| ANNUALIZED SINCE INCEPTION | QUARTERLY | YTD |
|---|---|---|
| - | - | - |
Zeno Equity Partners maintains its contrarian investment approach, deliberately underweighting AI despite performance headwinds while significantly increasing Latin American exposure to 28% of the fund. The firm views current AI valuations at 30-40x earnings as excessive speculation, similar to historical bubbles, and questions the wide dispersion of potential outcomes across the AI value chain. Instead, they have identified compelling opportunities in Brazil and Argentina following currency depreciation and investor capitulation. Key positions include Localiza, Brazil's dominant car rental company with structural competitive advantages trading at 9x earnings, Vista Energy with tier-one Vaca Muerta shale assets offering 20%+ returns potential, and Patria Investments, a diversified Latin American asset manager with 6% dividend yield and double-digit earnings growth prospects. The strategy reflects their core philosophy of finding situations where returns are underestimated and risks overestimated, applying rigorous bottom-up analysis to identify quality businesses at attractive valuations for reasons largely irrelevant to long-term investors.
Zeno maintains a contrarian value approach, avoiding the AI bubble while capitalizing on undervalued Latin American opportunities, particularly in Brazil and Argentina where economic reforms and currency depreciation have created attractive entry points for quality businesses trading at significant discounts.
Manager expects continued opportunities in Latin America where returns are underestimated and risks overestimated, contrasting with AI trade where they see the opposite dynamic. Tone suggests patient, contrarian approach focused on long-term value creation rather than momentum investing.
| Date | Letter | Tickers | Keywords | Pitches | Quick Takes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 23 2026 | 2026 Q1 | AMZN, PAX, RENT3.SA, VIST | AI, Argentina, Brazil, contrarian, Latin America, oil, value |
RENT3.SA VIST PAX |
Zeno deliberately avoids the AI bubble while aggressively deploying into undervalued Latin American opportunities. The fund increased LatAm exposure to 28%, buying quality businesses like Localiza and Vista Energy at attractive valuations following currency weakness and investor capitulation. This contrarian approach reflects their core philosophy of finding disconnects between price and fundamental value. |
| Jan 21 2026 | 2025 Q4 | BRK-A, DHR, FTV, GE, ITW, JCI, NVST, VRLT | Biotechnology, Capital Allocation, Conglomerates, Ownership, Spin-Offs, value creation | DHR | Danaher represents the power of founder-led ownership in creating long-term value. The Rales brothers transformed a diversified conglomerate into a pure-play bioprocessing leader through strategic spin-offs and acquisitions, compounding at 21% annually over 40 years. This patient capital approach and willingness to abandon successful strategies when necessary exemplifies superior risk-adjusted decision making. |
| Oct 21 2025 | 2025 Q3 | APH, CSU.TO, CTAS, DHR, EZJ.L, HCSG, LIN, ODFL, RYAAY, SNBR, TPG | Capital Allocation, compensation, execution, management, Ownership, Quality, returns | - | Zeno seeks companies led by owner-operators with Founder's Mindset who combine strong execution with disciplined risk assessment. Their portfolio companies like Amphenol, Linde, and Ryanair have management teams owning hundreds of millions in equity, delivering mid-teens returns through superior long-term decision making that prioritizes competitive positioning over short-term metrics. |
| Jun 30 2025 | 2025 Q2 | AAPL, ADI, IFX.DE, TSM, TXN | Analog, Automotive, Cyclical, Industrial, Manufacturing, Onshoring, semiconductors, technology |
TXN TXN |
Zeno added Texas Instruments in January 2024 as a long-term holding in analog semiconductors. TI's focus on catalog chips with multi-decade lifecycles, operational manufacturing excellence, and strategic US fab investments position it for sustained FCF growth. Despite cyclical headwinds, the fund expects 12%+ earnings growth and mid-teens IRR through superior competitive positioning. |
| Mar 31 2025 | 2025 Q1 | AMZN | Customer, E-Commerce, innovation, Leadership, long-term, technology, value | AMZN | Zeno holds Amazon as their only mega cap tech investment due to its unique Founders Mindset culture. Amazon consistently prioritizes long-term customer value over short-term profits through decisive leadership, collaborative innovation, and ownership mentality. This approach creates sustainable competitive advantages and high incremental returns, differentiating it from peers like Microsoft and Google. |
