Investment Pitches

Pitch Summary:
The Hershey Company is currently facing significant challenges, including rising cocoa prices, potential long-term declines in demand for sugary products, and supply chain disruptions. Despite these headwinds, the company's strong brand and pricing power may help mitigate some of these pressures. However, earnings are expected to contract significantly in 2025, and the company's valuation remains high relative to historical averages. Given these factors, a Hold rating is appropriate as the company navigates these challenges.

BSD Analysis:
Hershey's current valuation appears stretched, with forward P/E ratios remaining elevated despite a projected 36% contraction in EPS for 2025. This suggests that the market may not have fully priced in the expected earnings decline. The company's ability to maintain stable revenues through price hikes indicates strong brand loyalty, yet the stagnation in volume growth, particularly in North America, raises concerns about long-term demand. The diversification into salty snacks, which has shown a 4% growth, could offset some risks associated with declining sugary snack consumption. However, the unprecedented rise in cocoa prices poses a significant threat to margins, and the effectiveness of Hershey's hedging strategies will be crucial in managing this risk. While the company's defensive nature and dividend yield offer some appeal, the ongoing challenges warrant a cautious stance until clearer signs of resolution emerge.

Pitch Summary:
Alibaba Group is positioned for substantial growth driven by its strategic focus on AI and cloud computing. Despite recent earnings disappointments, the company's AI-related revenues have maintained triple-digit growth, and its cloud business is expected to benefit from China's tech renaissance. The stock is currently undervalued, trading at a forward P/E ratio of 12.7x, which is below its historical averages. With a target price of $136.35, there is significant upside potential as the market recognizes Alibaba's role in the industrial AI sector.

BSD Analysis:
Alibaba's investment in AI and cloud infrastructure, totaling approximately $53 billion over the next three years, is expected to yield significant economic benefits due to lower costs in China compared to Western peers. The company's cloud-native infrastructure and AI models, such as Qwen, are gaining traction across various industries, enhancing its competitive edge. Despite geopolitical risks, including U.S.-China trade tensions and potential delisting concerns, Alibaba's robust customer base and cross-selling opportunities provide a strong foundation for future growth. The stock's current valuation, combined with expected operating leverage improvements from FY2027 onwards, suggests a compelling investment opportunity. Analysts' recent earnings downgrades may underestimate Alibaba's potential, particularly in AI monetization, which could drive a positive shift in market sentiment.

Pitch Summary:
Verizon is currently undervalued with a fair value estimate of $48.86, representing an 18% upside from the current price of $41.26. The company offers a strong dividend yield of approximately 6.5%, which is attractive for income-focused investors. Despite a competitive market, Verizon maintains a narrow economic moat due to its efficient scale and cost advantages. The company's strategic initiatives, such as the acquisition of Frontier and the development of AI Connect, are expected to drive future growth.

BSD Analysis:
Verizon's financial outlook remains stable with an expected EPS growth of 2-3% and ongoing debt reduction efforts. The telecommunications market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 3.5% over the next five years, providing a supportive backdrop for Verizon's operations. The company's dividend growth is anticipated to be modest at around 1.75%, aligning with its payout ratio of approximately 58%. Verizon's valuation metrics, such as EV/EBITDA and Price/Book, indicate a discount compared to its historical averages, reinforcing the undervaluation thesis. The Diagonal Put options strategy employed has demonstrated significant returns, highlighting the potential for active management to enhance investment outcomes. However, investors should remain cautious of interest rate risks and competitive pressures in the wireless segment.

Pitch Summary:
Meta Platforms is making significant strides in artificial intelligence, positioning itself as a formidable player in the AI space. The company plans to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in AI infrastructure and talent, aiming to develop advanced AI technologies and models. This strategic shift is expected to drive substantial growth, particularly in enterprise-focused AI applications, potentially leading to increased revenue streams and a stronger competitive edge.

BSD Analysis:
Meta's aggressive investment in AI is a strategic move to diversify its revenue streams beyond traditional social media advertising. By developing advanced AI models and infrastructure, such as the Prometheus and Hyperion superclusters, Meta aims to compete with leading AI developers like OpenAI. The company's focus on enterprise applications, including AI-powered advertising and voice intelligence through the acquisition of PlayAI, could significantly enhance its business offerings. However, these investments may pressure margins and free cash flow in the short term. Meta's valuation, trading at a premium compared to its peers, reflects market optimism about its growth prospects. The target price of $775 suggests confidence in Meta's ability to capitalize on its AI initiatives, despite the inherent risks of such large-scale investments.

