[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":460},["ShallowReactive",2],{"en-themen-gedanken/cio-insight-3q2023":3,"news-articles//en/themen-gedanken/cio-insight-3q2023-v-0-0-0":176},{"data":4,"headers":153},{"story":5,"cv":146,"rels":147,"links":152},{"name":6,"created_at":7,"published_at":8,"updated_at":9,"id":10,"uuid":11,"content":12,"slug":139,"full_slug":140,"sort_by_date":39,"position":141,"tag_list":142,"is_startpage":26,"parent_id":143,"meta_data":39,"group_id":144,"first_published_at":8,"release_id":39,"lang":44,"path":39,"alternates":145,"default_full_slug":39,"translated_slugs":39},"CIO Insight 3Q2023","2026-09-08T13:55:14.624Z","2026-09-08T14:08:03.474Z","2026-09-08T14:08:03.488Z",217850325540324,"a7ef6491-356e-4d8e-924e-8df10d3b7351",{"seo":13,"_uid":19,"date":20,"image":21,"title":15,"category":27,"sections":47,"component":138,"description":23,"disablePrerender":26},{"_uid":14,"title":15,"plugin":16,"og_image":17,"og_title":15,"description":18,"twitter_image":17,"twitter_title":15,"og_description":18,"twitter_description":18},"7b23b9c8-9612-43a5-8317-b1aea1682082","A word on market capitalization","seo_metatags","https://a.storyblok.com/f/294930226098899/1230x820/40bc8c54ef/istock-1199391766_large_b-w_1230x820.jpg","Our strategy follows an all-cap approach. Currently, roughly three-quarters of portfolio holdings fall into the mid- and small cap range (below USD 10bn). However - we ought to draw a distinction between size in the stock market versus size as a business.","d1aac4eb-24dc-4947-9fa5-0cdc0594914a","2023-10-09 00:00",{"id":22,"alt":23,"name":23,"focus":23,"title":23,"source":23,"filename":17,"copyright":23,"fieldtype":24,"meta_data":25,"is_external_url":26},217846337993550,"","asset",{},false,{"name":28,"created_at":29,"published_at":30,"updated_at":31,"id":32,"uuid":33,"content":34,"slug":37,"full_slug":38,"sort_by_date":39,"position":40,"tag_list":41,"is_startpage":26,"parent_id":42,"meta_data":39,"group_id":43,"first_published_at":30,"release_id":39,"lang":44,"path":39,"alternates":45,"default_full_slug":39,"translated_slugs":39,"_stopResolving":46},"CIO Insights","2026-09-08T07:01:26.554Z","2026-09-08T07:01:42.831Z","2026-09-08T07:01:42.842Z",217748629753556,"d3e352c9-a6e1-424c-9b3e-d8ec27414248",{"_uid":35,"name":28,"component":36},"b134b476-a70b-4fdf-b5b2-d8b0e90f845a","DatasourceNewsCategory","cio-insights","en/settings/datasources/news-categories/cio-insights",null,0,[],217748407901900,"4f7bd825-749e-4439-a76e-ff16cd15b63f","en",[],true,[48],{"_uid":49,"content":50,"component":136,"backgroundColor":137},"d474eea0-bfee-4234-94fb-451edf043935",[51],{"_uid":52,"html":53,"author":131,"fontSize":132,"component":133,"authorRole":134,"authorCompany":135,"showAuthorAlsoOnBottom":46},"72c8a997-18c3-4e68-8318-36fa3c93b8af",{"type":54,"content":55},"doc",[56,67,76,106,113,120,127],{"type":57,"attrs":58,"content":60},"heading",{"level":59},5,[61],{"text":62,"type":63,"marks":64},"CIO Insights 3Q2023","text",[65],{"type":66},"bold",{"type":68,"content":69},"paragraph",[70],{"text":71,"type":63,"marks":72},"Our strategy follows an all-cap approach. This means that there are no restrictions regarding market capitalization [= stock price x number of shares outstanding] of firms we can invest in. Currently, roughly three-quarters of portfolio holdings fall into the mid- and small cap range (below USD 10bn). For comparison, only about ten percent of stocks fit the same category in a typical equity index such as the FTSE All-World Index.",[73],{"type":74,"attrs":75},"textStyle",{"color":23},{"type":68,"content":77},[78,83,90,95,101],{"text":79,"type":63,"marks":80},"The market price of many large- and mega-cap companies reflect high future growth or profitability expectations. Our valuation sensitivity usually prevents us from buying into such situations. We would rather opt for firms with lower expectations where we believe the potential for upside revaluation, using conservative assumptions, is compelling. Having said that, we ought to draw a distinction between ",[81],{"type":74,"attrs":82},{"color":23},{"text":84,"type":63,"marks":85},"size in the stock market",[86,88],{"type":87},"italic",{"type":74,"attrs":89},{"color":23},{"text":91,"type":63,"marks":92}," versus ",[93],{"type":74,"attrs":94},{"color":23},{"text":96,"type":63,"marks":97},"size as a business",[98,99],{"type":87},{"type":74,"attrs":100},{"color":23},{"text":102,"type":63,"marks":103},". In