Eric Sturdza Investments has announced that it is extending its partnership with Crawford Fund Management with the launch of a long only version of the Strategic Long/Short Fund.
The firm writes that the new fund specialises in US owner operators and follows the success of the long/short strategy since inception in November 2022.
Owner-operated firms represent 10-to-15 per cent of the publicly traded equity universe in the US, mostly in the small and mid-cap space. The firm writes that these are frequently companies with little coverage by Wall Street analysts. The concept of owner operators focuses on management teams that generate their income primarily from equity value creation, rather than through their salaries and bonuses.
Proprietary analysis into whether a company satisfies the team’s ‘owner operator’ criteria is a pre-requisite for investment, but not enough on its own. Crawford also looks closely into the positioning of a company with reference to the environment in which it operates, free cash flow generation potential, the quality of its balance sheet, its fundamental valuation, and the quality of its management. The Strategic US Opportunities Fund’s portfolio will hold between 20 and 50 positions.
“We’re looking for the ‘crème de la crème’ of US small and mid caps,” says Christopher Crawford, Chief Information Officer at Crawford Fund Management. “We are continually seeking companies with the right business model at the right price and run by the right people.”
“We are delighted to work again with Crawford with this new long-only venture,” says Andreas Söderholm, Head of Eric Sturdza Investments. “The fund offers a unique way to invest in stellar companies in the US. Our goal is to continue to outperform the US market, as Crawford has done over the last 15 years.”
