Investment Pitches

Pitch Summary:
Danieli was one of the Fund’s top five holdings and generated a return of 119% in 2025 through its savings shares. Despite this strong performance, after stripping out excess net cash, the shares trade at roughly 7.5x 2026 estimated earnings. Demand for Danieli’s energy-efficient and hydrogen-ready steel plants has surged following European Commission initiatives to protect European steelmaking and penalize high-emission imports. This is reflected in an elevated order book and improving profitability. An eventual simplification of the company’s dual-class share structure represents an additional upside catalyst.

BSD Analysis:
Danieli enters fiscal 2026 with a positive outlook, backed by a satisfactory order backlog of over €6 billion in the steelmaking equipment sector. The company is at the forefront of the "Green Steel" revolution, providing innovative technological solutions that help global producers decarbonize their operations. Management expects 2026 revenue to reach up to €4.2 billion, supported by strong demand for its endless casting-rolling technologies. While extraordinary expenses previously impacted margins, the current fiscal year is characterized by less uncertainty and better demand for complex, large-scale plants. The firm is also investing heavily in joint ventures and strategic initiatives in Italy to improve national industrial competitiveness. For 2026, Danieli offers a premier industrial play on the structural shift toward sustainable manufacturing and circular steelmaking.

Pitch Summary:
Vienna Insurance Group was the single best performing stock in the portfolio, generating a total return of 158% in USD during 2025. The company announced the acquisition of Nürnberger, a German specialist insurer, which initially appeared expensive but ultimately strengthened VIG’s foundation with a stable, cash generative business. Losses in Nürnberger’s Property & Casualty book are being addressed through restructuring that is already yielding results. Adjusting for the acquisition, VIG trades at around 1.3x book value and 9.3x 2026 estimated earnings. Despite taking some gains, we believe low insurance penetration in Eastern Europe and improved earnings power support further upside.

BSD Analysis:
Vienna Insurance Group enters 2026 with a robust market position across Central and Eastern Europe, benefiting from its deep geographic diversification. The company is successfully navigating the transition to newer IFRS accounting standards, which has highlighted the underlying strength of its life and health insurance segments. Management is focused on a "VIG 25" strategy, prioritizing digital transformation to drive operational efficiencies in its smaller regional markets. Despite the geopolitical risks associated with the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the firm’s core business in Austria and Poland continues to generate steady cash flows. VIG’s conservative investment approach provides a reliable floor for earnings, even during periods of market turbulence. For investors, the stock represents a high-quality income play with a consistent dividend and a clear path to long-term book value growth.

Pitch Summary:
Standard Chartered was the largest contributor to the Fund’s performance in 2025. It contributed 8.5% to NAV and, inclusive of dividends, the shares doubled in value. The success of the bank’s turnaround became evident during the year as it generated a decent return on equity and improved capital efficiency. The bank is well positioned to benefit from its strong footprint in high-growth markets, particularly through its cross-border trade franchise in Corporate Banking and its improving Wealth & Retail Banking proposition. At the beginning of 2025, the shares traded at less than 0.7x book value and finished the year trading around 1.2x book value and 10.6x 2026 estimated earnings. We took some gains toward the end of the year but believe the shares still trade below fair value.

BSD Analysis:
Standard Chartered is positioned as a primary beneficiary of the 2026 "emerging markets over developed markets" theme, particularly in its high-growth Asian hubs. The bank is successfully leveraging its deep footprint in China and India to capture trade finance and wealth management flows that are outpacing Western growth rates. Management has focused on aggressive cost-income ratio improvements, which is beginning to manifest in superior return on equity figures. While global trade tensions and Fed-centric volatility remain risks, the bank's exposure to risky assets is expected to outperform in the current "AI boom" environment. Investors are encouraged by the bank’s commitment to shareholder returns, including consistent buybacks and an attractive dividend profile. For 2026, Standard Chartered offers a unique combination of defensive banking stability and high-beta emerging market upside.

Pitch Summary:
One reason why we focus on companies serving the burgeoning consumer is the following point which most investors seem to miss. Median annual household income in India has been growing in real terms by about 6% per annum in USD. When real household income goes up by a third over five years, the number of elite, affluent and aspiring households earning more than a certain amount does not increase by a third; it increases by a multiple of that growth as the entire bell curve shifts to the right. Hence the S-curve of consumption that we see in rapidly growing emerging markets. This is an important reason why MakeMyTrip, India’s leading online travel booking portal, has been a much better investment than Britannia Industries, India’s leading biscuit brand, over the past three years. Returning to the case for MakeMyTrip, around 10 years ago Mumbai’s international airport terminal was a Third World shambolic chaos, whereas today India is opening more than 70 new airports a year and airlines have massive order books. Nearly all travelers observed were Indians, underscoring the rise of India’s travelling class and structurally rising demand for air travel and accommodation bookings.

