Mar Vista Investment Partners, LLC (MV) has been added to the SGMF U.S. Large Companies Fund as at 20 July 2018. We find MV’s consistent adherence to the stability alpha source based on deep research attractive. We also like the fact that MV has the benefits of a relatively small firm, but also has sufficient critical mass of AUM to provide financial stability and resourcing.

Addition of Mar Vista

What They Do

MV takes a balanced, disciplined approach to large-company investing. The investment team’s strategy focuses on sustainable drivers of returns over longer investment horizons. MV seeks to add value through quality growth and stability of fundamentals. Mar Vista’s philosophy can be described as quality growth, leaning primarily on stability of fundamentals but with a nod to stable value through its valuation sensitivity. The strategy’s foremost objective is to own high-quality businesses that will benefit from stable compounding over a long period of time, but it seeks to do so only when stock prices trade at a sufficient discount to its intrinsic or underlying value such that they will help prevent error and provide opportunity for strong returns.

How They Do

It MV’s investment process relies on a disciplined adherence to the stability alpha-source. Factors such as a hyper-focus on companies with sustainable competitive advantages and favourable intrinsic value govern its portfolio decision making process. The investment process is designed to attain stability through a low portfolio turnover and a long time horizon. The strategic growth objective is to own high-quality businesses that benefit from stable compounding over long periods of time. Therefore, the investment team emphasises companies that demonstrate earnings growth stability and lower beta and volatility.

About MV

Los-Angeles-based MV is a 100% employee-owned investment boutique founded in 2007 as a spin-off of Roxbury Capital Management (Roxbury). In 2010, M&T bought Wilmington Trust (which owned Roxbury) and eventually decided to sell its stake in Roxbury. In 2015, the employees of MV bought Roxbury from M&T at an attractive price using personal capital. As at 23 March 2018, the firm had more than US$2.51 billion in assets under management.