The Olesen Value Fund 6.6% in Feb. vs. 5.6% for the MSCI All-Country World Index and 5.7% for the S&P 500.
In February, Olesen Value Fund investments in financial services companies recouped most of what they lost in January. The rest of the portfolio had mixed but mostly positive performance.
During the month, we increased our investment in the Australian company discussed in last month’s update. The stock price declined significantly following a poor earnings report, but I am willing to bet it is undervalued at the current price of approx. 6 times earnings.
We also increased the size of an existing investment in a small, debt-free European company operating in an attractive industry, which trades at approx. 9 times earnings. A known activist investor has recently accumulated a large stake in the company. While I think the stock is a good investment even without activist involvement, I think there is a meaningful probability of either a sale of the company at a significant premium to the current stock price, a large dividend or stock buy-back, or other value-enhancing actions.
Olesen Value Fund – Investment Philosophy
- Seek to generate substantial capital appreciation over the long term, with minimal risk of loss
- Define risk as permanent loss of capital; tend to view volatility as opportunity, not necessarily a risk
- Value investing philosophy, using a bottom-up approach
- No leverage
Fund Manager
- The fund has $28 mil. in assets and is managed by Christian Olesen
- Virtually 100% of my net worth, except for my cash reserves, is invested in the fund
- Previously worked as analyst/trader for Xaraf Management, a group within Paloma Partners, a Greenwich, CT-based hedge fund with approx. $2 billion in AUM
- Graduated from Wharton (Finance, Accounting) and holds the CFA designation