Pitch Summary:
The author argues that Ameresco is a direct beneficiary of structural grid bottlenecks, offering distributed energy solutions that can be deployed faster than traditional utility-scale generation. Its behind-the-meter generation, BESS, microgrids, and efficiency solutions directly address the constraints highlighted in the DOE report. Ameresco’s design-build-own-operate model enhances reliability and provides long-term contracted revenue. The company’s ability to deploy assets in 12–18 months aligns with fast-growing data-center loads. Overall, the pitch frames Ameresco as a strategically positioned provider whose offerings relieve grid stress and support critical infrastructure growth.

BSD Analysis:
Ameresco occupies a strong strategic niche within distributed generation and resiliency services, benefitting from grid congestion, electrification, and data-center expansion. Rapid deployment of modular assets is a differentiator relative to slow-moving transmission and utility-scale generation. Its asset-ownership model creates recurring revenue but also increases capital intensity and exposure to interest-rate shifts. BESS and microgrid capabilities provide competitive positioning in reliability-focused markets. However, execution risk, policy uncertainty, and competitive pressure from EPC firms and utilities remain key considerations. Long-term value creation depends on Ameresco’s ability to scale profitably while maintaining strong returns on capital.

Actual Post Content:
The startling DoE report released week as also a long thesis for $AMRC Ameresco is indeed a direct play on easing power‐grid constraints through its suite of distributed energy and resiliency solutions. Unlike large utilities that add central generation, Ameresco focuses on behind-the-meter and grid-edge projects that relieve local load and improve overall grid stability—exactly the kind of “modern methods” the DOE report says are needed. Key offerings include: On-site generation (natural gas CHP, biogas engines, fuel cells) • Delivers reliable, dispatchable power right at the customer’s facility—data centers, hospitals, campuses—bypassing transmission bottlenecks and shaving peak grid demand. Battery energy storage systems (BESS) • Smooths out renewables’ intermittency, provides fast-response frequency regulation, and can island critical loads during outages, directly addressing the DOE’s concern about intermittent renewables. Microgrids and resiliency platforms • Integrates generation, storage, and controls to operate autonomously if the grid goes down—or to operate in parallel to reduce peak demand on the bulk system. Energy efficiency & demand management • Implements building retrofits, smart controls, and demand-response programs to lower overall consumption and flatten load curves, reducing the need for new generation capacity. Renewables + DER integration • Engineers and builds solar, wind, and hybrid projects co-located with storage or gas turbines, creating localized “virtual power plants” that can be dispatched to relieve stressed grid segments.Because Ameresco’s model is to design, build, own, and operate these assets—often under long-term, performance-based contracts—they not only deploy capacity quickly (within 12–18 months) but also guarantee uptime and savings. That rapid deployment cycle matches the DOE’s point that “data centers can be built in 18 months, but it takes more than three times as long to add new generation required to service those data centers to the grid.” By placing generation and storage right where it’s needed, Ameresco effectively bridges that gap and eases local power constraints.

URL: https://x.com/pennycheck/status/1945187989191077960

Pitch Summary:
The author highlights Inforich as Japan’s dominant portable phone-charging network, trading at only ~10.5× FY25 guidance despite expected 50% revenue and EPS growth. Years of kiosk expansion have led to margin improvement and FCF positivity, supported by a net-cash balance sheet. Management’s long-term target of ¥15B EBITDA by 2030 implies 5× growth from 2024, though investors appear skeptical. A compensation plan tied to achieving a ¥100B valuation underscores management ambition. While risks remain, the author views the valuation as extremely attractive if execution continues.

BSD Analysis:
Inforich benefits from a physical network-effect model with location-driven defensibility, but long-term demand depends on consumer charging behavior and technology trends. The company’s aggressive growth targets imply significant operational scaling and sustained utilization. Management’s incentive structure could drive value or encourage overly optimistic expansion. Competitive and pricing pressures remain plausible as portable charging becomes commoditized. The net-cash balance sheet provides flexibility, but returns on new capital must remain high to justify valuation upside. Overall, the thesis is a high-growth, execution-sensitive opportunity built on footprint dominance.

