While a typical universe consists of 350-400 companies, the investment team narrows it down to approximately 250 investible companies based on various parameters like – growth in revenue and profits, a minimum ROCE criteria, acceptable levels of leverage and the ability of the business to convert EBIDTA into cashflows and following good corporate governance.
The next step after having zeroed in on companies with distinctive competitive advantage and scalability is to touch base with their senior management to discuss business strategy, growth plans and capital allocation policies. We also endeavour to get a deeper understanding of the business by interacting with the business ecosystem relevant to the sector/company by meeting/interacting with industry experts, dealers/suppliers/customer’s etc where possible. The idea is to get a more holistic perspective of the business from various angles.
Once a preliminary study is done, a deeper financial analysis with past and projected financial model is prepared. There is detailed discussion within the investment team on the key variables and the value drivers. Sensitivities of various parameters is also worked upon to get an understanding of “what if” situations as well as to assess a fair risk-reward for the company. Experience and insight of the team helps to gauge whether the findings collected through company meets and industry analysts complement Alchemy’s investment patterns and philosophy. Should the company satisfy both quantitative and qualitative standards and prove conducive to a favourable risk-return model for the investor, the company is then eventually included in Alchemy’s Investment Universe.
Alchemy has integrated the old adage of “Better be safe than sorry” in its framework. Alchemy monitors all the companies in its portfolio on a regular basis to continuously assess ongoing performance, and evaluate the impact of any external/internal developments on the basic hypothesis to assess if any action is required.
Though Alchemy doesn’t work with predetermined exit price of percentage returns, we work on a philosophy of “Let your winners run and cut your losers” through continuous monitoring it is important keep assessing the risk-reward at various points of time. Having said that, Alchemy may sell a stock under three conditions. First, if it believes that the basic hypothesis stands no longer valid due to change in external circumstances or some specific actions taken by the company internally, which may alter the risk-reward. Secondly, to rebalance weights at appropriate times and lastly if the risk-reward becomes unfavourable and there are better alternatives. Despite a long term track record and a strong foundation built on knowledge and excellence, Alchemy is committed to on-going learning and adapting to new realities. This ensures sound investment processes geared towards performance that regularly deliver on customers’ expectations.