Asset Value Investors – fund manager interview

In this interview, Joe Bauernfreund, CEO and chief investment officer of Asset Value Investors (AVI), gives an introduction to family-controlled holding companies and explains why AVI believes this underappreciated asset class deserves wider investor attention.

He also explains:

•Why a focus on intergenerational wealth transfer aligns with the interests of long-term investors.
•How family-controlled holding companies can offer access to well-known businesses and brands at a discount to their underlying value.
•What factors investors should be aware of when considering an allocation to these companies.
•How family-controlled holding companies have performed relative to the wider stock market.

AVI was established in 1985 to manage the assets of one of the UK’s oldest listed investment companies, British Empire Securities (now AVI Global Trust). The manager has a value-focused, bottom-up and contrarian approach, seeking out good-quality, neglected securities that are trading at a discount to their net asset value. As well as AVI Global Trust (AGT), AVI also manages AVI Japan Opportunity Trust (AJOT) and an open-ended fund, AVI Family Holding Companies Fund. While the open-ended fund focuses purely on family-controlled holding companies, these are also an established feature of the AGT and AJOT portfolios.