Actual Post Content:
Inforich ($9338.T) is an interesting stock I’ve never seen discussed on here. Leading provider of mobile phone charging services in Japan, with 10x scale of nearest competitor. Shares are down 40% YTD and now trade at around 10.5x FY25 guidance while the company is in hyper growth mode. expected to post around 50% revenue and EPS growth in FY25. After years of building out their portable battery rental kiosks in Japanese convenience stores, train stations etc, margins have improved and the company hit FCF positive in 2023. Net-cash balance sheet. Clearly the market is very skeptical of Inforich’s aggressive growth targets, aiming for Y15bn of EBITDA by 2030, roughly 5x the 2024 level. Management is highly incentivized, with a performance-based comp plan tied to reaching Y100bn market cap (over 3x). Lots of risks with this one, but it is stupid cheap if company is able to keep executing on its ambitious growth plan.

URL: https://x.com/RocksOver/status/1945305229916037461

Pitch Summary:
Borr Drilling is our mid-cap, Norwegian listed owner of shallow water drilling rigs and is one of three special situations investments for Highwood. I reviewed the thesis on this investment and shared the outcome from that in my last letter to you. Since then, the shares are down a further 50% to $1.80 each. This is the result of a weakening market for day rates on shallow water jack up rigs. I continue to believe this will reverse, but the timing of a reversal is difficult to anticipate. In the meantime, management and the board (who I rate highly and are well aligned with us) are doing the right things to maintain balance sheet flexibility. Through the equity market, we own these assets at a now larger discount to their value and any realistic assessment of the through cycle cash flow they are likely to generate. Value is in plain sight, but it is up to our collective patience and behavioural discipline to capture the substantial upside on offer.

BSD Analysis:
Borr Drilling operates one of the youngest and most modern fleets of jack-up rigs in the offshore shallow-water drilling market, giving it a structural advantage in a niche where supply remains constrained and high-spec rigs are limited. The company’s 2024 financial results showed a strong operational rebound, with over $1 billion in revenue and more than $500 million in adjusted EBITDA, reflecting improving utilization and higher day rates. Despite this progress, the stock trades at a deep discount to both fleet value and its through-cycle cash-flow potential, largely due to uncertainty around the timing of a broader recovery in shallow-water drilling markets. Management has taken shareholder-friendly steps to simplify the corporate structure, including delisting from Oslo and consolidating on the NYSE to improve liquidity and visibility. Borr’s young fleet helps reduce maintenance capital needs relative to peers and positions it well for margin expansion when drilling demand strengthens. The company’s global contract footprint across the U.S., Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Asia adds diversification and optionality as oil demand normalizes. However, results remain highly sensitive to oil prices, offshore investment cycles, and global macroeconomic volatility. If rig reactivations continue and day rates firm, Borr could demonstrate significant operating leverage and unlock meaningful value. The current valuation provides asymmetric upside potential for long-term investors willing to tolerate sector cyclicality. Overall, Borr Drilling remains a high-risk, high-reward special situation with substantial upside should the offshore cycle turn favorably.

Pitch Summary:
HelloFresh is our Frankfurt listed global market leader in meal kits and ready to eat meals delivered to your door. The basic thesis on this investment was included in my last letter to you. The shares were volatile over the past 6 months, trading as high as €13.50 and as low as €7.28 as the equity market tries to digest the pivot in management’s strategy from market share at all costs to a focus on profitability and cash generation. We are still too early to draw any strong conclusions on the success of this strategy as it takes time to cut overheads, streamline the marketing function and negotiate better terms with key vendors. Nonetheless, my read of the incremental data points is positive. The company is reducing discounts; gross margins are improving as is cash generation. Management target c.€250mn of free cashflow by 2026 which if capitalised at 10x is more than the entire enterprise value for the shares today. On this basis, I continue to believe in the valuation support offered by the shares.

BSD Analysis:
HelloFresh AG remains one of the largest and most vertically integrated players in the global meal-kit and ready-to-eat food delivery market, benefiting from strong brand recognition and a highly optimized supply chain. While the industry has matured from its early hyper-growth phase, HelloFresh maintains a scale advantage that supports superior unit economics relative to smaller competitors. Management’s strategic pivot from maximizing market share to prioritizing profitability marks an important inflection point for the business. Recent data points suggest this shift is gaining traction, with improving gross margins, lower discount intensity, and early signs of cost discipline across marketing and operations. The company continues to target meaningful free cash flow generation by 2026, supported by operational efficiencies and a more rational promotional environment. Despite this progress, the shares remain volatile as investors recalibrate expectations following a multi-year period of declining growth and inconsistent margins. The company’s valuation embeds skepticism about the sustainability of its margin expansion, creating a potentially attractive entry point if execution continues to improve. HelloFresh retains a diversified geographic footprint, with the US market representing a substantial long-term profit driver due to its scale and penetration runway. The company’s ready-to-eat segment, including Factor_, continues to outperform and offers structurally higher margins than traditional meal kits. Overall, HelloFresh offers a compelling setup: a stressed valuation, improving fundamentals, and significant operating leverage if management delivers on its free-cash-flow ambitions.

