Investment Pitches

Pitch Summary:
Rogers has valuable IP and serves growth markets including EVs and aerospace. Following an aborted DuPont buyout, Rogers’ stock weakened sharply. Activist influence and new management have spurred operational restructuring and cost savings initiatives.

BSD Analysis:
Rogers is the materials science sleeper that keeps getting lumped in with low-growth industrials even though it has one of the purest leverage points to EVs, advanced electronics, and high-frequency 5G infrastructure. The company’s engineered laminates and thermal materials are exactly what high-power semis and EV platforms need as power density spikes, and Rogers is one of the few suppliers that can meet these specs at scale. Margins took a beating during the supply-chain mess and China downturn, but the underlying tech moat didn’t disappear — customers still need Rogers’ materials to prevent systems from literally melting down. The balance sheet is solid enough to support a recovery, and the cost actions taken over the last two years give the company real operating leverage once volumes normalize. The failed DuPont deal poisoned sentiment, but that overhang is finally fading, leaving Rogers looking cheap relative to its strategic relevance. If EV and power-electronics demand rebound even modestly, Rogers’ earnings torque could surprise investors who still think of it as a sleepy laminates shop.

Pitch Summary:
Boise Cascade was added as a new position. Despite near-term headwinds in U.S. housing, the company’s net cash balance sheet and dual distribution/manufacturing model provide resilience. Industry consolidation offers both downside protection and potential M&A optionality.

BSD Analysis:
Boise Cascade is a compelling cyclical recovery play in the building materials sector, currently trading at a discounted valuation that implies a significant margin of safety. Despite the obvious drag of a soft housing backdrop and higher rates, the company's financial strength is non-negotiable, underpinned by a net cash balance sheet and virtually no leverage. This pristine financial footing makes it a "prime recovery play," poised to explode higher when the housing cycle inevitably turns. The combination of its dual distribution and manufacturing model provides inherent resilience, while ongoing industry consolidation adds a layer of valuable M&A optionality for upside asymmetry. Essentially, the current price is a cheap entry into a structurally sound business with a powerful, leveraged exposure to a US housing rebound.

Pitch Summary:
Third Avenue reduced its position in Deutsche Bank after a multi-year recovery. Since investing in 2018 at distressed valuations, the company under CEO Christian Sewing executed a major turnaround—cutting costs, reducing leverage, and regaining market share. Improved risk culture and higher European interest rates have driven strong earnings and double-digit ROE.

BSD Analysis:
Deutsche Bank is a prime example of a Phoenix rising from the ashes, having achieved a profound multi-year transformation since the fund invested in 2018 at distressed valuations. CEO Christian Sewing executed a ruthless turnaround, aggressively cutting costs, reducing leverage, and establishing a robust risk culture, leading to the bank regaining market share. This operational cleanup, coupled with the tailwind of higher European interest rates, has driven a remarkable recovery to double-digit ROE. While the valuation near tangible book value and the upside potential has moderated post-recovery, the holding remains justified by the durability of its improved earnings and consistent capital return. Investors who bought low were rewarded as the market transitioned from pricing a distressed asset to pricing a credible European financial powerhouse.

Pitch Summary:
Third Avenue exited its long-term holding in Old Republic, which had appreciated significantly as key divisions improved profitability. The company’s mortgage insurance runoff released capital to shareholders, trucking insurance improved, and the board became more shareholder-friendly, culminating in a successful defense against activist pressure.

BSD Analysis:
Old Republic is the epitome of a turnaround story fully executed, with the fund making a timely exit after a significant appreciation. The core value was unlocked as key divisions, including the difficult trucking insurance business, improved profitability and released capital from the mortgage insurance runoff. Management successfully navigated and defended against activist pressure, shifting the board and company focus toward a more shareholder-friendly capital return policy. The decision to sell aligns with the disciplined philosophy of "selling sunshine"—exiting when the turnaround is complete and the valuation has normalized to fair value, thus rotating capital to where the discount is deeper. This demonstrates a superior ability to identify and successfully monetize deeply discounted special situations.

Pitch Summary:
Harbour Energy could benefit from an improving UK regulatory tone. The government is reviewing punitive energy taxation policies that previously deterred investment in the North Sea. Harbour’s global diversification reduces reliance on UK operations, but favorable tax reform could unlock incremental value.