fact, when we look at corporate measures such as revenues, capital invested, work force or geographic reach, the typical firm we have invested in is actually quite big. To illustrate, the median number of employees on our companies’ payroll is about twelve thousand, a substantial figure by any objective standard.",[104],{"type":74,"attrs":105},{"color":23},{"type":68,"content":107},[108],{"text":109,"type":63,"marks":110},"For this reason, we believe that the significance of market capitalization must always be put in context of specific business characteristics. For instance, asset-heavy firms such as those operating in telecommunications, utilities, capital goods, logistics or commercial banking face high recurring investments needs which are partly financed through debt. Thus, they support a large balance sheet of which the equity portion only partially accounts for its size in terms of total assets. Next, for companies active in cyclical areas such as energy and materials the market customarily keeps a lid on the capitalization range because it is fearful that sporadic recessions and a mature core business may stunt long-term earnings power. Still others may be hesitant to take advantage of additional business opportunities because they want to avoid the dilution of existing shareholders should fresh capital be necessary to finance the incremental growth. This is often the case where individuals or families are controlling shareholders. Finally, niche players producing highly engineered industrial components usually have a confined addressable market even if they are world leaders in their field. For example, made-to-measure parts that are used in the assembly of long-haul passenger aircraft may be bought by a handful of customers that virtually constitute the entire market.",[111],{"type":74,"attrs":112},{"color":23},{"type":68,"content":114},[115],{"text":116,"type":63,"marks":117},"Notwithstanding these challenges, there are subtle arguments that make it worthwhile to look at neglected mid- and small-cap situations. First, a muted growth scenario may satisfice to justify an investment at the current price. In other words, a company that generates a competitive return on capital and pays a good dividend may deliver a solid performance for shareholders over time despite less exciting growth prospects. Second, structurally difficult industry economics attract fewer incremental competitors, which leaves incumbents’ achievable earnings power undisturbed and predictable. Third, low embedded expectations may elicit a sizable upward adjustment in a firm’s stock price if it shows an unexpected improvement in profitability or business outlook. And fourth, a modest market cap may render takeover financing more plausible for an interested acquirer, even if a substantial premium to the pre-bid market price must be paid.",[118],{"type":74,"attrs":119},{"color":23},{"type":68,"content":121},[122],{"text":123,"type":63,"marks":124},"In conclusion, bargain hunting for hidden gems in the global equities markets makes sense both intuitively and empirically. This is true for all capitalization ranges but can be especially fruitful in the mid- and small-cap space. Here companies get less attention by the financial media, securities analysts and market participants, opening up potential for inefficient price setting. This relative obscurity and the opportunity it presents partly explains the oft-studied performance factor which academics call the “small-cap effect.” With the persistently high allocation to this market segment, the Fund is set to continue to take advantage of this formidable source of return.",[125],{"type":74,"attrs":126},{"color":23},{"type":68,"content":128},[129],{"text":130,"type":63},"Sincerely,","Gregor Trachsel","lead","AtomTextRichtext","Chief Investment Officer","SG Value Partners