| Dec 31 2024 | 2024 Q4 | - | active management, Concentration, long-term, Quality, risk management, value | - | Zeno redefines active management as concentrated investing in exceptional businesses for long-term wealth protection rather than benchmark outperformance. They seek companies with Founder Mindset, Market Power and Reinvestment opportunity that can compound through economic cycles. The fund prioritizes business quality over diversification, expecting their concentrated approach to protect capital during inevitable market corrections while generating superior long-term returns. |
| Sep 30 2024 | 2024 Q3 | MC.PA | Brand Power, Long Term, Luxury, LVMH, Market share, valuation | - | LVMH represents the ultimate luxury franchise with unassailable brand power and distribution scale. Despite current cyclical headwinds causing near-term underperformance, the company's sustainable competitive advantages and Arnault's long-term stewardship create a compelling path to double-digit returns as luxury consumption normalizes and market share consolidation continues favoring mega-brands. |
| Jul 16 2024 | 2024 Q2 | AER, AIR.PA, BA, DHR, GE, GEHC, GEV, HEI, HON, PH, SAF.PA, TDG | aerospace, Aftermarket, Concentration, Market Power, value | - | Zeno's largest position GE Aerospace leverages 70% commercial engine market share and razor-blade aftermarket model generating 3.5x engine sale revenue. High switching costs from regulatory requirements and complexity create sustainable pricing power. CEO Larry Culp's operational discipline and $300M+ ownership align interests. Secular air travel growth and efficiency-driven fleet upgrades support mid-single digit volume growth and low-double digit cash flow expansion. |
| Jun 30 2024 | 2024 Q2 | AER, AIR.PA, BA, DHR, GE, GEHC, GEV, HEI, HON, PH, SAF.PA, TDG | aerospace, Aftermarket, Concentration, Market Power, value | GE | Zeno's largest position GE Aerospace leverages 70% commercial engine market share and razor-blade aftermarket model generating 3.5x engine sale revenue. High switching costs from regulatory requirements and complexity create sustainable pricing power. CEO Larry Culp's operational discipline and $300M+ ownership align interests. Secular air travel growth and efficiency-driven fleet upgrades support mid-single digit volume growth and low-double digit cash flow expansion. |
| Mar 31 2024 | 2024 Q1 | - | Capitalism, concentrated, long-term, Philosophy, Quality, value creation | - | Zeno runs a concentrated 19-stock portfolio targeting rare companies that have escaped capitalism's competitive forces through system failures. They seek businesses earning excess profits managed by long-term oriented leaders who balance stakeholder interests. The fund completed its independence from Dynamo while acknowledging the extreme rarity of companies meeting their criteria. |
| Jan 23 2024 | 2023 Q4 | APH, AZE.BR, CSU.TO, DHR, DSGX.TO, GE, HEI, IPUMP.MI, LIN | Founder Mindset, Investment Criteria, Market Power, Portfolio Transition, Quality | - | Zeno completed major portfolio restructuring, selling eight companies and buying nine new investments that better align with their three investment criteria: market power, reinvestment opportunity, and founder mindset. New holdings include quality names like Constellation Software, Danaher, and Linde. Portfolio changes should normalize going forward with minimal turnover expected. |
| Dec 31 2023 | 2023 Q4 | APH, AZE.BR, CSU.TO, DHR, DSGX.TO, GE, HEI, IPUMP.MI, LIN | Founder Mindset, Investment Criteria, Market Power, Portfolio Transition, Quality | - | Zeno completed major portfolio restructuring, selling eight companies and buying nine new investments that better align with their three investment criteria: market power, reinvestment opportunity, and founder mindset. New holdings include quality names like Constellation Software, Danaher, and Linde. Portfolio changes should normalize going forward with minimal turnover expected. |
| Dec 18 2023 | 2023 Q3 | - | Concentration, Europe, long-term, Quality, value | - | Zeno Equity Partners launches with a concentrated value strategy targeting 25 companies in Europe and Americas. The fund seeks businesses with Market Power, Reinvestment Opportunity, and Founder Mindset, expecting 12-15% annual returns over 5+ years. Large positions are 10-15% of NAV in a low-turnover portfolio focused on long-term free cash flow growth. |
| Nov 30 2023 | 2023 Q3 | - | Concentration, Europe, long-term, Quality, value | - | Zeno Equity Partners launches with a concentrated value strategy targeting 25 companies in Europe and Americas. The fund seeks businesses with Market Power, Reinvestment Opportunity, and Founder Mindset, expecting 12-15% annual returns over 5+ years. Large positions are 10-15% of NAV in a low-turnover portfolio focused on long-term free cash flow growth. |