BSD Analysis:
Harbour Energy remains a contrarian value opportunity, with the market overly focused on UK windfall taxes and underappreciating the company’s strategic shift toward diversification and cost efficiency. The firm’s North Sea asset base throws off substantial cash flow even in a muted commodity tape, and recent moves to expand internationally reduce regulatory concentration risk. Management has executed aggressively on deleveraging, shrinking net debt and improving financial resilience while maintaining disciplined capital returns. The company’s low-cost barrels and operational reliability create a margin buffer that most European E&Ps can’t replicate. Despite these strengths, the stock trades at distressed-level multiples due to political noise rather than asset quality. As the international pivot gains traction and fiscal headwinds ease, Harbour has meaningful rerating potential supported by robust free-cash-flow yields.

Pitch Summary:
Lundin Mining benefited from rising copper and gold prices and operational improvements across its diversified asset base. Its copper mine in Brazil, initially seen as a gold mine with copper byproducts, has turned more profitable due to gold price strength, which supplements earnings from core copper output. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}

BSD Analysis:
Lundin sits at the intersection of strong asset quality and improving operational execution, with a multi-jurisdiction portfolio that offers leverage to copper, zinc, and nickel just as global inventories tighten. The ramp at Cobre Panama remains the headline risk, but outside of that, the company has delivered steady production improvements and disciplined cost control. Recent acquisitions have expanded its copper exposure, positioning Lundin to benefit disproportionately from electrification demand and structural underinvestment in new supply. Balance sheet strength provides optionality for further strategic moves, while ongoing mine optimization should lift margins over the next several years. The market continues to discount Lundin relative to its net-asset value due to perceived execution variance, but fundamentals are quietly turning a corner. With improving visibility and growing exposure to critical minerals, Lundin screens as an undervalued operator with torque to higher copper prices.

Pitch Summary:
Capstone Copper continues to expand its flagship Chilean mine, Mantoverde, which achieved full production in mid-2025. The company plans to further increase output and optimize operations while seeking a partner for its large greenfield project, Santo Domingo. Tight global copper supplies, disruptions in key producing countries, and a weak U.S. dollar have driven copper prices higher, benefiting Capstone. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}

BSD Analysis:
Capstone is emerging as one of the more operationally levered ways to play tightening copper markets, with a pipeline of high-quality assets positioned for volume growth just as supply constraints intensify globally. Mantoverde’s ramp is the near-term catalyst, transforming Capstone’s cost profile and boosting copper output meaningfully as full commercial production stabilizes. The company has cleaned up its balance sheet and sharpened capital discipline, giving it the flexibility to reinvest in high-return expansions without stretching liquidity. With copper increasingly treated as a critical mineral for electrification and AI-era infrastructure, Capstone’s growth rate screens materially above that of most mid-cap peers. Current valuation fails to reflect the step-change in free-cash-flow potential as capex rolls off. As execution improves and volumes strengthen, the market should start pricing Capstone as a growth copper producer rather than a cyclical swing name.

Pitch Summary:
Tower Semiconductor was the top contributor to performance for the quarter. The company’s expansion into Silicon Photonics and Silicon Germanium has positioned it to capitalize on demand from AI data centers and next-generation communication networks. The foundry operates facilities in the U.S., Israel, Japan, and Italy, providing global diversification and strategic relevance.

BSD Analysis:
Tower is hitting its stride as a specialty foundry levered to AI-era demand for photonics, analog, and high-performance connectivity silicon—areas where mainstream fabs have limited focus and long lead times. Expansion into silicon photonics and SiGe has opened the door to accelerating design wins tied to datacenter networking and next-gen communications infrastructure. Its diversified global footprint—U.S., Israel, Japan, Italy—gives Tower strategic relevance amid supply-chain reshoring and national semiconductor priorities. Capacity utilization is rising, profitability is improving, and free-cash-flow visibility is stronger than the market credits. Trading at a reasonable multiple despite 20%+ revenue growth tailwinds, Tower remains an underappreciated beneficiary of the semiconductor stack’s shift toward high-value analog and photonic solutions. As demand broadens, the company’s mix and margin profile should move meaningfully higher.

Pitch Summary:
Aquila European Renewables (AERI) was the largest detractor (-37 bps) but management announced they were “approaching final stages” of a partial portfolio sale, which sparked a share price rally in October. The fund used weakness in September to add at €0.41.

BSD Analysis:
Aquila European Renewables is a distressed play in the listed renewables sector, offering asymmetric upside driven by an acute NAV discount of over 40%. The fund proactively added to its position on weakness, viewing the sell-off as an irrational market reaction that ignored an imminent catalyst. That catalyst is the imminent execution of partial portfolio sales, an existential move for the fund that is expected to crystallize value and begin narrowing the NAV gap. Despite facing headwinds from lower short-term power prices and the complex logistics of a managed wind-down, the core assets still offer long-term yield potential and critical exposure to Europe's massive decarbonization investment cycle. This is a high-conviction contrarian bet that the disposal process will ultimately validate the NAV and reward investors who bought during the period of maximum uncertainty.

