Jon Ward

CGWL is an active, long-term investor which offers clients an access to a wide range of portfolio building and management resources, supported by rigorous, robust and highly analytical investment process includes in-depth research, in-house resources and insights into local and international markets. The firm’s discretionary portfolios invest in individual stocks and bonds, and other alternative asset classes. They also invest in third party investment funds, for added diversification and access to a wide range of investment styles and strategies. CGWL provides a range of different investments, including securities, equities, funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), investment trusts, venture capital trusts (VCTs), enterprise investment schemes (EISs), alternatives, bonds and cash.

Provides investment advice

CSE is a value-oriented investment manager following an investment approach based on strong convictions. The firm invests primarily in equity, complemented with debt, money market instruments and alternative investments, and focuses on the UK and continental Europe. Portfolios outside of the firm's core competencies are delegated to third-party asset managers. Equity portfolios are invested over the medium term in companies deemed to have intrinsic value considerably superior to their market valuation. The investment process is strictly bottom-up and based on fundamental analysis. CSE believes that diversification reduces upside potential, and favors a fundamental approach to economic, internal and competitive factors likely to affect each company in their concentrated portfolio. The firm follows investment themes inspired by trends and broad events, and targets strong corporations temporarily out of favor as well as valuation anomalies for which they can identify a catalyst. Portfolio companies are pro-actively monitored to reassess target price and investment horizon. Positions are divested when the target price is reached or when a change in the fundamentals causes the time to outcome to increase significantly. The firm's alternative investments are multi-manager portfolios. Underlying strategies include multi-arbitrage, convertible arbitrage, fixed-income, merger arbitrage and distressed debt, equity hedge, macro and trading. In addition to fundamental research, CSE's investment process leverages the quantitative capabilities offered by their Quest on-line share evaluation system.