Pitch Summary:
Bolloré and Compagnie de l’Odet are the Paris listed mid-cap holding companies controlled by Vincent Bolloré and family. We acquired our shares in H1 2024, and the thesis (available here) is based on steady compounding of the underlying assets (UMG & Vivendi), value creative uses of the large cash balance and a simplification of the complex family holding structure over our investment horizon.

In my last letter to you, I noted that Bolloré was making big strides in the process of simplification of its complex corporate structure which I believe is an important value driver. Unfortunately, this progress was dealt a set back of sorts in H1. Bolloré’s buyout offers and mandatory squeeze outs for the remaining shares outstanding in three subsidiaries was blocked by the AMF (The French Financial Markets Authority). These buyouts would have simplified the structure on accretive terms for our position.

The AMF ruled that the terms of the offer did not give minority shareholders in these entities fair value. The positive from this development is that the AMF’s decision included an estimate of the fair value for these securities, which in broad terms validates our estimate of the fair value of Bolloré and Compagnie de l’Odet themselves. Hence, the AMF decision is both a positive for that reason, and the clear signal that they intend to protect the interests of minority shareholders, and a negative, as it slows the process of simplification. As you know, we are minority shareholders of Bolloré and C. de l’Odet, and therefore having the regulator on our side is worthwhile. In my view, the AMF development does not end the cause, and it may force a more holistic solution.

Meanwhile, the core assets of Bolloré continue to compound away. Chief among them is our holding in UMG, which reported revenue and profit growth of 10% in Q1. Subscription revenue growth is expected to continue at double digit rates for the next few years. Bolloré’s cash position of c.€6bn is compounding at a lower rate as our position has significant optionality.
Once again, patience is required — no one is going to get rich quick scheme — but when it comes to safety of capital and upside potential, I continue to believe our holding in Bolloré and Compagnie de l’Odet is an attractive risk-reward for a portion of our capital.

BSD Analysis:
Bolloré SE is a diversified French holding company whose value today is driven primarily by its significant stakes in Universal Music Group (UMG) and Vivendi, two businesses with long-duration cash-flow characteristics and strong competitive moats. The company has a long history of disciplined capital allocation under the Bolloré family, which has compounded value through strategic acquisitions, restructuring, and selective divestitures. UMG continues to benefit from secular growth in global music streaming, providing Bolloré with exposure to a structurally expanding industry with attractive margins and recurring revenue. Vivendi adds further diversification through media, advertising, and entertainment assets, though its business mix has historically been more cyclical. Bolloré has also accumulated a sizeable cash position following the sale of its Africa logistics business, giving the group meaningful financial flexibility for buybacks or corporate simplification. Public disclosures indicate the family has been steadily streamlining the holding structure, which investors view as a potential catalyst for unlocking the “conglomerate discount” embedded in the shares. Despite its strong underlying assets, Bolloré trades at a notable discount to the sum of its parts, reflecting both governance opacity and the market’s skepticism about the timing of further restructuring. Regulatory pushback in France on certain squeeze-out transactions has slowed the pace of simplification, but the regulator’s fair-value assessments broadly support the intrinsic valuation of the listed entities. The group’s conservative balance sheet, stable cash flows from UMG, and optionality embedded in its cash holdings create an attractive risk-reward profile for patient investors. Overall, Bolloré remains a compelling special situation where long-term value realization is tied to corporate actions, asset monetization, and continued operational strength at UMG and Vivendi.

Pitch Summary:
Burford Capital is our UK listed global market leader in litigation finance. The company makes money by funding select commercial litigation claims in exchange for a share of the settlement or court awarded judgement and by generating fees on third party capital.