| - | 2023 Q2 | APPF | Market Power, Property Management, Reinvestment, SaaS, Vertical Software | - | AppFolio dominates property management software with high switching costs and strong unit economics. The company serves 8 million of 79 million addressable units with 30% revenue CAGR since IPO. Patient capital from IGSB enables long-term reinvestment. Despite rich 9x revenue valuation, underlying earnings multiple of 30x for 20%+ growth appears attractive for long-term investors. |
| Jul 18 2023 | 2023 Q2 | APPF | Market Power, Property Management, Reinvestment, SaaS, Vertical Software | APPF | AppFolio dominates property management software with high switching costs and strong unit economics. The company serves 8 million of 79 million addressable units with 30% revenue CAGR since IPO. Patient capital from IGSB enables long-term reinvestment. Despite rich 9x revenue valuation, underlying earnings multiple of 30x for 20%+ growth appears attractive for long-term investors. |
| QUARTER | THEMES | TAGS |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Q1 |
AIFund remains voluntarily underexposed to AI theme despite recognizing its potential impact. Manager believes dispersion of outcomes is too wide and questions how profit pools will be distributed across the value chain. Views current AI valuations as excessive at 30-40x earnings or revenues. |
Artificial Intelligence Technology Valuations Infrastructure Semiconductors |
Latin AmericaFund significantly increased exposure to 28% after finding attractive valuations following currency depreciation and investor capitulation. Sees opportunities similar to Brazil's early 1990s transition from hyperinflation to economic liberalization, particularly in Argentina under new government reforms. |
Brazil Argentina Emerging Markets Currency Economic Reform | |
OilInvested in Vista Energy's Vaca Muerta shale assets with break-evens comparable to North American shale but at early development stage. Expects company can double production over five years at 20%+ marginal returns while returning half of market cap to shareholders. |
Shale Argentina Energy Production Returns | |
ValueStrategy focuses on finding situations where returns are underestimated and risks are overestimated, contrasting with AI trade where they see the opposite. Applies bottom-up analysis to identify quality businesses at cheap valuations for reasons irrelevant to long-term investors. |
Valuation Contrarian Bottom-up Quality Disconnect | |
| 2025 Q4 |
AIAI infrastructure plays dominated 2025 returns, with 65% of Russell 2000's return coming from AI infrastructure. The manager views this as a concentrated market levered to a singular theme - essentially a bet on how much CAPEX five companies will spend building data centers. Questions whether the AI trade will persist given its concentration. |
Infrastructure Data Centers CAPEX |
Small CapsSmall caps continued to underperform large caps in 2025. The Russell 2000's returns were dominated by AI infrastructure plays and speculative unprofitable companies, creating extreme bifurcation between unprofitable stocks and quality stocks. Small cap index exposure increasingly means exposure to both AI CAPEX and unprofitable companies. |
Russell 2000 Underperformance Quality | |
QualityQuality businesses today trade at historically cheap multiples despite extreme valuation disparities between winners and losers reaching historic extremes. The manager believes if earnings are the long-term driver of stock prices, the current market dynamics will ultimately reverse in favor of quality. |
Valuation Multiples Earnings | |
| 2025 Q3 |
QualityThe fund focuses on companies with exceptional execution and long-term risk assessment capabilities. They seek businesses with owner-operators who demonstrate Founder's Mindset, combining executional urgency with disciplined capital allocation. These quality companies have delivered mid-teens or higher long-term total shareholder returns through superior business models. |
Execution Owner-operators Returns Moats Compounding |
| 2025 Q2 |
SemiconductorsThe semiconductor industry has grown at ~8% annually for 40 years, driven by exponential innovation. The fund focuses on analog semiconductors, which are more stable than digital chips and have multi-decade product lifecycles. Analog chips condition real-world signals like temperature and pressure, requiring high precision for applications in medical equipment, automotive, and industrial systems. |
Analog Cyclical Manufacturing Automotive Industrial |