AG","BlockLayoutSection","transparent","PageNews","cio-insight-3q2023","en/themen-gedanken/cio-insight-3q2023",-250,[],217756702998777,"b3599020-d673-4cbd-ab59-32a4909cdbb5",[],1791208903,[148],{"name":28,"created_at":29,"published_at":30,"updated_at":31,"id":32,"uuid":33,"content":149,"slug":37,"full_slug":38,"sort_by_date":39,"position":40,"tag_list":150,"is_startpage":26,"parent_id":42,"meta_data":39,"group_id":43,"first_published_at":30,"release_id":39,"lang":44,"path":39,"alternates":151,"default_full_slug":39,"translated_slugs":39},{"_uid":35,"name":28,"component":36},[],[],[],{"age":154,"cache-control":155,"connection":156,"content-encoding":157,"content-type":158,"date":159,"etag":160,"referrer-policy":161,"sb-be-version":162,"server":163,"transfer-encoding":164,"vary":165,"via":166,"x-amz-cf-id":167,"x-amz-cf-pop":168,"x-cache":169,"x-content-type-options":170,"x-frame-options":171,"x-permitted-cross-domain-policies":172,"x-request-id":173,"x-runtime":174,"x-xss-protection":175},"2264","max-age=0, public, s-maxage=604800, stale-if-error=3600","keep-alive","gzip","application/json; charset=utf-8","Mon, 05 Oct 2026 14:21:17 GMT","W/\"2b4fd95d51ba390f4016e5e23e9008ad\"","strict-origin-when-cross-origin","5.980.1","nginx/1.29.1","chunked","Origin,Accept-Encoding","1.1 6ae27853e1d5d9f5ac45bdd63df3f096.cloudfront.net (CloudFront)","67rIjp4o7KxlWlBgaVIhe37c3Q3aKVCWvHrFntpmT6JlFeQu1II3SA==","IAD55-P6","Hit from cloudfront","nosniff","SAMEORIGIN","none","b0f2b649-41d0-49b8-bf2f-c118cc8b8908","0.030305","0",{"data":177,"headers":448,"perPage":458,"total":459},{"stories":178,"cv":146,"rels":442,"links":447},[179,259,354],{"name":180,"created_at":181,"published_at":182,"updated_at":183,"id":184,"uuid":185,"content":186,"slug":252,"full_slug":253,"sort_by_date":39,"position":254,"tag_list":255,"is_startpage":26,"parent_id":143,"meta_data":39,"group_id":256,"first_published_at":257,"release_id":39,"lang":44,"path":39,"alternates":258,"default_full_slug":39,"translated_slugs":39},"CIO Insight 2Q2026","2026-09-08T13:55:13.998Z","2026-09-10T11:50:38.038Z","2026-09-10T11:50:38.054Z",217850322972131,"0d040913-18c4-4af6-a084-44855ddaa820",{"seo":187,"_uid":191,"date":192,"image":193,"title":188,"category":197,"sections":201,"component":138,"isFeatured":46,"description":23,"disablePrerender":26},{"_uid":14,"title":188,"plugin":16,"og_image":189,"og_title":188,"description":190,"twitter_image":189,"twitter_title":188,"og_description":190,"twitter_description":190},"Leaning against the investment for growth imperative","https://a.storyblok.com/f/294930226098899/600x400/da80bb5fc4/istock-871618316_600x400.jpg","By some yardsticks, the US-led secular bull market stretches well into its fifth decade by now. We thus live in an era where one feels pressure, if not a certain inevitability, to invest in equities. We believe that value investing the way we practice it presents a tangible approach for investors looking to balance the overwhelming growth bias in most opinions and recommendations.","c11a4786-8bea-49ba-991d-d902596d2497","2026-07-07 00:00",{"id":194,"alt":23,"name":23,"focus":23,"title":23,"source":23,"filename":195,"copyright":23,"fieldtype":24,"meta_data":196,"is_external_url":26},217846485547875,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/294930226098899/1230x820/2f1b3b5688/istock-871618316_1230x820.jpg",{},{"name":28,"created_at":29,"published_at":30,"updated_at":31,"id":32,"uuid":33,"content":198,"slug":37,"full_slug":38,"sort_by_date":39,"position":40,"tag_list":199,"is_startpage":26,"parent_id":42,"meta_data":39,"group_id":43,"first_published_at":30,"release_id":39,"lang":44,"path":39,"alternates":200,"default_full_slug":39,"translated_slugs":39,"_stopResolving":46},{"_uid":35,"name":28,"component":36},[],[],[202],{"_uid":203,"content":204,"component":136,"backgroundColor":137},"689167cf-c94f-425b-b34d-96985359092a",[205],{"_uid":206,"html":207,"author":131,"fontSize":132,"component":133,"authorRole":134,"authorCompany":135,"showAuthorAlsoOnBottom":46},"2475036e-f0b3-426c-b9b8-0267546acad7",{"type":54,"content":208},[209,216,224,232,240,248],{"type":57,"attrs":210,"content":211},{"level":59,"textAlign":39},[212],{"text":213,"type":63,"marks":214},"CIO Insights 2Q2026",[215],{"type":66},{"type":68,"attrs":217,"content":218},{"textAlign":39},[219],{"text":220,"type":63,"marks":221},"By some yardsticks, the US-led secular bull market stretches well into its fifth decade by now, tracing its origins to Fed chairman Paul Volcker’s decisive fight against inflation in the early 1980s. In retrospect, taking on ever more risk has turned out well during the relentless move higher, if one could withstand sporadic jolts such as the 87-crash, the TMT bubble of the late ‘90s, the subprime crisis in ‘07/’08 or Covid-19. We thus live in an era where one feels pressure, if not a certain inevitability, to invest in equities. Savers in all age brackets are being advised to increase their allocation