An investment process focused on insight.
A company's market price must be 60 percent or less of "intrinsic value" to qualify for investment. Our process relies on several steps.
We start with a broad universe of stocks for consideration; the universe for the Athena Value Fund is the Russell 3000.
We use proprietary screens based on value, dividend and quality considerations to determine which stocks deserve further examination.
Preliminary research is conducted on these companies of initial interest. Financial analysis, a review of industry drivers, external research inputs and meetings with management are key components of the first leg of our research process.
In-depth research is then performed on the most promising companies. We create a "key variables" analysis. Because superior investments are often achieved through the full understanding of 2 or 3 "key variables", we seek to become true experts in these areas that matter. We do financial modeling with a focus on cash flow, the balance sheet, the capital account, and margins. Because we are typically drawn to companies that are under-earning, we are interested in assumptions and sensitivities to the extent that they drive the likelihood that a company will return to normalized profitability. Our valuation work attempts to answer two questions: is there an attractive differential between our estimation of intrinsic value and the current price and is the margin of safety acceptable to us given the risk? A liquidation analysis helps us clarify the latter.
Each investment idea is discussed and debated with the investment team. There is a formalized process to crystallize the "bull case" and "bear case" for every recommended stock.
Twenty to thirty of the best ideas are bought in the portfolio.