BSD Analysis:
MakeMyTrip enters 2026 as the undisputed leader in India’s travel market, successfully leveraging a massive surge in middle-class tourism demand. While recent quarterly margins faced a slight slide, the company is forecast to grow earnings by nearly 50% annually over the next two years. Management is increasingly utilizing AI-driven personalization to increase hotel and holiday package attach rates, which carry significantly higher margins than air ticketing. Despite some balance sheet concerns around interest coverage, the platform's dominant scale creates a powerful network effect that is difficult for competitors to breach. Projections for 19% revenue growth reflect the structural shift toward digital booking in the South Asian subcontinent. For 2026, MMYT is a premier vehicle for playing the long-term thematic of Indian consumer discretionary spending growth.

Pitch Summary:
Ryanair is Europe’s largest low-cost airline with a structurally advantaged cost base and long runway for share gains as weaker carriers struggle to earn acceptable returns. The company has historically generated strong free cash flow through the cycle and maintains a balance sheet that allows it to invest opportunistically when competitors retrench. Capacity growth, continued penetration of underserved routes, and disciplined fare management support attractive long-term earnings power. We believe the market is overly focused on short-term fuel and macro volatility and underappreciated Ryanair’s ability to compound intrinsic value over time.

BSD Analysis:
Ryanair is the most ruthless operator in European aviation, and that ruthlessness is exactly the moat. Its cost base is structurally lower than peers, which allows it to win price wars without blinking. Scale matters in airlines, and Ryanair uses it to squeeze airports, suppliers, and competitors simultaneously. Demand volatility doesn’t scare Ryanair — it exploits it to gain share. Aircraft orders were timed perfectly, locking in cost advantages for years. Labor relations are tense, but productivity remains industry-leading. This is not a premium airline story. It’s industrial efficiency applied to travel. Ryanair compounds by flying cheaper and thinking colder than everyone else.

Pitch Summary:
Fever-Tree is our founder-led UK listed mid-cap beverages company which dominates the premium mixer category globally. In January 2025, the company signed a joint venture with Molson Coors for US commercialization and Molson Coors acquired a 9% stake. Since acquisition, Fever-Tree has reported improving results with EBITDA margins recovering meaningfully, up over 5% in 2024 and continuing to improve. Despite strong brand equity and market share gains, the shares remain down approximately 70% over five years. Information around the US opportunity has been limited but is expected to improve in 2026.

BSD Analysis:
Fever-Tree monetized the premiumization of mixers by doing the obvious thing better than incumbents. Brand power allows pricing above commodity tonics even as input costs fluctuate. Investors fixate on margin compression and miss how elastic demand is at the premium end. Distribution breadth matters more than flavor innovation at this stage. Private label competition exists, but brand signaling still drives on-premise choice. International markets remain underpenetrated relative to brand recognition. This is beverage economics built on mix, not volume.

Pitch Summary:
GetBusy is our small-cap, UK listed productivity software business which is run like a private company. The US business, SmartVault, has grown revenue organically at a 15% CAGR over the past four years, slightly better than initial expectations. Integrations into Intuit’s tax software have increased customer value, and management’s intention to sell the US business has become increasingly clear. Despite fundamental progress, the share price is little changed, widening the discount to fair value. The company remains under the radar due to small size and illiquidity.

BSD Analysis:
GetBusy sells workflow software for professionals who care more about compliance and control than shiny features. Board portals, document management, and trust administration sit in regulated environments where switching risk is career-ending. Growth looks modest because the addressable market is narrow by design, but retention is extremely high. Investors dismiss GetBusy as small and slow and miss the embedded nature of its tools. Expansion comes from deeper penetration within firms, not logo chasing. Operating leverage improves quietly as the base scales. This is niche software compounding through regulation and habit, not hype.