OnshoringTI is constructing multiple new fabs in Texas and Utah while ~70% of analog chips are manufactured in East Asia. In today's geopolitical world, having US-based chipmaking capacity is a large asset as companies like Apple, defense industry and carmakers aim to source more locally. TI is uniquely positioned to answer to this new need for supply chain security. |
Manufacturing Geopolitical Supply Chain Defense Domestic | |
Semiconductor CycleThe semiconductor industry is notoriously cyclical with long lead times for capacity expansion while demand changes can be sudden. TI initiated its largest capex cycle while the industry entered one of its largest cyclical downturns, which troughed below the previous cycle bottom. The company is expanding domestic capacity ahead of the upcoming semiconductor upcycle. |
Cyclical Capacity Investment Downturn Recovery | |
| 2025 Q1 |
E-commerceAmazon demonstrates exceptional customer obsession through consistent price reductions, free shipping innovations, and willingness to cannibalize profitable businesses for customer benefit. The company has reduced AWS prices 151 times since 2006 and introduced free shipping thresholds that cut margins but removed customer pain points. This customer-first approach creates sustainable competitive advantages and long-term value creation. |
Customer obsession Free shipping AWS pricing Digital transformation Market leadership |
| 2024 Q4 |
QualityZeno focuses on building a portfolio of incredible companies with Founder Mindset, Market Power and Reinvestment opportunity. They seek businesses that can continually generate high returns on capital over very long periods and through different economic cycles, managed by trustworthy and aligned people. |
Quality Returns Capital Cycles Management |
ResilienceThe fund emphasizes investing in businesses that will protect wealth when the world looks terrible and take advantage of tough times to position themselves even better for good times. They seek companies with resiliency to thrive when economic cycles turn against them. |
Resilience Protection Cycles Downturns Survival | |
| 2024 Q3 |
LuxuryLVMH represents the crown jewel of luxury conglomerates with powerful brand equity and distribution scale. The company has built significant market power through Louis Vuitton and Dior, which have consistently outgrown the industry and increased market share from 19% to 37% among mega-brands since 2016. Despite current cyclical weakness, luxury consumption has compounded at 6% CAGR over 30 years with strong secular tailwinds from globalization of wealth. |
Brand Power Distribution Pricing Power Market Share Desirability |
| 2024 Q2 |
AerospaceGE Aerospace represents the global leading provider of jet engines with approximately 70% market share of commercial engines. The business model consists of low margin engine sales followed by high margin aftermarket services that generate 3.5x the revenue of initial engine sales. The aftermarket dynamic creates one of the largest and most defensible profit pools in the aerospace ecosystem. |
Commercial Aviation Aftermarket Services Market Power Switching Costs Scale Benefits |
| 2024 Q2 |
AerospaceGE Aerospace represents the global leading provider of jet engines with approximately 70% market share of commercial engines. The business model consists of low margin engine sales followed by high margin aftermarket services that generate 3.5x the revenue of initial engine sales. The aftermarket dynamic creates one of the largest and most defensible profit pools in the aerospace ecosystem. |
Commercial Aviation Aftermarket Services Market Power Switching Costs Scale Benefits |
| 2024 Q1 |
QualityThe fund focuses on finding companies that have escaped capitalism's gravitational pull on returns and can earn significant excess profits for extended periods. They seek businesses managed by people with incentives for generational value creation who balance profit maximization with fair treatment of stakeholders. |
Moats Excess Returns Long-term Stakeholders Generational |
| 2023 Q4 |
QualityThe fund applies three rigorous investment criteria: market power, reinvestment opportunity, and founder mindset. Companies must demonstrate all three characteristics to qualify for investment. This quality-focused approach led to significant portfolio changes as existing holdings were tested against these standards. |
Market Power Reinvestment Founder Mindset Quality Criteria Investment Standards |
| 2023 Q4 |
QualityThe fund applies three rigorous investment criteria: market power, reinvestment opportunity, and founder mindset. Companies must demonstrate all three characteristics to qualify for investment. This quality-focused approach led to significant portfolio changes as existing holdings were tested against these standards. |