Pitch Summary:
Cedar Creek significantly increased its PHI Group position, now 8% of the fund. The company emerged from bankruptcy in 2019 and has since strengthened its balance sheet and margins. PHI withdrew its S-1 filing in May 2025, focusing on organic growth and conservative capital management. The fund estimates PHI’s intrinsic value to be two to three times current trading levels.

BSD Analysis:
PHI is a classic post-restructuring recovery story that the market still hasn’t caught up to. After emerging from bankruptcy with a cleaner balance sheet and tighter operational discipline, the company is finally showing the kind of margin and cash-flow stability that investors assumed would take years to materialize. Management’s decision to pull the S-1 and focus on organic execution signals a welcome shift toward building intrinsic value rather than chasing headline catalysts. Despite meaningful progress in deleveraging and operational efficiency, the stock continues to trade as if the legacy problems still apply—creating an asymmetric setup for patient investors. With exposure to both energy and medical transport, PHI benefits from steady end-market demand and reduced cyclicality relative to peers. If management continues to allocate capital conservatively and expand margins, the gap between trading value and intrinsic value has room to compress meaningfully.

Pitch Summary:
ENDI’s share price rose from $15.65 to $17.55 during Q3 as AUM grew over 22% to $4.2 billion. Adjusted operating margins of 46–48% reflect strong underlying performance. The company sold a 25% interest in CrossingBridge for $25.9 million, increasing liquidity for acquisitions. Management forecasts continued AUM growth amid demand for short-term bond strategies.

BSD Analysis:
ENDI looks like the kind of under-the-radar asset manager the market only wakes up to after the stock has already doubled. AUM is compounding at a pace most larger firms would envy, and with operating margins hovering in the mid-40s, every incremental dollar of inflow drops straight to the bottom line. The recent sale of a 25% stake in CrossingBridge wasn’t just housekeeping — it unlocked liquidity and proved management knows how to surface value without diluting the core franchise. Despite this, the stock still trades at under 10× normalized earnings, as if ENDI were a no-growth bond shop instead of a high-margin aggregator riding demand for short-duration credit solutions. The balance sheet is clean, capital allocation is disciplined, and the business model is effectively built for cash generation in any rate environment. If ENDI’s AUM momentum continues, the market’s “small-cap discount” will look increasingly absurd. This is the kind of setup where multiple expansion and earnings growth can fire at the same time — and that’s when small caps move fast.

Pitch Summary:
The fund manager, who also serves as Solitron’s CEO, reported significant order growth with Q3 bookings exceeding $4 million and backlog reaching record levels. Defense customers, including RTX and L3Harris, increased orders for AMRAAM and HIMARS components. The company’s strong bookings, low leverage, and improved visibility make it a cornerstone holding.

BSD Analysis:
Solitron Devices (SODI) is a compelling small-cap defense play driven by explosive order momentum and strong revenue visibility. The company, led by a manager who also serves as its CEO, reported significant Q3 bookings that exceeded $4 million and resulted in a record-level backlog. This demand is heavily concentrated in the defense sector, with major customers like RTX and L3Harris increasing orders for components used in systems like AMRAAM missiles and HIMARS rockets. Solitron's specialized focus on high-reliability power semiconductors for government and aerospace applications gives it a significant competitive moat in a niche market with high barriers to entry. As the robust backlog converts to sales, margins are expected to expand, amplifying the upside potential for the company. Given the company's low leverage and strong alignment between the insider-owner CEO and shareholders, Solitron represents a cornerstone holding leveraged to secular defense spending.

Pitch Summary:
The Fund added a new position in a secured bond from Sabre Global (11.125% coupon, maturing 7/15/30, rated B3/B-). Sabre is a global software and technology provider to the travel industry. Its transaction-based model ties revenues to a travel supplier’s volumes, connecting airlines, agents, and intermediaries. Though the travel industry is in a recession, Sabre released a new platform gaining market share against competitors. It recently sold a hospitality division to pay down debt, and the core business generates positive free cash flow. Sabre is executing well, controlling what it can control, and should be well positioned when cyclical headwinds abate.