Pitch Summary:
Borr Drilling is our mid-cap, Norwegian listed owner of shallow water drilling rigs. When we bought the shares, the business was doing run-rate EBITDA of approximately $100 million and is now doing run-rate EBITDA of roughly $500 million. The company has also successfully refinanced its debt, another key plank of the thesis. Despite this, the share price has only modestly improved and lags the fundamental turnaround. Oversupply has worked through the system, canceled rigs have been re-contracted, and industry fundamentals are tightening again. Rig rates remain below long-run averages, creating further upside if supply continues to contract.

BSD Analysis:
Borr Drilling is a pure play on tight offshore drilling supply — and tight supply is finally here. Jack-up rig availability has collapsed after years of underinvestment. Day rates are rising because replacement capacity doesn’t exist. Leverage cuts both ways, but this is exactly the cycle where it works. Contract coverage improves cash flow visibility quarter by quarter. Execution risk is operational, not demand-driven. This is not an energy transition story. It’s old-school oilfield math returning with a vengeance. Borr works if the cycle lasts longer than the balance sheet remembers.

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. Burford has compounded book value per share and realized cash proceeds from litigation matters settled and adjudicated ahead of my original underwriting assumptions. The best measure of fundamental progress of the core business ex YPF is the cash “run-off” value of the existing book of claims, which incorporates both realizations and deployments as well as a rate of return assumption. My estimate of that value has increased materially while the share price is essentially unchanged from our original purchase price. In addition, progress in the YPF claim is in line with the best case scenario initially envisaged, with a clear judgement overwhelmingly in our favor and damages quantified at the high end of expectations.

BSD Analysis:
Burford is litigation finance for people who understand that lawsuits are assets, not emotions. Its returns come from underwriting legal outcomes, not market beta. Earnings are lumpy by nature, which scares short-term investors and creates opportunity. The core risk is judgment timing, not case quality. Capital deployment discipline matters more than headline IRRs. Legal reform noise comes and goes, but demand for financing doesn’t. Burford benefits from scale, data, and expertise that newcomers can’t replicate. This is not alternative asset hype. It’s capital allocation in a misunderstood niche with asymmetric payoffs.

Pitch Summary:
Paymentus (PAY), over the past 3 years: Revenue per share increased +85%, or +36% annualized. Free Cash Flow per share increased +204%, or +74% annualized. Share Price declined -7% over the past year. Paymentus’ payment software serves non-discretionary end markets such as local municipalities, utilities, telecom, and insurers. The software improves bill payment conversion, reduces inbound call volume, and increases customer satisfaction through a single integrated platform. The Founder and CEO owns 24% of the company, and PAY trades at a 3% free cash flow yield while free cash flow per share is expected to grow 20%+ per year.

BSD Analysis:
Paymentus runs the billing and payments pipes for utilities, municipalities, and regulated service providers — the least exciting customers with the stickiest revenue. Once integrated, switching is painful because billing failures trigger customer outrage and regulatory scrutiny. Growth is driven by transaction volume and customer adds, not flashy fintech features. Margins are still suppressed by reinvestment, but operating leverage is real as scale builds. Competition exists, yet few players want the regulatory and integration headache this market requires. Cash flow visibility improves as larger clients mature on the platform. This is not consumer fintech. It’s boring payments infrastructure with long contracts and low churn. If execution holds, the rerate comes from durability, not hype.

Pitch Summary:
Shift4 (FOUR), over the past 3 years: Revenue per share increased +122%, or +30% annualized. Free Cash Flow per share increased +227%, or +48% annualized. Share Price declined -45% over the past year. FOUR’s customers rely on it for payment software and core integrations required to run their businesses. Revenue and cash flow per share have grown rapidly through organic development and acquisitions. The market has expressed concern regarding a recent large acquisition, but management has demonstrated superior execution and the Founder owns 25% of the company. FOUR trades at a 6% free cash flow yield, and we believe free cash flow per share can grow 15–20%+ per year.

BSD Analysis:
Shift4 is payments infrastructure optimized for complex, high-ticket environments where uptime and customization matter more than headline take rates. Owning the full stack embeds the platform deeply into merchant workflows and reduces churn. Hospitality, travel, and venues add cyclicality but also higher economics. Investors worry about competition from Stripe and Adyen and miss where Shift4 actually wins. Acquisitions deepen lock-in rather than chase vanity volume. International expansion is still early and underappreciated. This is payments for edge cases, not commodity processing.