Market Power Reinvestment Founder Mindset Quality Criteria Investment Standards |
| 2023 Q2 |
Property ManagementAppFolio operates as a vertical market software provider serving the property management industry with an operating system that handles rent collection, maintenance requests, tenant screening, and accounting for property managers. The company serves approximately 20,000 property managers managing 8 million units out of a total addressable market of 79 million units in the US. The business benefits from high switching costs as it serves as a mission-critical operating system used daily by entire property management staffs. |
Property Management Vertical Software SaaS Real Estate Services Workflow Automation |
| 2023 Q2 |
Property ManagementAppFolio operates as a vertical market software provider serving the property management industry with an operating system that handles rent collection, maintenance requests, tenant screening, and accounting for property managers. The company serves approximately 20,000 property managers managing 8 million units out of a total addressable market of 79 million units in the US. The business benefits from high switching costs as it serves as a mission-critical operating system used daily by entire property management staffs. |
Property Management Vertical Software SaaS Real Estate Services Workflow Automation |
| Date | Pitch Type | Author | Ticker | Company | Industry | Sub Industry | Bull / Bear | Exchange | Keywords | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 23, 2026 | Fund Letters | Zeno | RENT3.SA | Localiza | Rental & Leasing Services | Specialized Consumer Services | Bull | Brasil Bolsa Balcão | Brazil, Car Rental, economies of scale, Emerging markets, Fleet Management, founder-led, market leader, Value, vertical integration | Login |
| May 23, 2026 | Fund Letters | Zeno | VIST | Vista Energy | Oil & Gas E&P | Oil & Gas Exploration & Production | Bull | New York Stock Exchange | Argentina, Emerging markets, energy, founder-led, Free Cash Flow, oil production, Shale Oil, Vaca Muerta, Value | Login |
| May 23, 2026 | Fund Letters | Zeno | PAX | Patria Investments | Asset Management | Asset Management & Custody Banks | Bull | NASDAQ | alternative investments, asset management, Brazil, Credit, founder-led, infrastructure, Latin America, private equity, Real Estate | Login |
| Jan 21, 2026 | Fund Letters | Cristiano Souza | DHR | Danaher Corporation | Health Care | Life Sciences Tools & Services | Bull | New York Stock Exchange | Capitalallocation, compounding, Governance, Ownership, Spinoffs | Login |
| Jul 17, 2025 | Fund Letters | Zeno | TXN | Texas Instruments Incorporated | Information Technology | Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment | Bull | NASDAQ | Analog Semiconductors, automotive, Catalog Products, Cyclical, Free Cash Flow, geopolitical, Industrial, manufacturing, US Domestic Production, vertical integration | Login |
| Jun 30, 2025 | Fund Letters | Cristiano Souza | TXN | Texas Instruments Incorporated | Information Technology | Semiconductors | Bull | NASDAQ | Analog Semiconductors, capital expenditure, Catalog Chips, Free Cash Flow Growth, Supply Chain Security, US Manufacturing, vertical integration | Login |
| Apr 22, 2025 | Fund Letters | Zeno | AMZN | Amazon.com Inc. | Consumer Discretionary | Internet & Direct Marketing Retail | Bull | NASDAQ | AWS, Cloud computing, Competitive Moats, Customer Obsession, e-commerce, Founders Mindset, High returns, innovation, Long-term Value, mega-cap tech | Login |
| Jul 16, 2024 | Fund Letters | Zeno | GE | GE Aerospace | Industrials | Aerospace & Defense | Bull | NYSE | Aerospace, aftermarket services, Commercial Aviation, Defense, Jet Engines, lean manufacturing, market share, Pricing power, secular growth, turnaround | Login |
| - | Fund Letters | Zeno | APPF | AppFolio | Software & Services | Application Software | Bull | NASDAQ | ARPU growth, high switching costs, Long-term Ownership, Market Power, property management, real estate technology, recurring revenue, SaaS, vertical software | Login |
| TICKER | COMMENTARY |
|---|---|
| AMZN | The only exception is Amazon, which we have owned for quite a few years now and represents 9% of our fund. |
