Wealth & Finance International - December 2017 27 A Desert Island Focus on U.S. Small Companies Company: Granahan Investment Management, Inc. Contact: Karen Agnew, SVP & Director of Marketing Email:
[email protected] David Gallagher, VP, Global Investor Relations Email:
[email protected] Address: 404, Wyman Street, Suite 460, Waltham, MA, 02451, USA Phone: 001 781 890 4412 Website: www.granahan.com “At GIM, we are 100% focused on an area that does have the prospect of generating strong investment returns over the next decade. In particular, for the Granahan US Focused Growth Fund, we seek small cap secular growth companies positioned to sustain 15%+ growth over the next 5-10 years. We refer to such companies as ‘Desert Island’ companies, as we believe that if one were sent to a desert island for 5-7 years, upon return, these companies will have grown to be much larger enterprises. Focused Growth portfolio manager, Drew Beja, CFA, is quick to praise the team at GIM while he discusses which companies make up the universe of investable prospects for the Focused Growth strategy. Drew also alludes to the stringent process that the firm has in place which helps the company to succeed. “Investing with the Desert Island mindset drives us to focus on companies that we think can sustain high growth for a long period of time. We have a terrific team and a disciplined investment process that enables us to capture the growth inherent in some of the most exciting companies in the U.S. These companies typically have large open- ended opportunities, a strong customer value proposition, superb management and corporate cultures, solid balance sheets, and expanding margins and cash flows. “Put another way, we’ve got world-class fishermen fishing in a well-stocked pond, and this increases our odds of success. “Critical to the Focused Growth strategy’s long-term performance is how we combine our fundamental company analysis with a strict valuation discipline centered on each stock’s risk/reward, with particular attention paid to the downside of the risk/ reward equation. Unwavering adherence to this disciplined investment philosophy and process, has resulted in the strategy’s exceptional long-term investment record.” Not just content with providing the best products and services, it is also vital that GIM provide great customer service when working in such a client-oriented industry. Karen explains what GIM does to ensure customers receive the very best support. “Our world-class client base sets a very high bar for the firms with which they entrust their investments. We are proud to employ best-practices in all areas of the firm, from investment research to trading to compliance and back office, and of course, client service. “For instance, GIM seeks to ensure that we offer the vehicles best suited to our clients, while retaining our focus on providing strong results. In response to feedback from our investor base, we are launching a new performance-based share class for the Granahan US Focused Growth Fund in the coming months. This new structure may be of particular interest to those comparing the Fund to a potential investment in a passive Index strategy or Exchange Traded Fund (ETF). With the new share class, in the event the Focused Growth Fund underperforms its benchmark, the Fund fees will be roughly equal to a passive index fund. As is the case with all our investment offerings, daily liquidity is standard. “As a specialist in one area of the market, small cap equities, GIM takes great pride in its client-centric approach to provide personalized service. The firm’s dedicated client service team averages over 20 years’ experience.” Superior customer service stems from a happy working environment, and Karen details how the team ensures that there is a thriving internal culture. Taking responsibility and putting the client first are major aspects of what makes the company successful. “The founders structured GIM to bring out the best in its team members by promoting personal accountability within a collaborative environment. GIM provides the tools necessary for every employee to do their best work for our clients. While we work closely together, we are performance-driven with our own individual incentives closely aligned with the success of our clients. “At GIM, we take the responsibility of generating strong performance very seriously. We never forget that we are working for our clients’ goals – for endowments and foundation to do their important work, for retirement plans to meet their return targets, and for individuals to build wealth to achieve financial security and their retirement objectives. Signing off, the CEO at GIM, Jane White emphasises what great job the team does in a particularly challenging industry, and how she is particularly proud of the strong success that the firm has achieved. “Ultimately, in a low-growth world where pension plans, foundations and other investors face increasingly challenging return requirements, I am especially proud of the performance returns the Focused Growth strategy has generated for our clients over the years, and for the recognition of the Granahan US Focused Growth Fund by Wealth & Finance International. Importantly for our Fund investors, I have high confidence that the GIM team can continue to produce excellent returns over the next 10 years and beyond because of our disciplined, time-tested processes.”