| ANNUALIZED SINCE INCEPTION | QUARTERLY | YTD |
|---|---|---|
| 16.5% | - | - |
GCQ Flagship Fund returned 4.2% in April 2026, driven by 8.2% portfolio stock returns offset by Australian Dollar appreciation. The fund's year-to-date underperformance of 24.9% follows three years of strong outperformance, with recent declines creating buying opportunities in high-quality businesses. Q1 earnings season was highly positive, with 75% of portfolio companies reporting median revenue growth of 14% and earnings 5% above consensus. Notable performers included Money Forward with 42% revenue growth, FICO with 60% core business growth, and cloud leaders Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure accelerating to 28% and 39% growth respectively. The market appears to be settling into a more realistic view of AI disruption, with portfolio companies adopting AI tools faster than consumer behavior changes. Super-luxury holdings faced headwinds from Iran conflict but provided attractive repurchase opportunities. Management teams across the portfolio are engaging in meaningful share buybacks, signaling confidence in current valuations. The fund maintains 96% net exposure with 4% cash, positioned in monopolies, duopolies and irreplaceable brands trading at near-trough multiples.
GCQ invests in a concentrated portfolio of high-quality global businesses with competitive advantages, trading at attractive valuations despite strong earnings growth and returns on capital that merit significant premiums to broader indices.
The current environment provides an opportunity for long-term investors to buy world-class companies operating in high-quality industries at highly attractive prices. The earnings power of companies in high-quality industries remains resilient and continues to power on.
| Date | Letter | Tickers | Keywords | Pitches | Quick Takes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 30 2026 | 2026 Q1 | AMZN, FICO, MSCI, MSFT, V | AI, Cloud, concentrated, earnings, global, Luxury, Quality, technology | - | GCQ's concentrated quality portfolio delivered strong Q1 earnings with 14% median revenue growth despite year-to-date underperformance creating attractive entry points. AI disruption fears are moderating as portfolio companies successfully integrate AI tools. Cloud leaders Amazon and Microsoft accelerated growth while management teams signal confidence through aggressive share buybacks across high-quality businesses trading at compelling valuations. |
| Jan 22 2026 | 2025 Q4 | CFR.SW, FICO, GOOGL, HEMN.ST, MC.PA, NFLX | AI, Monopolies, Quality, real estate, Sweden, value | HEM.ST | GCQ delivered +2.0% in 2025 despite challenging stock-picking conditions dominated by AI momentum. Hemnet's 60% decline from highs created the primary drag, though the Swedish real estate portal maintains 90% market share. The team views current portfolio valuations as extremely attractive and remains optimistic about 2026 as market focus shifts back to quality fundamentals. |
| QUARTER | THEMES | TAGS |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Q1 |
AIThe market is settling into a more realistic view of AI disruption potential. Many competitively-advantaged portfolio companies will adopt and benefit from AI faster than consumer behavior changes. AI tools are living inside incumbent platforms rather than replacing them, as seen with Scout24's integrated AI chatbot. |
Artificial Intelligence Disruption Platform Integration Enterprise AI Chatbots |
CloudAmazon Web Services saw revenue growth accelerate to 28% year-on-year, with CEO noting unprecedented AI technology growth. Microsoft's Azure grew even faster at 39% year-on-year, with AI revenue growing 123% to $37bn annualized base and higher margins than core cloud. |
AWS Azure Infrastructure Revenue Growth AI Integration | |
LuxurySuper-luxury holdings faced softening demand due to conflict in Iran impacting wealthy local clients and tourists in the region. However, this was more than reflected in share prices, providing opportunity to repurchase shares in these wonderful companies at attractive prices. |
LVMH Hermes Geopolitical Risk Regional Impact Buying Opportunity | |
BuybacksA notable trend across the portfolio is that many companies are engaging in meaningful share buybacks, highlighting that management teams see tremendous value in current share prices and are allocating capital to reduce shares outstanding for long-term investors. |
Share Repurchases Capital Allocation Management Confidence Shareholder Value | |
PaymentsVisa serves as the backbone of the global payments system, providing real-time pulse on consumer health. Global payment volumes grew 9% year-on-year with growth across each consumer spend band improving, and the highest spend band continuing to grow fastest with no signs of consumer weakening. |
Consumer Health Payment Volumes Spend Patterns Economic Indicator | |
| 2025 Q4 |
AIArtificial intelligence enthusiasm supported large-cap growth companies and drove technology earnings. Long-term capital investment in AI reflects demographic pressures and labor scarcity, supporting multi-year growth trends despite elevated valuations. |
Technology Growth Investment Productivity |
ValuationsEquity valuations remain elevated with S&P 500 trading near 23x forward earnings, well above long-term average of 15.6x. Elevated valuations constrain longer-term returns and increase market sensitivity to earnings disappointments. |
Risk Earnings Premium Compression | |
EarningsStrong corporate earnings drove market gains, particularly in technology and communication services. Future returns will depend more on earnings durability and cash-flow generation than multiple expansion. |
Growth Technology Durability Cash Flow | |
Infrastructure SpendingElevated spending in artificial intelligence, energy, and infrastructure reflects demographic pressures and labor scarcity. Multi-year capital investment trends may help support growth and reduce traditional recession likelihood. |
Investment Energy Demographics Growth |
| Date | Pitch Type | Author | Ticker | Company | Industry | Sub Industry | Bull / Bear | Exchange | Keywords | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 22, 2026 | Fund Letters | Doug Tynan | HEM.ST | Hemnet Group AB | Communication Services | Online Real Estate Portals | Bull | NASDAQ | Classifieds, Cyclicality, Housing, Monopoly, Premiumisation, Pricingpower, Property | Login |
| TICKER | COMMENTARY |
|---|---|
| V | Visa serves as the backbone of the global payments system, providing us with a real-time pulse on the health of the consumer. This quarter, it was encouraging to hear that global payment volumes grew +9% year-on-year. Visa noted that growth across each consumer spend band saw improvement from last quarter, with the highest spend band continuing to grow the fastest. We do not see signs of lower spend consumer weakening our volumes. |
| AMZN | Amazon Web Services (AWS), the world's largest cloud computing infrastructure service provider, saw revenue growth accelerate to +28% year-on-year. CEO Andy Jassy said: We've never seen a technology grow as rapidly as AI. Amazon is already a leader and companies continue to choose AWS for AI. |
| MSFT | Microsoft's cloud computing infrastructure services business, Azure, grew even faster, delivering revenue growth of +39% year-on-year. Microsoft's AI revenue grew +123% year-on-year to an annualised revenue base of $37bn, while Microsoft noted that AI margins were higher than 'core' cloud margins at the same stage of maturity. |
| FICO | FICO reported revenue growth in its core Scores business of +60% year-on-year. The FICO Score is the industry standard measure of consumer credit risk in the U.S., and its monopoly has recently been the subject of heightened political scrutiny. Pleasingly, it does not anticipate share loss in any vertical. In an uncommon move for this point in the fiscal year, FICO raised its guidance. |
| MSCI | MSCI, the business best known for the MSCI World Index, had its best quarter of net new recurring subscriptions since 2022, with strong growth across various client groups including hedge funds, banks, and broker dealers. |
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