to stocks to be able to adequately fund their retirement. Retail traders have become conditioned “to buy the dip” whenever there is the slightest pullback in price. The casual advice typically heard in all extended bull runs is that “the only risk is not being invested enough.” Fintechs facilitate implementation by providing low-cost, easy-to-use apps to trade whatever and whenever we feel like. In institutional money management, meanwhile, some investment vehicles’ widespread use can be attributed in good measure to the long-running stock market boom. Prominent examples include equity index funds and active equity funds with a relative performance target. More far-reaching still, the bulk of investment allocations by pension plans and other long-duration savings arrangements is commonly channeled towards such funds.",[222],{"type":74,"attrs":223},{"color":23},{"type":68,"attrs":225,"content":226},{"textAlign":39},[227],{"text":228,"type":63,"marks":229},"Given the vast sums of money at stake, it is understandable that the securities industry habitually sees bright skies ahead for the markets’ favorite stocks. Intuitively appealing growth stories dominate most investment views. As a current example, the narrative on artificial intelligence revolves, in a first phase, around the key players in the build-out of the digital and physical infrastructure necessary for its diffusion (the enablers). In the second stage, AI promises to unlock new growth opportunities and productivity gains for all those willing to embrace it (the enabled). By extension, those who don’t adapt swiftly and decisively enough will have a hard time remaining competitive (the disrupted). This oversimplified win-or-lose categorization, in turn, may even cause corporate decision-makers to rush into an undue investment-for-growth mode. It could tempt them to raise spending on discretionary capex or to make acquisitions they didn’t plan for, while perhaps tapping in the dark regarding the expected payoff. There is nothing inherently wrong with using growth as a value driver. However, investors and corporate managers alike should always rationally assess plausibility and think through the ramifications before progressing.",[230],{"type":74,"attrs":231},{"color":23},{"type":68,"attrs":233,"content":234},{"textAlign":39},[235],{"text":236,"type":63,"marks":237},"We believe that value investing the way we practice it presents a tangible approach for investors looking to balance the overwhelming growth bias in most opinions and recommendations. First, we don’t play the relative-return game. Our focus on long-term absolute return frees us from the shackles of implicitly being required to take a view on everything at all times. We can wait for the right investment opportunity to emerge, irrespective of what the stock market is doing. Second, we adhere to a margin-of-safety discipline. It prevents us from making the common mistake of overpaying for growth. Third, we look for levers where corporate value can be unlocked unrelated to growth. For instance, we seek out bargains around corporate consolidation or reorganization, cost and capital efficiency, capital structure optimizations, or the identification of higher-and-better-use of assets (e.g., land repurposing). Fourth, we do not hesitate to invest in what we understand to be low- or no-growth industries, provided that the company in question can pull off a successful harvesting strategy. And fifth, as contrarians we tend to be wary of industries or investment paradigms in which companies feel compelled to fund major new projects in unseasoned ventures and technologies, or explore M&A deals, just to keep up with what competitors are doing. We concentrate on situations where firms have the leeway to undertake capex on a voluntary and countercyclical basis.",[238],{"type":74,"attrs":239},{"color":23},{"type":68,"attrs":241,"content":242},{"textAlign":39},[243],{"text":244,"type":63,"marks":245},"While the seemingly irresistible secular growth story in equities continues, we opt to stay true to our philosophy of patient bargain hunting. We diligently look for stocks that have unjustifiably fallen by the wayside. The value drivers we identify in our investments may or may not involve growth. We refuse to become “reluctant bulls” who believe they have no choice but to play along, and we consider it a privilege to be discerning rather than