Richard Calvert-Smith

East Capital is an active manager which combines market research and fundamental analysis with frequent company visits by the investment team, aiming to generate long-term outperformance and added value for clients. The firm believes that the markets in their investment universe are less efficient than developed markets and that foreign capital, which at times is driven by sentiment rather than fundamentals, can exacerbate short-term volatility. This volatility may create the perception of high risk that is not justified by fundamentals and investors, who lack resources to attain additional information, tend to misinterpret risks. East Capital believes that the resulting pricing inefficiencies are systematic and can be managed by being local. They meet with companies and utilize their network to provide an information advantage over traditional and general investors. They see fundamentals such as attractive valuations, stable cash flow, strong growth and high dividend yields as important over time and believe that consistency, persistence and patience rewards well-informed and analyzed investment decisions. The firm performs diligent research to identify drivers for growth and value and aim to correctly assess risk and focus on fundamentals to achieve above-benchmark returns. They typically prefer companies profiting from the growth of domestic consumption and seek engagement with companies in which they invest to better understand the risks and help them add value.