We revisit the active/passive debate, the current obsession with measurement, the concept of weight, and the misguided measurement of risk. These phenomena present attractive opportunities to thoughtful, patient, long-term investors.
We discuss the essence of time and how do we account it in an era where the world’s central banks have suppressed the most important variable used to discount the time value of money. Since these developments have effectively rendered conventional valuation models useless we delve into how Kopernik tries mitigate it by, among other things, using Charlie Munger’s approach of turning the models upside down.
Taking cues from the 1977 Iggy Pop song bearing the same name, we discuss the distinctions between active/passive investing and why we at Kopernik prefer to be the driver, not the passenger.
Drawing similarities to the famous quote by Vince Lombardi, we discuss the currently inflated perception of the importance of ‘when’, the current opportunity to ‘win’, the prevalence of people playing not to lose, some thoughts on how the game is currently being played, and how this has left stocks so undervalued that returns are likely to be lucrative even if it takes a little time to materialize.
Using the Academy Award winning film, The Big Short, David B. Iben, CFA discusses the current valuation environment of early 2016 and why the world is scripting it’s sequel. Arguing that we are not in the beginning of a bear market but rather near the late stages of a deep, powerful, psychologically challenging bear market. Dave explains the potential upside of current depressed valuations and why we are waiting patiently for an inevitable return to rationality.
In his latest commentary, Kopernik analyst and co-portfolio manager for the International Strategy, Mark McKinney analyzes and compares how the current developed world’s characteristics such as inflation, excessive deficits, censorship and politicized economic decision-making are looking more like emerging markets. This begs rethinking the prevailing rules and risks applied in the valuations of both. Is the valuation premium awarded to developed markets for so long still warranted? Or do emerging markets with sizable discounts offer better investment opportunities due to the misunderstood risks?
In this whitepaper on ESG, Kopernik’s investment research team provides an update to our March 2021 webinar on the same topic. In summary, ESG is important, complex, and nuanced. This whitepaper will give an update on how we think about the current ESG environment, provide examples of the types of ESG risks we are evaluating, and explain how we integrate ESG risk into our valuation process.
In this whitepaper, Kopernik’s investment research team builds on our April 2022 webinar about geopolitical risk, breaking down our process and examples of both successes and losses in emerging markets. Evaluating geopolitical risk has always been a key factor in our global investment process. As global crises have made our role as investment manager more crucial than ever, our mission of being independent thought leaders could not be more pertinent.
In his latest commentary, Kopernik analyst and co-portfolio manager for the International Strategy, Mark McKinney, compares today’s U.S. market to the tech bubble of the late 1990s and 2000s. He also gives examples of the many “mini bubbles” that have already burst under the surface of the bigger names in the index. Lastly, there are some thoughts on the US Dollar, inflation, and gold.
In his latest commentary, Kopernik analyst and co-portfolio manager for the International Strategy, Mark McKinney, compares the actions of the U.S. Federal Reserve and the resultant inflation and choppy investment environment to the dangerous aspirations of villains in Hollywood spy films and how Kopernik is actively managing our investments through “the greater suffering.”
In his latest commentary, “Lord make me green…but not yet”, Kopernik Analyst Steve Rosenthal discusses a range of factors that handicap “net-zero” emission pledges around the world. While this ambitious goal will hopefully materialize, there resides a paradox in achieving it at the rate and extent we want/need.
Kopernik Deputy CIO Alissa Corcoran appeared on Bloomberg TV to discuss why the current environment doesn’t deter Kopernik from capitalizing on the attractive opportunities present in commodity investing.
You can watch Alissa’s interview here.
In honor of our 10-year anniversary, Kopernik was profiled in a story by the Tampa Bay Business Journal. Our Founder and CIO Dave Iben and President Neda Yarich discussed Kopernik’s success, growth, and why it has always paid to be a contrarian investor.
Read the full story here (requires subscription).
Deputy CIO Alissa Corcoran spoke at the Bloor Street Capital Nuclear & Uranium Conference, where she discussed opportunities in global markets and how Kopernik approaches investing in uranium. Watch Alissa’s full interview here, beginning at 1:19:07.
Today's market environment is leading to extreme discounts in select assets, presenting an increasingly interesting set of opportunities. Kopernik CIO Dave Iben and Deputy CIO Alissa Corcoran recently sat down with Value Investor Insight to discuss where these opportunities are and how Kopernik’s philosophy and investment process are poised to capitalize on them. Dave and Alissa explore several themes including:
1. The importance of scarce, necessary assets in the commodities space
2. Specific opportunities in emerging markets, agriculture, and gold miners
CIO Dave Iben and Deputy CIO Alissa Corcoran sat down with editor Kathryn M. Welling of Welling on Wall Street for a profile on Kopernik. Read the full interview for more insight into the investment opportunities we’re finding in emerging markets and why we continue to enjoy being contrarian, patient investors.