Pitch Summary:
PayPal (PYPL), over the past 3 years: Revenue per share increased +42%, or +12% annualized. Free Cash Flow per share increased +54%, or +15% annualized. Share Price declined -37% over the past year. PayPal, a virtual payment tool, was created to support the fledging ecommerce sector in the 1990s. From 2013-2023, the previous CEO binged on acquisitions (but failed to integrate them) while neglecting to reinvest and build new products to retain and attract customers. A new CEO and management team was installed in December 2023, with efforts directed toward reinvigorating the brand, building new products, simplifying the organization, integrating acquisitions, and eliminating redundancy. PYPL trades at an undemanding valuation of 10% free cash flow yield, and even under conservative assumptions, free cash flow per share should continue growing at 10%+ per year.

BSD Analysis:
PayPal is a mature payments network mispriced like a broken fintech experiment. The core checkout franchise still processes massive volume with strong margins. Investors fixate on competition and miss how embedded PayPal is in global e-commerce. Cost discipline and product simplification are improving free cash flow quality. Venmo monetization is slower than hype promised, but still additive. Brand trust matters more when fraud and complexity rise. This is payments infrastructure going through an optics reset, not structural decay.

Pitch Summary:
We also increased our investment in Plains All American (PAA/PAGP) to 6% NAV at ~$16/share (15% cash-on-cash yield). MLPs continue to generate durable cash flows supported by long-lived assets with inflation protection and disciplined capital allocation. Since early 2020, geopolitical strife, inflation, and increased recognition of the limitations of renewable energy have led market participants to reembrace fossil fuels, which in turn has lifted the prices of our MLPs. Despite harvested gains and M&A activity, MLPs remain a cornerstone of our portfolio.

BSD Analysis:
Plains is crude oil logistics infrastructure built to survive ugly cycles, not impress in good ones. Its pipelines and storage assets sit at critical junctions in North American energy flows where volumes matter far more than prices. Investors anchor to past leverage mistakes and miss how conservative the balance sheet has become. Capital allocation is now about durability and cash returns, not empire building. Permian relevance keeps the system structurally busy even when sentiment sours. Distribution coverage is real, not promotional. This is midstream endurance monetizing flow, not speculation.

Pitch Summary:
During a brief sector pullback in October, we initiated a new investment in Oneok (OKE), 3% NAV at ~$71/share (11% cash-on-cash yield). MLPs continue to generate durable cash flows supported by long-lived assets with inflation protection and disciplined capital allocation. The investment was made in the context of favorable industry demand dynamics, stable cash flows, conservative balance sheets, reasonable valuations (at ~10x Cash Flow), generous cash distributions, and inflation protection. We continue to view energy infrastructure assets as indispensable to the smooth function of modern society.

BSD Analysis:
ONEOK’s moat is irreplaceable midstream infrastructure in key U.S. natural gas and NGL basins. Volume-based contracts smooth cash flow, but commodity cycles still leak through indirectly. Capital intensity is high, making discipline more important than expansion ambition. The balance sheet has improved, yet leverage remains a constant consideration. Pricing power comes from asset location and connectivity, not negotiation leverage. Growth is incremental and tied to producer activity rather than demand spikes. The bull case is steady U.S. gas and NGL throughput with rising distributions. The bear case is basin slowdown or regulatory friction compressing volumes. ONEOK is income-oriented infrastructure—reliable when activity holds, exposed when it doesn’t.

Pitch Summary:
Core Natural Resources (CNR): We purchased shares after the company was spun off from CONSOL. The stock trades at a low multiple of earnings and free cash flow due to investor concerns that metallurgical coal prices will weaken, but we believe pricing will remain strong. CNR generates significant free cash flow, and we expect management to return a substantial portion to shareholders through buybacks.

BSD Analysis:
Core Natural Resources is a cash-flow-driven coal business operating in a world that still needs baseload power, whether it admits it or not. Metallurgical and thermal coal demand remain structurally relevant despite ESG narratives. Pricing volatility dominates earnings, but when coal markets tighten, cash piles up fast. Investors price terminal decline while utilities and steelmakers quietly keep buying. Capital discipline matters more than expansion here. Regulatory and political risk is constant, but supply constraints support pricing. This is energy scarcity economics, not growth investing. Ugly assets can still mint cash.

Pitch Summary:
Spectrum Brands (SPB) is a consumer products company focused on pet care, home & garden, and home & personal care. The company faced challenges in 2025 that now appear largely behind it. There is potential for value creation through divestiture of its HPC segment, which we believe the market currently values at zero, alongside continued share repurchases.

