this podcast turns to edge computing, the Internet of Things, anomaly detection and machine learning.
Maria Pacella, SVP, Private Equity and Portfolio Manager of the Pender Technology Inflection Fund, continues her conversation with Rich Miller about data management. Rich has an interesting take on data as an asset that needs nurturing, feeding and care, in order to fulfill its potential. Some companies are well positioned, and some have a way to go, especially against the backdrop of increased regulation. Rich provides insights around how AI machine learning can be applied to data analysis and predictions, and touches on the difference between data science and data engineering. He gives an example of the challenges and outcomes of a recent project.
In the second of this four part series on disruptive technology, Maria Pacella, Senior VP, Private Equity at Pender, continues her conversation with Rich Miller, a technology expert and Silicon Valley veteran. This time the discussion turns to blockchain – a complex subject which Rich breaks down into understandable concepts. He touches on some of the challenges and opportunities blockchain offers, with some insights on which sectors will be early to adopt, why they will want to lead and not follow and possible approaches.
Maria Pacella, SVP Private Equity at Pender, interviews Rich Miller, who has had a long and illustrious career in Silicon Valley, being at the forefront of distributed computing and networking technologies that we rely on today for the web. From designing and implementing email under ARPAnet, to creating the early predecessor of Slack, to being involved in General Magic’s push to release personal communicators, Rich has alternated between being a consultant to tech companies and being involved in tech startups. He shares some great insights into the industry and lessons learned from his experiences, as well as his predictions for the future applications of technology. Tune in to find out more.
In the second of this two part series on risk, David Barr and Felix Narhi move from talking about risk assessment at the company level to risk management at the portfolio level. One of the key aspects is cash management - having cash on hand always helps to make better decisions and, at the end of the day, investing is a probabilistic endeavor so it’s all about making the best decisions possible. Felix and David also discuss concentration, sector diversification and alignment. Circle of competence makes another reappearance with a significant role to play in risk assessment at the portfolio level as well.
In the first of this two part series on risk, David Barr and Felix Narhi take a deep dive into risk assessment at the company level. A primary goal is capital preservation, and this starts with risk assessment. David and Felix discuss the trinity of risk - balance sheet risk, valuation risk and business risk - and discuss their approach to evaluating each of these different types of risk. Understanding the role of behavioral psychology in investments and staying within your circle of competence is also key. They also reflect on how their thinking of balance sheet risk has evolved over the years with the growth of the investment team. Tune in to the next episode to find out more about managing risk at the portfolio level.
Meet Geoff Castle, Portfolio Manager of the Pender Corporate Bond Fund, who recently celebrated his third anniversary managing the Fund. On this episode, David Barr, Pender’s President, chats with Geoff about his background, and how his previous experiences tie into his outlook on credit markets and his approach to portfolio management. They discuss how he navigates the challenges and opportunities within fixed income, as well as how the market has changed in the past three years. Geoff also shares more about his strategies for capital preservation as a bond manager and where he sees future opportunities. Tune in to find out more.
On June 28, 2018, the Pender Value Fund turned five. In the last of this three part series, David Barr and Felix Narhi, co-managers of the Fund, look back on the investment strategies and how they translated into some of the better ideas in the Fund. They discuss various holdings, their original investment theses, how they played out and ultimately, what they learned that they can use to drive future investments in the Fund. In their analysis of the winners and losers in the portfolio, David and Felix uncover two key themes - having cash on hand during firesales and focusing on the long term. Ultimately, employing patience in the portfolio and thinking long term about the companies held as they build their value is what led to Pender’s success. Tune in to find out more.
Key Takeaways:
[1:59] The top 20 stocks in the Fund generated 87% of the positive returns. The 80-20 rule applies to the market and to the Fund as well.
[3:18] Two themes emerge when assessing where Pender found opportunities that drove the portfolio - companies that are having temporary problems, and undiscovered, unfollowed companies. David and Felix unpack their investment in Panera Breads.