accommodating investors.",[246],{"type":74,"attrs":247},{"color":23},{"type":68,"attrs":249,"content":250},{"textAlign":39},[251],{"text":130,"type":63},"cio-insight-2q2026","en/themen-gedanken/cio-insight-2q2026",-230,[],"bb54a418-1f25-4568-b7ac-f7eb886a2e48","2026-09-08T14:08:02.864Z",[],{"name":260,"created_at":261,"published_at":262,"updated_at":263,"id":264,"uuid":265,"content":266,"slug":347,"full_slug":348,"sort_by_date":39,"position":349,"tag_list":350,"is_startpage":26,"parent_id":143,"meta_data":39,"group_id":351,"first_published_at":352,"release_id":39,"lang":44,"path":39,"alternates":353,"default_full_slug":39,"translated_slugs":39},"CIO Insight 1Q2026","2026-09-08T13:44:31.774Z","2026-09-10T11:50:56.096Z","2026-09-10T11:50:56.114Z",217847692424555,"2a4179da-1c95-4400-b61a-f8cafdfc673d",{"seo":267,"_uid":271,"date":272,"image":273,"title":268,"category":276,"sections":280,"component":138,"isFeatured":46,"description":23,"disablePrerender":26},{"_uid":14,"title":268,"plugin":16,"og_image":269,"og_title":268,"description":270,"twitter_image":269,"twitter_title":268,"og_description":270,"twitter_description":270},"Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the contrarian investor","https://a.storyblok.com/f/294930226098899/1230x820/7ff34222c2/1q26_1230x820.jpg","Equities markets have become increasingly concerned about the disruptive effect of AI, especially in its agentic form. From our vantage point we are convinced that the broad commercialization of AI presents a net positive for our business, for two crucial reasons. The first is related to what AI can do for us and the second how it helps to further differentiate our contrarian approach versus other, more conventional strategies.","47bada0f-b57d-4452-9e54-cee2308d5003","2026-04-14 00:00",{"id":274,"alt":23,"name":23,"focus":23,"title":23,"source":23,"filename":269,"copyright":23,"fieldtype":24,"meta_data":275,"is_external_url":26},217846514494311,{},{"name":28,"created_at":29,"published_at":30,"updated_at":31,"id":32,"uuid":33,"content":277,"slug":37,"full_slug":38,"sort_by_date":39,"position":40,"tag_list":278,"is_startpage":26,"parent_id":42,"meta_data":39,"group_id":43,"first_published_at":30,"release_id":39,"lang":44,"path":39,"alternates":279,"default_full_slug":39,"translated_slugs":39,"_stopResolving":46},{"_uid":35,"name":28,"component":36},[],[],[281],{"_uid":282,"content":283,"component":136,"backgroundColor":137},"3648639f-10ae-446e-a9ad-92ee1cabc58c",[284],{"_uid":285,"html":286,"author":131,"fontSize":132,"component":133,"authorRole":134,"authorCompany":135,"showAuthorAlsoOnBottom":46},"85e10ee0-301a-4b17-81e0-b74caf57bb31",{"type":54,"content":287},[288,295,303,311,319,327,335,343],{"type":57,"attrs":289,"content":290},{"level":59,"textAlign":39},[291],{"text":292,"type":63,"marks":293},"CIO Insights 1Q2026",[294],{"type":66},{"type":68,"attrs":296,"content":297},{"textAlign":39},[298],{"text":299,"type":63,"marks":300},"Equities markets have become increasingly concerned about the disruptive effect that AI, especially in its agentic form, will have on companies in industries ranging from Software as a Service (SaaS) and miscellaneous professional services (e.g., accounting, consulting, marketing, education, customer relationship management or freight logistics) all the way to financials such as fintechs, rating agencies, credit card processors and traditional players in banking and asset management. There cannot be a broad-brushed assessment of the impact. Every firm and every analyst looking at them will have to evaluate in frank terms how sensitive a particular business model is and how it should be adapted accordingly. This uncertainty is of great interest to us. Especially among select professional services firms that enjoy entrenched competitive positions and high client loyalty, we can see the market potentially overreacting.",[301],{"type":74,"attrs":302},{"color":23},{"type":68,"attrs":304,"content":305},{"textAlign":39},[306],{"text":307,"type":63,"marks":308},"The first order of concern, however, is to evaluate our own cooking: will AI make us obsolete? Ultimately, of course, it is our clients who are the judges as to how relevant our offering is to them within the context of their overall asset allocation programs. From our vantage point we are convinced that the broad commercialization of AI presents a net positive for our business, for two crucial reasons. The