BSD Analysis:
Spectrum Brands is a messy collection of consumer products tied together more by history than strategy. The bull case hinges on asset value, cost cuts, and portfolio simplification rather than organic growth. Brands like Tetra, Remington, and home & garden products have relevance, but execution has been inconsistent. Margin volatility reflects commodity exposure and promotional retail dynamics. Management is focused on unlocking value through divestitures and operational fixes, not grand visions. Cash generation is uneven but meaningful in good cycles. This is not a consumer compounder. It’s a restructuring and sum-of-the-parts story. Investors get paid only if discipline finally sticks.

Pitch Summary:
Henry Schein (HSIC) is a leading distributor of dental and medical products. Since COVID, cost inefficiencies have led to margin erosion that we believe is now set to be addressed by newly installed activist board members and a pending CEO change. Should the company be successful in correcting these issues, we expect margin improvement that will lead to significant free cash flow generation and share buybacks.

BSD Analysis:
Henry Schein is a critical distributor to dental and medical practices, operating as the quiet backbone of everyday healthcare. Its value lies in logistics, procurement scale, and practice management software that embeds it deeply in customer workflows. Growth has been muted by post-pandemic normalization and pricing pressure, frustrating investors used to steady compounding. That said, dentists don’t disappear, and consumables don’t stop moving. Switching costs are higher than they look because reliability matters more than pennies per unit. Margin recovery depends on cost discipline and mix improvement rather than volume growth. The balance sheet is sound, allowing management to stay patient. This is not a growth darling — it’s healthcare plumbing. When sentiment resets, the durability shows.

Pitch Summary:
Global Payments (GPN) is a payments processor serving mostly small and mid-size merchants in the U.S. After exiting the position in 2023, we re-acquired shares following a poorly received transaction announcement. Pro forma, GPN is targeting $5 billion of free cash flow in 2028, equating to nearly 25% of the current market capitalization. The company plans to return nearly $7 billion to shareholders over the next two years.

BSD Analysis:
Global Payments sits in the unglamorous but powerful middle of global commerce, skimming transactions at massive scale. The core acquiring business is sticky because merchants don’t switch payment providers lightly once systems are integrated. Growth has slowed as pricing pressure and competition intensified, exposing years of complexity and integration sprawl. Management is now firmly in cleanup mode, simplifying operations and refocusing on returns over empire-building. Software-led verticals and embedded payments still offer upside if execution tightens. Margins should improve as legacy issues get worked through, but patience is required. Free cash flow remains solid, giving room for buybacks and debt reduction. This is not a fintech disruptor anymore — it’s financial infrastructure under repair. If execution stabilizes, the rerating potential is real.

Pitch Summary:
Deckers Outdoor (DECK) designs, markets and distributes footwear and apparel, including the Hoka and UGG brands. DECK stock declined after it posted disappointing results early in 2025, which were impacted by tariff uncertainty, a warehouse transition in Europe, and warm weather during the early part of the UGG selling season. As Hoka expands internationally, we expect growth to re-accelerate and believe the company will use its strong balance sheet to increase the pace of stock repurchases.

BSD Analysis:
Deckers owns two brands that matter, which already puts it ahead of most apparel companies. HOKA continues to defy skeptics by combining performance credibility with lifestyle adoption. UGG is no longer a single-season punchline but a cash-generating franchise when inventory is managed correctly. Vertical control over product and distribution supports margin resilience. Investors worry about fashion cycles and multiple compression. Yet brand momentum and global expansion keep resetting expectations higher. Execution discipline has been consistently strong. This is brand power with operating leverage, not trend-chasing retail. When brands work, the P&L follows fast.

Pitch Summary:
Antero Resources (AR) is a natural gas exploration and production company with operations in the Marcellus Shale in West Virginia. The company operates at the low end of the cost curve and has a stable production profile with significant acreage. In December, AR announced an acquisition that we believe will be accretive to earnings and will extend the runway of its future production. We acquired our shares at an average price of $33.92, implying an 11% free cash flow yield.

BSD Analysis:
Antero is a pure-play bet on U.S. natural gas fundamentals tightening faster than consensus expects. LNG exports, power demand, and declining associated gas all point toward a structurally firmer gas tape. The balance sheet has been repaired enough that cash flow finally accrues to equity. Hedging smooths volatility without killing upside. Investors remain scarred by years of gas oversupply and capital destruction. Cost structure and acreage quality give Antero torque when prices move. Capital discipline is no longer optional — it’s enforced. This is commodity leverage with improved survival odds. When gas turns, the move is violent.