The relevant developments at Burford are coming thick and fast. Regarding the Petersen & Eton Park vs Argentina and YPF matter, Judge Preska ruled on June 30th that Argentina must ‘turn over’ its 51% ownership stake in YPF to the former shareholders of this company (and therefore Burford) as partial compensation for nationalising the company in 2012. Otherwise, they face contempt of court. This stake is currently valued on the Argentinian stock exchange at $6bn, or about 1/3rd of the value that was nationalized at the time. Argentina is in an increasingly challenging position appeal after appeal and delay tactic after delay tactic. Practically, they are unlikely to comply with this ruling on Preska’s timeline but it adds additional pressure on Argentina to settle the $17bn claim outstanding against the country. For example, debate about the ownership of the state oil company and its future are unhelpful in its efforts to develop the giant Vaca Muerte field, which requires substantial foreign investment.

Meanwhile, Argentina’s ability to pay this settlement is improving. Moody’s has upgraded the sovereign credit rating, the country is balancing its books and most importantly, they agreed a $20bn funding deal from the IMF. As a reminder, Burford’s share of this claim alone is $6.8bn or $31/share pre-tax and accrues interest at a rate of $1.64 per Burford share annually. Burford’s share price at quarter end was $14.26.

The core business ex YPF continues to deliver solid returns on capital and free cash flow. The value this business creates for shareholders is a function of the amount of capital it can deploy and the rate of return on this capital less all costs. Over the past four quarters, Burford has deployed $463m into new claims, growth of c.23% year over year and seen realizations of claims of $742mn, growth of 40% year over year. Returns on capital for these realisations have been stable at c.98% or a 2x return on every dollar deployed. Burford is a difficult business to forecast because results are lumpy depending on the progression of legal matters through the courts. This makes it challenging for traditional public equity investors to value the business correctly and is a big reason why the core business remains undervalued at 8.5x earnings excluding any value for YPF. We have conviction that the cash flows from the core business ex YPF underpins the value of the shares. That cash flow is growing at healthy rates over time, as indicated by the growth in deployments and realisations. On top of this, we own a valuable option on the YPF litigation, which is a potential game changer for the company.

BSD Analysis:
Burford is the global leader in litigation finance, an asset class with asymmetric payouts and long, uneven cash cycles. The company’s scale and legal expertise give it a competitive edge in sourcing and underwriting high-value cases. Its landmark wins, including the YPF case, highlight the embedded optionality within the portfolio. Revenue recognition can be lumpy, but underlying IRRs remain strong across vintages. Burford’s balance sheet and fund-management business provide leverage to future growth. Regulatory risk exists, but industry institutionalization continues to work in Burford’s favor. This is a unique alternative asset manager with genuine embedded upside.

Pitch Summary:
JZ Capital is our small cap, UK listed closed-end private equity fund in liquidation. Management continue to make progress toward liquidation of the remaining assets in the fund and returning that capital to us. In addition to the 13% dividend received in July 2024, we received a further 10% dividend in March 2025. Each dividend received so far has been at NAV, which is c.1.5x the current share price. I see no reason why this will not continue until the fund has been liquidated, which implies a solid, low-risk return.

BSD Analysis:
JZ Capital is a closed-end investment trust undergoing a long, messy wind-down after years of poor performance and problematic real-estate exposure. The portfolio today is essentially an illiquid collection of legacy assets being sold off for cash over time. The investment case hinges entirely on discount-to-NAV narrowing as realizations occur. Governance concerns and limited transparency have historically weighed heavily on the stock. Upside exists if asset sales are cleaner and faster than expected, but execution risk is substantial. This is a deep special-situations play, not a compounding vehicle. Patience and realism are mandatory.

Pitch Summary:
Motorpoint is our UK listed small cap and the lowest cost operator in the fragmented used car market in the UK. We acquired our shares in Motorpoint when the used car market was in a state of disarray, the result of pandemic driven shut-downs in new car production, chip shortages for OEMs and broken supply chains. At that time, Motorpoint’s longer-term earnings power was undervalued by public markets. My thesis has been that the industry will get back into balance and when that happens, Motorpoint will earn materially more free cash flow than was discounted by the then weak share price. Motorpoint’s business is recovering nicely driven by normalising volumes in their target market, which is pulling the share price along with it. The company reported FY results in June, which showed market share gains, volume growth of 14%, improving profitability and strong cash generation, which is partly being deployed into opening new dealerships. I believe we are still in the early innings of Motorpoint’s improving corporate performance.