BSD Analysis:
The core investment thesis for Sabre Corporation centers on its high-yielding, secured debt, which offers a robust carry amid a challenging cyclical backdrop for the equity. Despite near-term macroeconomic uncertainty and a weak credit outlook from rating agencies, the company is actively executing a deleveraging strategy. Sabre successfully utilized proceeds from the sale of its Hospitality Solutions business for $1.1 billion to repay over $1 billion of debt and refinance its maturity wall through 2030. The $1.325 billion 11.125% secured notes due 2030 provide an attractive yield premium versus peers, backed by strong collateral and an improving debt maturity profile. Long-term, the company's modernized, cloud-native SabreMosaic platform and partnerships, such as with Google, are expected to drive market share gains and operational efficiencies, positioning it for resilient free cash flow generation as travel normalizes. While credit metrics remain thin and cash interest costs are high, the bond's security and the company's cost discipline enhance its recovery value and asymmetric upside.

Pitch Summary:
Ambac completed the sale of its legacy financial guarantee business to Oaktree and used proceeds to acquire ArmadaCare, accelerating its shift to a capital-light insurance distribution model. The company’s clean balance sheet and tax assets enhance growth

BSD Analysis:
Ambac’s transition from a legacy financial guarantor to a capital-light MGA and insurance distribution platform is fundamentally reshaping its earnings profile and risk exposure. The monetization of its legacy book and the sale of the financial guarantee business to Oaktree have materially strengthened the balance sheet and unlocked capital that can now be deployed into scalable, fee-driven operations. ArmadaCare’s integration provides a meaningful growth engine, with high-margin specialty health benefits that carry low underwriting volatility. Ambac’s substantial NOLs create a powerful tax shield, enhancing multi-year free cash flow and improving return on equity as the MGA platform scales. The firm’s clean balance sheet allows for bolt-on M&A and organic expansion without introducing undue leverage. While still an underfollowed small-cap, the company’s pivot toward recurring fee income and structurally lower risk sets up a compelling re-rating opportunity as execution continues. Overall, Ambac stands out as an asymmetric transformation story with improving profitability, expanding distribution capabilities, and significant tax-asset optionality.

Pitch Summary:
The fund’s position in Broadcom contributed as the company leveraged its leadership in custom data-center chips, ASICs, and XPUs. New partnerships with Alphabet, Meta, ByteDance, and OpenAI strengthened its AI semiconductor pipeline. Strong data-center chip demand continued to drive growth in the third quarter.

BSD Analysis:
Broadcom remains one of the most structurally advantaged semiconductor companies, with deep exposure to custom AI accelerators, ASICs, and networking silicon that hyperscalers increasingly rely on for proprietary model training. Its long-term supply agreements with Alphabet, Meta, ByteDance, and OpenAI provide exceptional revenue visibility and reinforce Broadcom’s role as the backbone of next-gen data-center infrastructure. The VMware integration is expanding software revenue to nearly half of total sales, creating a higher-margin, recurring cash flow engine that smooths cyclicality in the semiconductor business. Broadcom’s pricing power and disciplined portfolio management support consistently high free cash flow generation, enabling aggressive buybacks and dividend growth. While valuation sits above historical averages, it remains justified given double-digit earnings growth, expanding software margins, and premium positioning within the AI compute stack. The company’s balance sheet and M&A track record further strengthen its ability to compound value through both organic and inorganic drivers. Overall, Broadcom stands out as a long-duration AI platform with multiple high-visibility tailwinds across cloud, networking, and enterprise software.

Pitch Summary:
The fund’s overweight position in Western Digital added value. The company benefits as a downstream AI beneficiary amid rising memory pricing. Western Digital raised disk drive prices for the first time in years, indicating strong demand. Its improved margins and strategic execution strengthen its competitive position.

BSD Analysis:
Western Digital is entering a strong recovery phase as memory prices normalize and AI-related storage demand accelerates across hyperscale and enterprise customers. The company’s disciplined supply strategy and rationalized capex have supported meaningful margin improvement, while recent HDD price increases—the first in years—signal tightening industry fundamentals. Western Digital’s ongoing separation of its flash and HDD businesses should unlock clearer segment visibility and potentially drive a valuation re-rating as investors assign proper multiples to each franchise. The firm is also benefiting from structural tailwinds in high-capacity drives used for AI training data and cloud-scale storage, where demand continues to outstrip supply. Balance sheet flexibility has improved, with better cash generation enabling debt reduction and renewed investment in next-generation technologies. Although historically cyclical, Western Digital’s exposure to AI infrastructure and cloud storage creates a more durable earnings profile than in prior cycles. With profitability inflecting and industry conditions strengthening, the stock offers meaningful upside as the storage cycle transitions into a multi-year expansion.

Pitch Summary:
Lam Research significantly contributed to performance as AI demand for advanced chips fueled record-high profits and revenues. The fund maintained an overweight position as Lam benefits from deposition and etch solutions essential for next-generation nodes. The rebounding NAND flash market further boosted results, with Lam’s molybdenum and carbon gap-fill technologies gaining traction.

