Interview #116 : Alyx Wood (Kernow AM)
Contrarian investing in UK equities
For this issue we have the pleasure of interviewing Alyx Wood from Kernow Asset Management.
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Hi Alyx, thanks so much for taking the time out to do this interview.
Can you please tell readers about your background, and how you got involved in investing?
I stumbled into investing at the age of 15, which is the sort of age where most people are still arguing with their Game Boy.
But to me, the stock market looked like the most gloriously complicated board game ever invented, with rules that changed when you weren’t looking and players who thought they were playing chess when in fact it was three-dimensional poker with invisible cards. It was baffling, slightly mad, and full of people who spoke in acronyms. In short, utterly irresistible.
Career wise, I was fortunate enough to start at KPMG as a management consultant, then moved on to Deutsche Bank. After that, I joined a boutique as fund manager.
Why did you decide to launch your Kernow Asset Management? And who is your typical client?
We launched Kernow because we saw a clear and compelling opportunity in the UK market.
We have tools and ideas that are totally novel and highly profitable. Instead of handing it to a faceless corporate, we chose to build something exceptional ourselves. A firm with independence and conviction to act boldly where others hesitate.
In terms of our clients, our largest is the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund, which we're really proud of. More broadly, our typical clients tend to be independent-minded wealth managers, entrepreneurial high-net-worth individuals, and family offices who appreciate our differentiated approach.
Your investing style is contrarian with a catalyst.
More specifically what types of business or situations do you like to invest in? And what type of catalysts are you seeking?
On the long side, we invest in businesses where the market is either bored of something or scared of something. On the other side of the book, we short failures, fads, and frauds.
Catalysts? Ah yes, the small but significant nudges that turn the tide. Sometimes it’s a dividend announcement that makes investors suddenly remember they like money.