News & Views

News & Views

When Doves Cry (Oct 2014)

David B. Iben, CFA discusses why we believe that valuation is the key determinant of risk (permanent loss of purchasing power) and why short-term price fluctuations are not risk, but are an annoying, often painful, creator of opportunity. While When Doves Cry reminds us of the Fed’s cooing over taking the risk out the marketplace, Prince’s apocalyptic anthem, 1999 will be used as a medium to lay out quite a bullish case for active management.

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The Saddle Ridge Hoard (Jun 2014)

Following the story of a California couple who stumbled on a coffee can filled with treasure, David B. Iben, CFA discussed the idea that investors often obsess over the wrong type of “risks’ and why this error in judgement presents outsized money-making opportunities.

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The Wizard of Oz (Nov 2013)

David B. Iben, CFA, uses the classic tale, the Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, as a parody of the world’s central banks, elected representatives, Neo Keynesian academics and the rest of the central planners and why we at Kopernik plan to forsake easy gimmicks and follow the yellow “BRIC” road.

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My Fair Lady (Jul 2013)

My Fair Lady, (MFL) has been reprised many times over the decades. It started as Pygmalion in London, later coming across the Pond as MFL, and as many versions continued to be cast on various stages throughout the world, it was adapted for film and became a popular, award-winning movie. Therefore, it seems in the spirit of things to reprise my Commentary from four months ago.

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The Nifty Seven (Jan 2024)

As Benjamin Graham points out, "The intelligent investor is a realist who sells to optimists and buys from pessimists." In her year-end letter, Deputy CIO Alissa Corcoran highlights the extreme optimism and pessimism in today's markets. Drawing parallels to the 1960s and 1970s, she notes that there are similarities in investor psychology and warns of the risks when price is not considered in investment decisions.

The U.S. momentum market is on a roll. However, Kopernik is finding opportunities by venturing into less loved areas of the market, such as real assets and emerging markets. Corcoran argues that now may be the time for investors to sell to optimists and focus on the fundamentals.

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Uranium 2023 (Dec 2023)

In the third iteration of our uranium whitepaper, Kopernik energy analyst Stephen Rosenthal explores the state of uranium investing in 2023. When our previous whitepapers came out, uranium was far from popular with investors - now, it seems like we’re finally sitting at the cool kids’ table in the investing cafeteria.

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Misunderstandings Present Great Opportunities (Jan 2023)

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?

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Managing Geopolitical Risk in a Global Portfolio (July 2022)

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.

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Fear is Good (July 2022)

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.

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A Differentiated Approach to ESG (July 2022)

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.

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CFA Society of Dallas-Fort Worth | Charterholder Chatter interview with Dave Iben - November 3, 2022

Kopernik CIO Dave Iben recently sat down with Paul Olschwanger of Wendell Rhoads Consulting for an episode of Charterholder Chatter, sponsored by the CFA Society of Dallas-Fort Worth. Dave spoke to Paul about the progression of his investment career, what’s to come for the future of value investing, and why to Kopernik, volatility is opportunity.

You can listen to Dave’s full discussion on the CFA Society Dallas/Fort Worth Charterholder Chatter website or by clicking play in the player below.

 

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BBN Bloomberg TV - Featuring Alissa Corcoran - November 3, 2022

Kopernik Deputy CIO Alissa Corcoran spoke with BNN Bloomberg TV about recent market trends, rising interest rates, value investing, and emerging markets. Watch Alissa’s full interview here.

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Bloomberg Markets: The Close - featuring Alissa Corcoran - September 16, 2022

Our Deputy CIO Alissa Corcoran spoke to Bloomberg TV about global commodities, taking advantage of volatility, and the benefits of value investing. Watch Alissa’s interview here, beginning at 23:50.

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The Wall Street Transcript Interview with Dave Iben: Find Better Bargains by Investing Outside the U.S.

Our CIO Dave Iben was recently interviewed by The Wall Street Transcript, where he discussed Kopernik’s investment philosophy and why companies in emerging markets are compelling for investors looking to construct a more diversified portfolio. Read the full interview here.

 

 

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Kopernik Global Investors Call: Investment Implications – Russia/Ukraine Conflict

Update on Russia/Ukraine Exposures (as of August 2, 2022)

Thoughts on the Ukrainian Situation (as of February 24, 2022)

David Iben, CIO & Lead Portfolio Manager and Alissa Corcoran, Deputy CIO & Director of Research discuss the investment implications of the Russia/Ukraine conflict. 

Presentation: Investment Implications – Russia/Ukraine Conflict Presentation

Video Replay: Kopernik Global Investors | Investment Implications - Russia/Ukraine Conflict (Vimeo)

Transcript: Edited Transcript of Investment Implications - Russia/Ukraine Conflict

Note, the discussion took place on Friday, February 25, 2022 at 11 am ET. We continue to monitor developments related to the Russia/Ukraine Conflict.

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Institutional Investor Interview with Dave Iben: Opportunities in Eastern Europe - July 1, 2022

Recently, Kopernik CIO Dave Iben spoke with Institutional Investor for a deep dive on the importance of investing in emerging markets—including Ukraine and Russia—and discussed where exactly to find opportunities in Eastern Europe. Read Dave’s full interview here.

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