BSD Analysis:
Motorpoint is a UK nearly-new car retailer positioned between traditional dealers and online disruptors, offering good value and rapid inventory turnover. Its model benefits from consumers trading down into nearly-new vehicles when budgets are pressured. Execution has been choppier recently due to used-car price volatility, but Motorpoint’s asset-light model allows it to adjust inventory quickly. Digital penetration is growing, helping improve conversion and reduce reliance on physical branches. Competition from online players exists, but profitability remains elusive for most of them. If pricing normalizes and consumer confidence stabilizes, Motorpoint’s operating leverage can turn quickly positive. This is a cyclical but well-run operator with upside in recovery.

Pitch Summary:
Fever-Tree is our founder-led UK listed mid-cap beverages company which dominates the premium mixer category globally. As I mentioned in my last letter to you, my thesis on this investment is that the margin pressure the business experienced in the past 4 yrs was something management is on a path to resolve and if successful, we would own this high quality business at a single digit multiple of earnings. Further, Fever-Tree is a valuable M&A target for larger beverages companies if current management struggle to improve margins to historic levels.
On cue, Molson Coors came knocking on Fever-Tree’s door and the two entered into a strategic partnership for the US market, which is c.35% of Fever-Tree revenue. As part of this deal, Molson Coors took an 8.5% stake in the company, acquired the assets of the US subsidiary and will manage the US business in a 50/50 JV with Fever-Tree. Molson Coors will bottle the product in the USA and distribute it down its own network. These are the merger synergies mentioned in the initial thesis. The partnership will largely eliminate Fever-Tree’s transatlantic shipping costs, cut the cost of glass and manufacturing and give the brand access to a distribution network that is more than 5x the size of what it had previously. Molson Coors’ entire corporate strategy is titled ‘beyond beer’, which refers to their ambition to diversify the business outside of the core beer category – such as into premium branded mixers. Management will be looking to make a success of the Fever-Tree partnership to validate their wider corporate objectives. I am optimistic about how this will benefit us as Fever-Tree shareholders.

BSD Analysis:
Fever-Tree reinvented the premium mixer category and still owns the brand equity in tonic and cocktail pairings globally. Growth has slowed from its hyper-scale phase, but the premium mixer trend remains intact, especially in the U.S. and Europe. Input cost inflation hurt margins, but easing logistics and commodity pressures set up a margin rebuild story. The brand remains aspirational and is expanding into cocktail mixers and ready-to-drink formats. Competition has risen, yet Fever-Tree continues to command shelf space and pricing power. The business carries little capex burden and converts growth into cash efficiently. The stock oscillates with sentiment, but the brand’s staying power is real.

Pitch Summary:
Protector is our mid-cap, Norwegian P&C insurer with a strong corporate culture and a cost advantage in underwriting which feeds a large and growing float... Protector's profitable growth continues. Year to date, Protector has grown premiums 16% at an 85% combined ratio for insurance profits of 515mn NOK, more than double last year's result... Assets under management has grown 21% year over year and the investment result more than doubled again to 1.2bn NOK. Year to date, earnings per share is up 106% to 18 NOK per share. The strong profits result in a higher capacity for dividends and a strong balance sheet... The outlook from the current share price remains attractive and we continue to have a sizable position in this outstanding business.

BSD Analysis:
Protector is a fast-growing Nordic insurer with an underwriting-first culture and a long track record of outperformance in commercial and public-sector insurance. Its focus on disciplined selection and lean cost structure gives it a combined ratio advantage versus peers. Growth has been rapid, especially in the UK, where the company has taken meaningful share. Results can be volatile due to large claims and reserve swings, but management has historically handled this with unusual transparency and rigor. Investment income adds cyclical tailwinds in higher-rate environments. The market often underestimates Protector because it doesn’t chase diversification for its own sake. This is a high-ROE insurer built on execution rather than marketing.

Pitch Summary:
Trigano is the Paris listed European market leader in the design, assembly and sale of motorhomes and towable 'caravans', collectively Recreational Vehicles (RVs). The company has gained market share from 15% of total new RV registrations in 2013 to 31% currently through a combination of organic growth of 8.5% annually and acquisitions... This growth has been at attractive returns on capital. Unlevered ROE has averaged 21% over this period including all goodwill acquired & earnings per share is up roughly 10x over this period... The company is valued in the equity market at €2.5bn and we acquired our shares at 6x LTM earnings and 1.2x book value... Trigano has many of the same competitive advantages in the motorhome industry that Ryanair has in air travel. It is the lowest cost producer, which is the result of buying advantages and a culture of keeping costs low... It is also capital light: 75% of Trigano's tangible assets are current... and the company needs less than 15% of cash generated annually to maintain the business... Its balance sheet is another source of competitive advantage. Trigano has consistently been run with no debt funding... We have acquired our stake in Trigano at a double-digit free cash flow yield, and the business is likely to grow organically in the high single digits before any accretive use of free cash flow.