BSD Analysis:
Lam Research remains one of the most strategically levered equipment makers to the AI semiconductor cycle, with its deposition and etch tools essential for next-generation logic and memory nodes. The company is benefiting from a cyclical rebound in NAND, while its advanced molybdenum and carbon gap-fill technologies are seeing accelerating uptake among leading foundries. Strong order momentum and a healthy backlog provide multi-quarter earnings visibility, complemented by Lam’s historically disciplined cost structure and high operating leverage. With ROIC consistently among the highest in the semi-cap space, Lam is well positioned to compound earnings as wafer starts expand and the industry ramps high-bandwidth memory and AI accelerators. The balance sheet remains robust, enabling sustained buybacks even through downturns. Valuation sits near mid-cycle multiples, which appears conservative given the structural tailwinds in AI, advanced packaging, and 3D NAND scaling. As the industry transitions into a multi-year AI infrastructure buildout, Lam’s technology leadership and customer concentration with top global chipmakers make it one of the most compelling long-duration compounders in semiconductor equipment.

Pitch Summary:
The fund continued to hold an off-benchmark position in Bloom Energy. The company manufactures solid-oxide fuel cells that produce electricity, offering an alternative energy source amid growing AI data center demand. Bloom's systems can integrate directly with natural gas lines on data center campuses, enabling rapid deployment. The company received favorable tax credits from the Trump administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” supporting hydrogen fuel cell production and improving cost competitiveness versus traditional energy sources. Bloom also announced a partnership with Oracle to supply its OCI data-center business with rapid deployment solutions.

BSD Analysis:
Bloom Energy is increasingly well positioned at the intersection of clean power and surging AI-driven electricity demand, with its solid-oxide fuel cell technology offering rapid-deployment solutions that traditional grid infrastructure cannot match. The company’s partnership momentum—most notably with Oracle for data-center deployments—validates its value proposition in high-load, reliability-sensitive environments. Hydrogen production incentives and supportive tax credits materially improve the economics of Bloom’s platform, accelerating its path toward cost parity with conventional generation. Margin expansion should continue as manufacturing scale increases and next-generation systems reduce installation and servicing costs. While profitability has historically been uneven, backlog growth and improving unit economics suggest a clearer line of sight to stronger free cash flow. Bloom’s balance sheet flexibility and growing ecosystem of energy, industrial, and cloud customers provide additional optionality as adoption broadens. Overall, Bloom offers asymmetric upside as a differentiated, policy-supported clean-energy solution aligned with multi-year AI infrastructure requirements.

Pitch Summary:
Asseco Poland is poised for growth due to strategic investments by TSS, a subsidiary of Topicus, which is expected to enhance management practices and operational discipline. The involvement of TSS is anticipated to drive improvements in governance, capital allocation, and shareholder accountability, potentially leading to higher valuations.

BSD Analysis:
Asseco Poland has seen a significant increase in stock price, up 150% over the last year, indicating strong market confidence. The recent shareholder agreement with TSS, which now owns 24.84% of Asseco, is expected to bring a disciplined approach to capital allocation and management accountability. TSS's influence is likely to focus on margin expansion, growth in recurring revenue, and disciplined capital allocation, aligning with the successful strategies of Constellation Software. Despite potential AI disruption risks, Asseco's lower valuation and strategic direction towards high-margin recurring revenue streams position it well for future growth. The company's current valuation at 6.8x 2025's estimated non-IFRS EBITDA is considered attractive, with potential for re-rating if it transitions to a 'disciplined per-share value creator'.

Pitch Summary:
Vitalhub Corp. offers explosive growth potential through its acquisition-driven strategy in the fragmented healthcare software market. With an Investment Readiness Score of 68.3, the company boasts phenomenal revenue growth and outstanding gross margins. However, its low ROIC and significant share dilution present risks, making it suitable for aggressive growth investors.

BSD Analysis:
Since its IPO in July 2015, Vitalhub's stock has appreciated 690%, delivering a total return of 28% CAGR. The company's aggressive M&A strategy is reflected in a high intangibles to assets ratio of 62.0% and substantial share dilution of 943% over 10 years. Despite these challenges, Vitalhub maintains a pristine balance sheet with a net debt to EBITDA ratio of -4.7, providing flexibility for further growth. Its superior gross margin of 80.9% and extraordinary cash conversion rate of 504% highlight its operational efficiency. However, the modest ROIC of 6.0% and lower net profit margin of 4.4% indicate ongoing integration challenges. Insider ownership of 15.0% suggests alignment with long-term value creation, but the high-risk profile tempers its appeal.