Small, intense with huge potential. We believe in the power of small companies.
To provide investors access to the potential growth small companies can offer, Montgomery formed a partnership with a specialist small companies investment team.
Montgomery Lucent is a joint venture between Lucent Capital Partners and Montgomery Investment Management.
Lucent Capital Partners is owned by its founders Gary Rollo and Dominic Rose, who are also the Portfolio Managers of the Montgomery Small Companies Fund, which was launched in September 2019.
Gary Rollo and Dominic Rose have a long history of analysing and investing in small companies.
Gary has an academic background in Engineering and is a qualified Chartered Accountant (ICAEW). He began his investment career as an equity analyst for JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley in London, specialising in the European technology sector. In 2010, Gary transitioned to Portfolio Management in Australia, at a respected Boutique Smaller Companies Fund Manager.
Dominic has extensive experience investing in smaller companies in Australia, first as a broker, then as a lead researcher and a portfolio manager. He led the Emerging Companies Research Team at Deutsche Bank and was Head of Research at Fosters Stockbroking.
My experience has taught me that it’s more than just the numbers – it’s critical to meet the management teams of the small companies. Dominic and I have literally pounded the pavement for years doing hundreds of meetings with these management teams. We look to form a partnership with management and talented founders so that as they create value on their journey from small company to large companies, our investors benefit. We’re looking for management that can deliver, and that’s what turns a good business into a good investment.”
– Gary Rollo, Portfolio Manager
Montgomery Lucent's investment philosophy is guided by fundamental research and analysis. Small market capitalisation companies are relatively under-researched, and when markets misprice securities, this creates investment opportunities.
The Montgomery Small Companies Fund seeks to capitalise on companies and sectors undergoing significant change. The team aims to harness the growth potential of small-cap companies as they transition from small to large by capturing market share. Investing in nimble, innovative companies positions the Fund to benefit from rapid growth and significant value creation.
Unlike a decade ago, when only large companies could afford high-cost technology investments, cloud technology now allows small companies to compete effectively. Investing in these agile, technology-driven small companies positions the Fund to benefit from their rapid growth and market share gains, taking advantage of the transformative power of modern technology.
The Montgomery Lucent team look for companies that have their ‘destiny in their own hands’, which typically occurs when the value creation levers of a business are firmly controlled by a talented management team.
“In small caps we really do love to uncover founder led businesses because of the strong economic alignment that management has. Founder led companies tend to behave more like owner operators who make strategic business decisions for the longer-term, which drives superior shareholder value creation.”
– Dominic Rose, Portfolio Manager
Conviction investing in small-caps reveals new opportunities, but it can’t be done with algorithms alone. The team focus is on knowing these small businesses personally, underpinned by deep analysis with hundreds of face-to-face leadership meetings each year.
The Montgomery Small Companies Fund’s portfolio consists of stable compounders, structural winners, and tactical opportunities.
Stable compounders: These are businesses that continue to grow their revenue regardless of market and economic conditions.
Structural winners: These are growing businesses benefiting from global trends, achieving revenue growth in the mid to high teens percentage range.
Tactical opportunities: These businesses take advantage of market disruptions, strengthening their positions to ultimately gain market share when sector conditions normalise.
This is a long-only portfolio and is priced daily. The Fund is designed to be as agile as the remarkable small companies it invests in.
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