first is related to what AI can do for us and the second how it helps to further differentiate our contrarian approach versus other, more conventional strategies.",[309],{"type":74,"attrs":310},{"color":23},{"type":68,"attrs":312,"content":313},{"textAlign":39},[314],{"text":315,"type":63,"marks":316},"First, let’s shed light on how we manage to productively deploy AI. On one level, it makes several aspects of our day-to-day business support operations more efficient. Many data processing tasks and analytics so far have been managed with separate tools on varied platforms. Agentic AI now facilitates and enhances their interoperability, which leads to better overall information outcomes while greatly reducing the need for manual input. On another level, our investment research process likewise becomes more efficient. Relevant but basic due diligence information on business metrics, competitive analysis, strengths and weaknesses, threats and opportunities and macroeconomic sensitivities are much more rapidly distilled out in an AI world than before. Both factors free up precious time and resources that can be reallocated to our very business reason: weighing the strategic merits and prospects of individual firms, putting a value on them, managing the portfolios and interacting with clients.",[317],{"type":74,"attrs":318},{"color":23},{"type":68,"attrs":320,"content":321},{"textAlign":39},[322],{"text":323,"type":63,"marks":324},"Now, let’s look at AI’s shortcomings and how they help us in unintended ways to further differentiate our product offering. In plain terms, AI cannot supplant the human judgment skills necessary to evaluate whether we want to buy and then own a stock over a long period of time. Specifically, AI lacks the ability to help us develop a sound investment thesis around a divergent perspective on a business and hence its financial trajectory going forward, versus that implied by the market. To recall, we are dedicated contrarian investors looking for the counterintuitive, the misunderstood, the quirky, the obscure. A big part in a contrarian investor’s playbook is to be on the lookout for unexpected improvements in business conditions and eventual recovery form previously observed negative earnings trends. Our experience so far has been that AI, at least in the form of so-called large language models (LLMs), is built on an extrapolative, linear “reasoning” process. It is prone to develop predictive conclusions that fall mostly in line with what a conventional, consensus-based investment analysis would indicate. It follows that AI has difficulty in dealing with nonlinear systems, where an economic pattern may start to deviate from recently observed norms (as would be the case, for instance, in corporate turnarounds or at the nadir of business cycles).",[325],{"type":74,"attrs":326},{"color":23},{"type":68,"attrs":328,"content":329},{"textAlign":39},[330],{"text":331,"type":63,"marks":332},"Concurrently, we surmise that the consequences of how AI works and its ubiquitous availability to the investment management industry renders future investment decisions even more uniform. If everybody uses the same assumptions and input feeding their AI-driven algorithms, even fewer off-consensus views will be left to impact prices. This in turn will likely lead to more instances where individual companies may be significantly mispriced by the market, presenting new opportunities for us.",[333],{"type":74,"attrs":334},{"color":23},{"type":68,"attrs":336,"content":337},{"textAlign":39},[338],{"text":339,"type":63,"marks":340},"Thus, AI should benefit our business, both purposely and inadvertently. Most importantly, we will view the future as being AI-enabled, as opposed to AI-dictated. This means that we are determined to use AI in our favor and exploit its pros and cons, without becoming enslaved by it.",[341],{"type":74,"attrs":342},{"color":23},{"type":68,"attrs":344,"content":345},{"textAlign":39},[346],{"text":130,"type":63},"cio-insight-1q2026","en/themen-gedanken/cio-insight-1q2026",-30,[],"e4c02aa5-b20d-4108-abf7-99635a99180d","2026-09-08T14:08:00.295Z",[],{"name":355,"created_at":356,"published_at":357,"updated_at":358,"id":359,"uuid":360,"content":361,"slug":435,"full_slug":436,"sort_by_date":39,"position":437,"tag_list":438,"is_startpage":26,"parent_id":143,"meta_data":39,"group_id":439,"first_published_at":440,"release_id":39,"lang":44,"path":39,"alternates":441,"default_full_slug":39,"translated_slugs":39},"CIO