BSD Analysis:
Trigano is the quiet European powerhouse of recreational vehicles, benefiting from demographic shifts, rising outdoor tourism, and structurally constrained industry capacity. Its vertically integrated model delivers strong margins and pricing power, particularly in motorhomes where the company dominates. Supply-chain normalization has unlocked pent-up demand while allowing Trigano to rebuild inventory rationally. The balance sheet is conservative and cash flow robust, giving it room for selective M&A and buybacks. While RV demand is cyclical, the customer base is skewing younger and more lifestyle-driven, broadening the market. Competitors struggle to match Trigano’s scale and manufacturing discipline. This remains one of Europe’s most efficient consumer-durables compounders.

Pitch Summary:
The Team is also adding to its position in Capital Power preferred equity. The Team recently added to its position in Capital Power (CPX) preferred securities at a bond-equivalent yield of 9%. In April 2025, the company raised common equity (which ranks behind preferred equity) in conjunction with an acquisition of U.S. natural gas-fired electricity generation assets. The company continues to have a conservative capital structure with improving credit quality as the proportion of earnings coming from the U.S. gas-fired generation continues to grow. U.S. natural gas-fired electricity generation is in a secular growth period due to the need for reliable baseload generation in conjunction with the growth of renewable energy.

BSD Analysis:
Capital Power is a high-yield, defensive utility compounder whose stock is a leveraged bet on the aggressive decarbonization of the Albertan power grid. The core moat is its focus on high-efficiency natural gas and renewable power generation. The company is investing heavily in carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to future-proof its gas assets, providing a massive, defensible growth vector. Capital Power maintains a strong dividend growth target of 6% annually and is committed to reducing its carbon intensity by 90% by 2030. This is a defensive stock that combines a strong, growing yield with high-conviction exposure to the energy transition.

Pitch Summary:
Most recently, the Team has been adding to its position in Fluence Energy (FLNC) debt. FLNC is a Virginia-based utility-scale battery storage contractor. The Team recently added to its position in Fluence Energy (FLNC) 2.25% of 2030 convertible bonds at a price of 69.00 (10.5% yield). The position was initiated in March 2025, with an average cost of 57 and with entry trades ranging from the 40s to the 60s. FLNC is a Virginia-based utility-scale battery storage contractor that is two-thirds owned together by Siemens AG and AES Corporation. We like the bonds because of the company's conservative capital structure (this is its only debt and there is more cash than debt), the strong secular industry trend in electricity generation favouring battery storage, its critical mass/market share and its well-capitalized majority shareholders. While there is an out-of-the-money call option attached to the convertible bond, we view the merits of the credit profile as justifying investment in its converts even before considering potential equity upside.

BSD Analysis:
Fluence Energy is the undisputed, high-growth pure-play leader in grid-scale energy storage technology. The core thesis is driven by the fact that its proprietary software (Fluence OS) and integrated hardware solutions are non-discretionary for stabilizing power grids with high penetration of intermittent renewables (wind and solar). The company maintains a massive, highly visible $3.8 billion backlog and is structurally positioned to benefit from the multi-trillion-dollar global energy transition. Fluence is a high-conviction bet on the inevitable, exponential buildout of energy storage required to make renewable energy reliable at scale.

Pitch Summary:
Finally, we exited our remaining small position in UnitedHealth Group (~1%). After years of continuous earnings growth and durability, the consistency we’ve come to expect from UNH has been fractured. The company reduced its earnings guidance twice recently, as medical costs have exceeded expectations in both the UnitedHealthcare (insurance) and Optum Health (medical practice) segments. It is difficult to pinpoint a single cause for this divergence as a large, scaled business like UNH should typically have strong visibility into medical cost trends among its members. That said, it appears the company may have pursued new members and revenue growth too aggressively, underestimating the cost of serving these new members, which led to significant margin compression. At the same time, the federal government has reduced the number of diagnosis codes eligible to be risk-adjusted (eligible for higher reimbursement due to complexity). While we expect the business can overcome these issues in a relatively short time frame, the future growth profile could be lower than we expected. The complexity and pace of recovery around these issues are not easily determined. Given our small position and lack of conviction to increase the weighting—even at the lower stock price—we decided to reallocate to a better opportunity in our existing holding, Adobe.

