WS Gresham House UK Micro Cap Fund

Strategic Equity

Strategic Equity

The WS Gresham House UK Micro Cap Fund is an award-winning, high-conviction, concentrated fund which aims to deliver attractive, long-term, risk-adjusted returns for investors.

The fund has achieved consistent low correlation to its peer group through a dedicated focus on micro-cap companies and fundamentals-based stock picking.

Our private equity approach helps to build better businesses through the provision of capital, advice, good governance and targeted introductions to expertise within our network.

Why invest?

We believe there is significant opportunity in the segment of the market below £250mn market cap

  • A lack of research provides opportunities for stock-pickers
  • New ideas are continuously unearthed within an investment universe that is changing constantly
  • It has the potential to deliver long-term performance
  • It offers discounted valuations, due to companies being less well-known and perceived as high risk
  • A wide array of opportunities exist that other funds gloss over

Our approach

We interrogate stocks using proprietary research to evaluate the investment case. We assign a conviction score to each stock based on six fundamental components, which helps determine optimal weightings within the fund:

  • Management – favouring entrepreneurial, high-quality teams
  • Strategy – understanding how management are seeking to enhance strategic value
  • Market opportunity – understanding the company’s addressable market and the dynamics likely to influence this
  • Market position – assessing the company’s competitive advantage
  • Financials – considering the profit and cash flow growth potential over the anticipated life of the investment and quality of earnings and balance sheet strength
  • Valuation – applying appropriate metrics to a specific company and remaining disciplined on price

Our process

  • Idea generation – drawing on our network of relationships and variety of sources
  • Investment universe – we screen by size, sector, financial strength and valuation
  • Target list – ideas reviewed weekly to identify management teams to meet
  • Investment appraisal – provide insight to the appraisal process through our smaller-company focus and private-equity techniques
  • Conviction score – using a quantitative output, we rate conviction and use it to determine relative weightings in the fund

Portfolio insight

In our portfolio insights series the Investment Team sit down with Chief Executives from some of the portfolio companies we invest in, where they discuss the impact of our investment in the company.

Costain

Costain is a leading UK smart infrastructure solutions company with a specific focus on major customers meeting national needs in infrastructure, energy and water markets.

Costain is a current Micro Cap portfolio holding as at July 2024. 

Ricardo plc

Ricardo plc is a global strategic, environmental and engineering consultancy at the intersection of transport, energy and global climate agendas, solving the most complex issues to help achieve a safe and sustainable world.

Ricardo plc is a current Micro Cap portfolio holding as at May 2023. 

Inspired plc

Inspired plc is a leading technology-enabled provider of energy and sustainability solutions that allow UK and Irish businesses to transition to net-zero carbon and manage their response to climate change.

Inspired plc is a current Micro Cap portfolio holding as at March 2023. 

Medica

Medica is the market leader in teleradiology, providing hospitals with support to address serious capacity issues in both urgent and non-urgent reporting pathways.

Medica is a current Micro Cap portfolio holding as at December 2022. 

Key risks

  • The value of the Fund and the income from it is not guaranteed and may fall as well as rise. As your capital is at risk you may get back less than you originally invested
  • Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance
  • Funds investing in smaller companies may carry a higher degree of risk than funds investing in larger companies. The shares of smaller companies may be less liquid than securities in larger companies

How to invest

Prospective investors can purchase shares directly from Waystone Management (UK) Limited or through a professional adviser or other intermediary. Application forms can be obtained from Waystone Management (UK) Limited.

www.waystone.com

investorservices@waystone.com
0345 922 0044

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Distribution team

Distribution team

Investor relations queries

Waystone Management (UK) Limited.

www.waystone.com >>

investorservices@linkgroup.co.uk
0345 922 0044

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