Insight 4Q2025","2026-09-08T13:55:20.441Z","2026-09-10T11:51:46.218Z","2026-09-10T11:51:46.236Z",217850349358579,"3e57f999-f032-4ab8-88d0-4340c2bf9f1d",{"seo":362,"_uid":366,"date":367,"image":368,"title":363,"category":372,"sections":376,"component":138,"isFeatured":46,"description":23,"disablePrerender":26},{"_uid":14,"title":363,"plugin":16,"og_image":364,"og_title":363,"description":365,"twitter_image":364,"twitter_title":363,"og_description":365,"twitter_description":365},"The unlikely charms of cyclical businesses","https://a.storyblok.com/f/294930226098899/600x400/6fa7ea3c23/istock-2222231533_600x400.jpg","While globally synchronized contractions have become rarer, we believe that the recent lack thereof is an aberration rather than the new norm. Cyclical swings remain at the heart of market-based economics. Our structural exposure to cyclicals ensures that we stay recession-alert and properly think through the key threats and opportunities involved.","6724371c-3ff1-4181-b0a1-855235d49617","2026-01-14 00:00",{"id":369,"alt":23,"name":23,"focus":23,"title":23,"source":23,"filename":370,"copyright":23,"fieldtype":24,"meta_data":371,"is_external_url":26},217846644685694,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/294930226098899/1230x821/8c0c6cccbc/istock-2222231533_1230x820.jpg",{},{"name":28,"created_at":29,"published_at":30,"updated_at":31,"id":32,"uuid":33,"content":373,"slug":37,"full_slug":38,"sort_by_date":39,"position":40,"tag_list":374,"is_startpage":26,"parent_id":42,"meta_data":39,"group_id":43,"first_published_at":30,"release_id":39,"lang":44,"path":39,"alternates":375,"default_full_slug":39,"translated_slugs":39,"_stopResolving":46},{"_uid":35,"name":28,"component":36},[],[],[377],{"_uid":378,"content":379,"component":136,"backgroundColor":137},"3dea6a0b-64ba-4764-bee7-f3460d54c87a",[380],{"_uid":381,"html":382,"author":131,"fontSize":132,"component":133,"authorRole":134,"authorCompany":135,"showAuthorAlsoOnBottom":46},"c1f49e18-9c63-43ed-9947-7ea712d1314e",{"type":54,"content":383},[384,391,399,407,415,423,431],{"type":57,"attrs":385,"content":386},{"level":59,"textAlign":39},[387],{"text":388,"type":63,"marks":389},"CIO Insights 4Q2025",[390],{"type":66},{"type":68,"attrs":392,"content":393},{"textAlign":39},[394],{"text":395,"type":63,"marks":396},"The Nov. 15th weekly edition of The Economist contained a thoughtful article entitled “The recession recession.” It notes that globally synchronized downturns have become a rare species in modern history, thanks to the maturation of capitalism and better policymaking. Skillfully dribbling around periodic macroeconomic pain may seem only desirable. However, the piece argues that a lack of economic contraction brings about its own set of dangers, something which we wholeheartedly agree with. Fortunately, at least when viewed from a bottom-up perspective, it has been our experience that business cycles are alive and well. Basic chemicals and automotive are examples of sectors currently in recession mode on a worldwide scale. On a regional basis, stagnation is evident in housing construction in North America and Northern Europe, as well as the broader consumer economy in China. Downturns like these inherently attract deep value investors like us. There are several reasons why this is the case.",[397],{"type":74,"attrs":398},{"color":23},{"type":68,"attrs":400,"content":401},{"textAlign":39},[402],{"text":403,"type":63,"marks":404},"The first reason has to do with behavioral finance: most investors act pro-cyclically; they are inclined to buy booming markets and sell actual or expected downturns. Also, stock price swings in either direction tend to get exaggerated. We surmise that structural arguments to buy or sell get mixed in with cyclical ones. That is, when things look bleak in a particular industry, analysts may “throw in the towel” and jump to the conclusion that it is in terminal decline. Conversely, in a prolonged upcycle, bullish calls may be based on the prediction that the industry has entered a “new era” of growth. These dynamics make cyclical stocks the ideal hunting grounds for true contrarians because they tend to be cheap when supply-demand dynamics are troughing and expensive when business activity signals continued tightness.",[405],{"type":74,"attrs":406},{"color":23},{"type":68,"attrs":408,"content":409},{"textAlign":39},[410],{"text":411,"type":63,"marks":412},"The