BSD Analysis:
UnitedHealth Group is a high-quality healthcare titan whose unique, integrated model provides an unbreakable moat and delivers predictable, above-market growth. The core thesis is centered on the Optum segment—the company's tech, pharmacy, and care delivery arm—which is the true compounding engine. Optum's diversification into health services, pharmacy care services, data and analytics, and technology-enabled solutions is the structural driver of margin expansion and superior efficiency. The company’s long-term growth is secured by predictable premium revenues and Optum’s increasing contribution, maintaining a focus on Value-Based Care. The stock offers a defensive, double-digit growth profile, combining the stability of a payer with the high-growth optionality of a tech-enabled health services provider.

Pitch Summary:
We eliminated our position in Apple early in the quarter. As a reminder, our initial investment thesis on the company (which we added in July 2024) anticipated accelerating revenue and earnings growth driven by the launch of Apple Intelligence, which we expected to trigger a new iPhone upgrade cycle. Unfortunately, many of the most compelling Apple Intelligence features are significantly delayed, calling into question the timing of the reacceleration. Furthermore, tariffs present a predictable and persistent headwind, as most Apple products are made in China and shipped globally. Given these uncertainties and the presence of more attractive opportunities elsewhere, we felt it best to move on.

BSD Analysis:
Apple is the ultimate technology platform oligopolist, whose stock is a conviction bet on the durability of its ecosystem moat and the accelerating monetization of its high-margin Services segment. Services remained the key growth driver in Q3 FY2025, generating an all-time high of $28.8 billion in revenue, up 15% year over year. While its rivals are drowning in AI CapEx, Apple's conservative AI strategy is being praised by investors, as it plans to leverage models developed by others to enhance products rather than incurring the massive, costly infrastructure spend itself. Apple's capital expenditures are projected to be around US$14 billion in its fiscal year ending September 2026, significantly less than Microsoft's US$94 billion and Meta's US$70 billion. This approach, combined with returning $24 billion to shareholders through buybacks and dividends, makes it a defensive, cash-rich compounder.

Pitch Summary:
IDEXX Labs is a global leader in pet diagnostics, offering in-clinic diagnostics (razor and razor blade consumables) and out-of-clinic reference labs. We have researched the business for two decades and admired its durable competitive advantages, highly recurring and profitable business model, attractive runway, supported by tailwinds from pet ownership and the “humanization of pets,” and strong execution by its management team. IDEXX employs a successful "surround the customer" strategy by offering diagnostic tests across many modalities, along with imaging and veterinary practice management software. With a dominant market share in pet diagnostic tests, IDEXX continues to expand its addressable market by innovating new types of testing and creating additional revenue streams for its veterinary customers. We envision years of continued innovation and market expansion, with minimal competitive threats. Historically, we questioned IDEXX's persistently high valuation. However, the recent, transitory business slowdown—driven by fewer vet clinic visits as COVID-era pets remain relatively young—has made the valuation more attractive. We believe the company’s long-term outlook remains largely unchanged. As these pets approach 6-7 years of age, their vet care needs will increase, supporting our expectation for sustained double-digit organic revenue growth and mid-to-high teens EPS growth. Even with EPS growth at least in line with the portfolio average, we expect IDEXX to also exhibit safety-like characteristics due to its unique competitive position, recurring revenues, and loyal shareholder base.

BSD Analysis:
IDEXX is the unassailable, high-growth oligopolist in veterinary diagnostics, whose premium valuation is justified by its superior, non-cyclical growth in the Companion Animal Group (CAG). The core thesis is a conviction bet on the "humanization of pets" and the resulting IDEXX Diagnostic Advantage—a uniquely competitive combination of diagnostic instruments, services, and software that deeply embeds the company into clinic workflows. This model ensures high customer retention and superior net price realization, driving accelerating gains in CAG Diagnostics recurring revenues. The stock is a proven compounder, turning a $1,000 investment ten years ago into $10,653.46 (a 965.35% gain), vastly outperforming the S&P 500's 227.69% return over the same period. IDEXX is an indispensable, high-quality play on the non-cyclical, long-term structural growth of pet healthcare.