[7:30] Recognising patterns - David compares Freshii to Panera in its early days.
[9:19] Invest for the future. Why patience and a long-term outlook are crucial to investment success.
[12:25] Screening may not always be as important as people make it out to be. Companies that have the capacity to reinvent themselves in a timely manner may be more crucial. The best companies reinvent themselves at their peak!
[17:20] Unfollowed companies are another bucket in the success that the Fund has had. David and Felix dive into some of the big winners, and the genesis and evolution of those ideas.
[22:37] What is Pender's philosophy with cash? David outlines changes in cash positions and how they relate to ideas.
[26:34] Being willing to sit on cash really speaks to patience; it’s an unexpiring option.
[31:41] Discount companies vs compounders. It all goes back to the 80-20 rule, and having the patience to maintain that long-term outlook.
Mentioned in This Episode:
David Barr, President and Portfolio Manager, PenderFund
Felix Narhi, Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager, PenderFund
Panera Bread – When News of a Take-Out at a Premium is Bittersweet
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On June 28, 2018, the Pender Value Fund turned five. In this second of three part series, David Barr and Felix Narhi, co-managers of the Fund, discuss fundamental questions relating to what value investing means, and how this concept has evolved over time. Technology has played a key role in improving and driving change in investing, while also impacting more and more industries in subtle but significant ways and necessitating change over time. David and Felix reflect on the growth of the Pender investment team from two to eight and how expanding the circle of competence has contributed to the Fund’s ability to enter new parts of the market. Felix also shares a secret from Benjamin Graham hiding in the postscript to The Intelligent Investor. Tune in to find out more.
On June 28, 2018, the Pender Value Fund turned five. In this first of three part series, David Barr and Felix Narhi, co-managers of the Fund, go way back to explore their investing roots, discussing how they got into investing in the first place, the forces that influenced them early in their careers, some failures and the lessons learned along the way. They delve into how their investment strategies have evolved as a result of the knowledge they have accumulated over time, and why this learning is crucial to ensuring future success as well. David and Felix also have some insights about the key role of management teams in the success of a company, as well as the need to balance quantitative judgements with qualitative analyses. They also talk about what it takes for a company to move from being a growth company to being a great business. Tune in to find out more.
Key Takeaways:
[2:15] How did Felix get into investing, and more particularly value investing, early in his career?
[4:10] David shares his experience of how he was introduced to The Warren Buffett Way.
[5:15] Investing is really about cumulative knowledge. How has Felix evolved his approach though the course of his career?
[9:05] Felix and David discuss the difference between investment analysis and business analysis, and the drivers that taught them what makes a company successful.
[11:54] What are some of the failures David experienced in his career, and what did he learn from them? Hint: It's to do with management teams and the people in them.
[14:44] There's so much dynamism in business right now - things are changing incredibly fast, and it's crucial to keep learning and adapting over time to keep up.
[17:13] Why are qualitative judgments just as important as quantitative judgments?
[18:13] When tuna's on sale, you buy tuna. What takes a company from being a growth company to being a great business?
[22:42] David shares a personal anecdote about capital allocation and growth-by-acquisition.
Mentioned in This Episode:
David Barr, President and Portfolio Manager, PenderFund
Felix Narhi, Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager, PenderFund
Billion Dollar Lessons: What You Can Learn from the Most Inexcusable Business Failures of the Last 25 Years, by Paul Carroll and Chunka Mui
Pender Book Review of Billion Dollar Lessons
The Warren Buffett Way, by Robert G. Hagstrom
Deals from Hell: M&A Lessons That Rise Above The Ashes, by Robert F. Bruner
The Inoculated Investor Blog
Disclaimer
To Learn More:
Visit: PenderFund Capital Management
Subscribe: Newsletter
Follow Us:
Twitter @penderfund
Instagram penderfund
LinkedIN PenderFund Capital Management