Before capital is invested, we seek to understand the opportunity, how returns may be generated and where the risks sit.
Target Sustainable Returns
Different investments require different disciplines. Equities, fixed income, private credit, commodities and alternative investments each have their own characteristics, risks and sources of return. What remains consistent is our approach: understand what we are investing in, assess the risks, determine how capital should participate and maintain oversight throughout the investment lifecycle.
Our Investment Philosophy
Return Is Only Part of the Investment Decision
Understanding how an investment may generate returns is important. Equally important is understanding what could prevent those returns from being achieved.
Our investment thinking therefore considers both sides of the equation. First, the opportunity presented and the risks required to pursue it.
This means looking beyond an expected return to understand the underlying asset, business or transaction, the structure through which capital is invested, liquidity, counterparties and the factors that could materially affect the outcome.
The emphasis placed on each consideration will vary by asset class and strategy.
How We Invest — A Disciplined Investment Process
Our investment approach can be understood through five principles:
01 — Understand
Know what we are investing in and why.
We seek to understand the underlying asset, business, market or transaction, why the opportunity exists and the factors expected to drive its performance.
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02 — Assess
Consider the opportunity and the downside.
Potential returns are considered alongside risk. We assess what could change, what could impair the investment and whether the expected outcome appropriately reflects those risks.
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03 — Structure
Determine how capital should participate.
Where relevant, we consider investment structure, security, counterparties, liquidity, duration and other protections to determine how capital can appropriately participate in the opportunity.
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04 — Invest
Deploy capital with discipline.
An opportunity must align with the objectives and parameters of the relevant investment strategy. The availability of an investment alone does not make it appropriate.
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05 — Monitor
Maintain oversight after capital is invested.
Markets, businesses and circumstances change. Ongoing monitoring allows us to assess performance, changing risks and whether the original investment thesis continues to hold.
Different Investments Require Different Thinking
Applying the Process Across Markets
A consistent philosophy does not mean applying the same analysis to every investment. The questions that matter depend on what we are investing in.
Equities
Understanding the Business
Equity investing means owning an interest in a business. Our analysis considers how the business generates earnings, its financial position, competitive environment, growth prospects, valuation and the risks that could affect future performance.
Fixed Income
Understanding the Obligation
Fixed income requires understanding who owes the capital, how income is generated, the issuer’s capacity to meet its obligations and how interest rates, duration, liquidity and credit conditions may affect the investment.
Private Credit
Understanding How Capital Comes Back
Private credit begins with understanding why capital is required and how it is expected to be repaid.
Assessment may include the borrower, purpose of the loan, cash flow, repayment strategy, security, loan-to-value position, documentation and the protections available if circumstances change.
Commodities
Understanding the Transaction
Commodity investing and trading can involve physical goods, counterparties, banking arrangements, currencies and supply chains.
Our approach considers the underlying commodity, supplier and purchaser, movement of capital, custody or delivery arrangements, settlement conditions and the risks that exist throughout the transaction.
Alternative Investments
Understanding Different Sources of Return
Alternative investments can provide exposure to opportunities and return drivers that differ from traditional listed markets.
Because these investments can vary considerably in structure, liquidity and complexity, understanding how returns are generated and where risk sits is particularly important.
Portfolio Construction
Understanding Investments Individually and Together
An investment may be attractive on its own but still need to be considered within the context of the overall portfolio.
Different asset classes can respond differently to economic growth, inflation, interest rates, liquidity and market sentiment. Their correlations can also change as market conditions evolve.
Portfolio construction therefore considers not only the characteristics of individual investments, but also how exposures interact, where risks may be concentrated and what role each investment is intended to perform.
Depending on the strategy, this may involve balancing different sources of income, growth, liquidity and diversification across public and private markets.
Risk Management
Understand the Risk Before Taking It
Risk cannot be eliminated from investing. The objective is to understand which risks are being taken, why they are being taken and whether they are appropriate for the expected outcome.
Depending on the investment, this may include:
Market Risk
Changes in markets, prices, interest rates or economic conditions.
Credit & Counterparty Risk
The ability and willingness of another party to meet its obligations.
Liquidity Risk
Whether an investment can be realised when required and on what terms.
Concentration Risk
The effect of excessive exposure to a particular investment, sector, market or risk factor.
Structural Risk
How the legal, financial or capital structure affects an investor’s position.
Currency Risk
The impact of movements between currencies on investment outcomes.
Operational Risk
The processes, systems, counterparties and infrastructure required to execute and manage an investment.
Different strategies carry different combinations of these risks. Understanding where they sit is fundamental to determining whether an investment is appropriate for the relevant strategy.
Stewardship
Investment Responsibility Continues After Capital Is Deployed
Making an investment is the beginning of the management process, not the end.
Where appropriate to the strategy, ongoing oversight can include monitoring investment performance, financial information, market conditions, credit quality, portfolio exposures and changes to the original investment thesis.
The nature and frequency of that oversight will depend on the investment.
The objective is to remain informed about how an investment is performing and whether the assumptions supporting the original decision remain appropriate.
Investment Expertise
From Thinking to Execution
Our investment approach is supported by specialist capabilities across the Group.
B. Moses Asset Management brings together research, strategy development, portfolio construction, investment management and ongoing oversight across the Group’s funds, model portfolios and investment strategies.
Those capabilities are complemented, where relevant, by expertise across private credit, capital markets, financial structuring, commodities, governance and risk.
This allows investment thinking to be translated into defined strategies and managed over time.
Our Investment Capabilities — Investing Across Public & Private Markets
Our investment capabilities extend across different markets, structures and sources of return.
Managed Portfolios
Professionally managed portfolios constructed around defined investment objectives.
Tailored Investments
Investment strategies developed around particular objectives and portfolio requirements.
Equities
Australian and international listed-market investments.
Fixed Income
Traditional and alternative fixed-income opportunities.
Private Credit
Privately negotiated lending and secured credit opportunities.
Alternative Investments
Private markets, commodities, infrastructure and other specialist investment opportunities.
Think Carefully. Invest With Purpose. Manage With Discipline.
Markets change. Opportunities evolve. No investment process can remove uncertainty.
Our approach is to understand what we are investing in, assess both opportunity and downside, structure capital appropriately and maintain oversight as circumstances evolve.
Because good investment decisions begin with understanding.
