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The term 'unicorn' refers to a privately held start-up with a valuation of $1bn or more. Examples of unicorns are Uber, NVIDIA, AirBnB, SpaceX and OpenAI. Unicorns, which tend to be disruptive technology businesses but can exist in diverse sectors, have offered handsome returns to investors who were involved from early in their growth journeys. And so, the question arises: “How do I, as an investor, get exposure to the next unicorn and enjoy the exponential returns?”
To answer this question, Λnβro, a boutique asset management company with a decade’s experience in crafting innovative investment solutions, developed the multi-award-winning Unicorn Global Equity Actively Managed Certificate (AMC) to offer exposure to the world’s next high-potential exponential growth companies.
By combining in-depth research with expert portfolio management, Λnβro delivers diversified and well-structured portfolios that cater to the diverse needs of South African investors. Craig Antonie, Λnβro’s chief investment officer, says the business is excited about partnering with Mesh because it will enable more people to have access to their actively managed AMC tracking potential unicorns.
“The Unicorn Global Equity AMC was created from a diversified portfolio that highlights the outperformance of certain high-growth stocks. It focuses on venture capital and private equity investments, aiming to capture the potential of high-growth companies,” explains Antonie. “Key criteria for investments include companies being run or significantly influenced by their founders, businesses solving real-world problems, and companies that are still relatively small with a very big addressable market giving them the runway to grow significantly."
He adds that the businesses they seek out need to be creating or disrupting a market considerably larger than they are, and they need to be growing faster than the market. “On top of this, we ensure that the companies we invest in have zero debt, if possible,” says Antonie. “Having healthy cash balances on their balance sheet is important because it means that the company will not be negatively impacted by shifts in interest rates or other economic volatility.”
Justiné Brophy, Λnβro CEO, says that for the patient investor, the potential returns are highly appealing. He says that investors need to understand that high-growth stocks tend to go through periods where their stock prices take significant knocks but then also recover with exponential growth. “You need a long-term view and should be prepared to invest for at least five, but preferably 10 or 15 years,” he says. He explains that investors can rest assured that the Unicorn Global Equity AMC has a strict benchmark, targeting performance exceeding the All World Index: Vanguard ETF benchmark (VWRL).
“This AMC has won consecutive SALTA Awards for ‘Total Return Performance Foreign Equity’ over three years and ‘Trading Efficiency Foreign Equity’, and in our view provides investors with the best shot at being exposed to the world’s next unicorns. High-growth-oriented investors, family offices and independent financial advisors who already have long-standing blue-chip portfolios would do well to enhance those with the Unicorn AMC’s exposure to high-growth listed equities.”
Mesh.trade co-founder and MD Connie Bloem says the hands-on fund management at Λnβro is particularly attractive. “Their hands-on asset management is conducted by highly experienced financial experts. This is why we are confident and excited to make this AMC available on the Mesh platform.”