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2nd Financial Community Update
Investor motives – from two different perspectives
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A series of events organized under the banner “Financial Community
Update” was launched in early 2002 with the aim of conveying knowledge and providing a platform for facilitating
contacts within the financial community. The second meeting in this series of events, which took place on November
25, 2002 at the Steigenberger Hotel Bellerive au Lac in Zurich, was focused on an evaluation of institutional
investment behavior from two different perspectives.
Les Pugh from Makinson Cowell, the Anglo-American partner of Wirz Investor Relations, outlined various ways
in which companies can learn more about how their institutional investors think and act. Makinson Cowell has
created a special “Capital Market Audit” which provides information about the qualitative and quantitative
motives behind equity investment decisions.
Mario Fontana, a member of the board of several Swiss companies, opened a discussion with Georg von Wyss, the
manager of Classic Global Equity Fund, by remarking that “selling is hard and buying is even harder”.
Georg von Wyss explained in simple, straightforward terms how stocks are selected for his fund: by applying
a thorough analysis based on a value style. The fund invests only in companies it can trust. It pursues a long-term
investment strategy and holds each position for on average of three years – longer than many executives
are in office nowadays! Mr. von Wyss referred to the topic of corporate governance as “hystérie
du jour”. Greater transparency does make it harder to hide something but too much regulation can be cumbersome.
What investors need are transparent cash flow statements and corporate executives who can explain all the figures
on the balance sheet. |
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