second set of arguments relates to how we search for, evaluate and value investments. Today there are only a few fund managers left that take a fundamental/entrepreneurial view rather than a quantitative/ratio-driven approach to stock screening. In our quest to identify cheap cyclicals, we prefer to rely on industry- and company-specific analytical tools such as the Porter five-forces model instead of quantified search methods. The reason is that the latter generally do not yield useful results due to the notoriously erratic fluctuations in margins, earnings and cash flows. When evaluating the merits of cyclicals, we appreciate that we don’t have to go out on a limb to foretell the future. Steel, cement and paper/packaging are examples of industries that have long histories that exhibit both big cyclical swings in the short-term but reasonably stable and rational competitive behavior over time. Thus, it usually suffices to study whether a mean-reversion dynamic can adequately explain a company’s track record. If this is the case, then normalizing past growth-margin patterns can be appropriate when modelling the company’s trajectory going forward. In short, for many economically sensitive firms, historic comparison constitutes a simple but trustworthy statistical input to the valuation process.",[413],{"type":74,"attrs":414},{"color":23},{"type":68,"attrs":416,"content":417},{"textAlign":39},[418],{"text":419,"type":63,"marks":420},"Finally, our portfolio management discipline is exceptionally well suited to handle stakes in cyclical businesses. We customarily establish positions in such companies during a heavy downcycle, when their equities have already fallen a lot. But unfortunately, we are not blessed with the ability to call turning points in price, and stocks usually have further to fall. We therefore build positions bit by bit, anticipating continued weakness. Such spaced periodic purchases result in a low average entry price. By the time the cycle shows signs of recovery, stock prices usually react suddenly and violently to the upside. At some point, they will presumably approach our conservative estimate of intrinsic value, upon which we begin to trim a position. In short, we replace timing with the method of averaging-in and averaging-out, a practice which has yielded winning results over time.",[421],{"type":74,"attrs":422},{"color":23},{"type":68,"attrs":424,"content":425},{"textAlign":39},[426],{"text":427,"type":63,"marks":428},"While globally synchronized contractions have become rarer, we believe that the recent lack thereof is an aberration rather than the new norm. Cyclical swings remain at the heart of market-based economics. In fact, plausible arguments can be made that they may present an even bigger risk to the global financial system going forward. Our structural exposure to cyclicals ensures that we stay recession-alert and properly think through the key threats and opportunities involved.",[429],{"type":74,"attrs":430},{"color":23},{"type":68,"attrs":432,"content":433},{"textAlign":39},[434],{"text":130,"type":63},"cio-insight-4q2025","en/themen-gedanken/cio-insight-4q2025",-370,[],"990f8370-53dc-4267-8bd0-0c7b955e6367","2026-09-08T14:08:07.344Z",[],[443],{"name":28,"created_at":29,"published_at":30,"updated_at":31,"id":32,"uuid":33,"content":444,"slug":37,"full_slug":38,"sort_by_date":39,"position":40,"tag_list":445,"is_startpage":26,"parent_id":42,"meta_data":39,"group_id":43,"first_published_at":30,"release_id":39,"lang":44,"path":39,"alternates":446,"default_full_slug":39,"translated_slugs":39},{"_uid":35,"name":28,"component":36},[],[],[],{"age":449,"cache-control":155,"connection":156,"content-encoding":157,"content-type":158,"date":450,"etag":451,"per-page":452,"referrer-policy":161,"sb-be-version":162,"server":163,"total":453,"transfer-encoding":164,"vary":165,"via":454,"x-amz-cf-id":455,"x-amz-cf-pop":168,"x-cache":169,"x-content-type-options":170,"x-frame-options":171,"x-permitted-cross-domain-policies":172,"x-request-id":456,"x-runtime":457,"x-xss-protection":175},"2785","Mon, 05 Oct 2026 14:12:37 GMT","W/\"c41e43ebbe3757a68e9eab00eafbab08\"","3","27","1.1 46a0017ecef439253017ac2cc1624646.cloudfront.net (CloudFront)","AD94RKm3zlECNPgVt7uEZm8QyMF-if4VipGusn88uFzavDS5ZbaYOw==","167e2cdc-1025-4dea-b5af-29235c8cb315","0.050861",3,27,1791212342688]