| RENT3.SA | The largest of these is Localiza, a 7.3% position at quarter-end, the leading car rental business in Brazil with almost 700 thousand cars owned and rented for a total of 170 million days, spread across a continent, which need to be served, cleaned, and repaired at the lowest cost possible. The business model is totally different and significantly more attractive than the global rental operators like Avis or Hertz. Due to its scale, Localiza is able to generate significant buying power by purchasing its fleet directly from OEMs in Brazil. Furthermore, the company is vertically integrated with its own network of owned and operated dealerships, handling most of its 300 thousand car sales per year. Lastly, managing the utilisation and pricing of the fleet to optimise profit per vehicle across such a complex network and large geographic area comes with significant economies of scale and scope. All this combined has given Localiza a structural cost of ownership advantage which has widened over time, making the company incredibly difficult to compete with. As a result Localiza has over the last fifteen years delivered a median unlevered ROIC of 15% and median ROE of 22%. Between 2012 and 2025, earnings-per-share grew north of 10% per year, while returning on average 38% of earnings back to shareholders. We bought Localiza at less than nine-times earnings that we believe can grow double-digits at solid incremental returns. |
| VIST | Another company that has quickly become a top four position is Vista Energy. Vista owns tier one assets in the oil window of Argentina's rapidly developing but still largely untapped Vaca Muerta shale formation, with break-evens comparable to the most productive North American shale acreage, but at a stage of maturity similar to the Permian in the early 2010s. Even in a world where the situation in the Middle East normalizes and we return to sixty-or-seventy-dollar oil, we think Vista can double production over the next five years at more than 20% marginal returns on capital, while simultaneously returning at least half of its market cap back to shareholders. Like Localiza, Vista is run by a group of real owners. After unlocking the shale opportunity and turning around the production trajectory of Argentina's state oil company as CEO of a renationalised YPF, Miguel Galuccio and his team of co-founders decided to leave their steady, well-paid executive roles to raise $700 million to form Vista as a vehicle to acquire unconventional concessions on the continent. In a downside scenario, we feel our investor's capital is well protected not only by the founders we have entrusted it to, but by the healthy balance sheet, free-cash-flow breakeven of $40s per barrel, and the exceedingly low valuation at 15% recurring free-cash-flow yield. |
| PAX | Finally, at the end of last year, we began accumulating shares in Patria Investments, a position which represented 5.2% of the fund at quarter end. Patria is a founder-led, diversified alternatives asset manager focused on Latin America. The company has grown fee-earning assets from $8 billion at IPO in 2021 to almost $50 billion today through a combination of organic growth and M&A. In the process it has also evolved from primarily a private equity and infrastructure business into a range of verticals including real estate, credit, and Global Private Market Solutions (GPMS). The vehicle structure has evolved in parallel from predominantly drawdown funds to a mix that also includes permanent capital vehicles and separately managed accounts (SMAs). This is a very good business model with high switching costs and strong barriers to entry formed by years of relationship building with investors and significant economies of scale. We believe the market is failing to appreciate the scale of Patria's transformation and the quality of the underlying business. The real estate franchise is case in point. Patria is the #1 REIT manager in Brazil. This scale supports higher margins, and the size of the funds makes them centres of liquidity, positioning Patria for continued growth in a product that is highly attractive to Brazilian investors. Patria is also well placed in infrastructure thanks to its expertise and relationships, alongside strong demand for new infrastructure projects. The credit business is similarly attractive with very different characteristics from the US private credit market in terms of economics and maturity. While the market focuses on issues in certain private equity vintages, we see a company that can pay out a large portion of its profits (the current dividend yield is around 6%) while growing earnings-per-share at a double-digit rate for many years to come. |
| Ticker | Put/Call | Amount Bought | Shares Bought | % Change | Weight % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Recent Buys Data | |||||
| Ticker | Put/Call | Amount Sold | Shares Sold | % Change | Weight % | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Recent Sells Data | ||||||
| Industry | Prev Quarter % | Current Quarter % | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| No industry data available | |||
