About Us
Investment Strategy
We aim to invest in a concentrated number of well-researched, high-quality sustainable growth businesses in the Emerging Market Small and Mid-Cap (SMID) space. We believe that EM SMID is one of the most exciting areas in the global investing universe given the structural growth potential in EM and there are a number of developing and innovative businesses that are less well-known, less-covered, and have a long runway for growth.
A Proven Approach
A bottom-up approach to identify high-quality companies that have attractive fundamentals, and that can drive long-term sustainable earnings growth. Each investment is expected to deliver double-digit USD annualized returns.
Positive Impact
We launched a unique Ethos EM Pathway Fund which dedicates 2/3 of management fees to hiring local graduates from developing countries and giving them valuable work experience, which also provides us on-the-ground analysts in EM. We believe a deep integration of ESG factors is an important element in our assessment of quality.
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Our Team
James Fletcher, CFA
James Fletcher, CFA
James Fletcher, CFA
Founder and Chief Investment Officer
Patricia Ball
James Fletcher, CFA
James Fletcher, CFA
Partner and Chief Operating Officer
Benjamin Sain
Tim Zhang, CFA, CPA
Tim Zhang, CFA, CPA
Senior Research Analyst
Tim Zhang, CFA, CPA
Tim Zhang, CFA, CPA
Tim Zhang, CFA, CPA
Research Analyst
Biographies
James Fletcher, CFA, Founder and CIO
James is an experienced Emerging Markets portfolio manager with a strong history of alpha generation and top quartile fund performance. Most recently James was the Director & Senior Portfolio Manager of the EM SMID Cap fund at APG Asset Management since 2016, where he managed a ~$1B portfolio, one of the largest EM SMID cap funds in the world. APG is the largest pension fund manager in the Netherlands and a global leader in ESG investing. From 2013 to 2016, James was the Lead Portfolio Manager at Kayne Anderson Rudnick’s EM Small Cap fund (ticker VIESX), a Morningstar 5-Star rated fund that was awarded 2015’s “Best Fund Product for High Net Worth Clients” by Private Asset Management. Previously James was Senior Analyst at Westwood Global Investments from 2005-2013.
James is a CFA charterholder. He is also the founder of the global non-profit, Young Investors Society (www.yis.org). James has an undergraduate degree in Finance from Brigham Young University and is fluent in Portuguese and proficient in Spanish and has lived in Brazil and Hong Kong.
Patricia Ball, Partner and COO
Patricia brings with her 16 years of experience across the investment management industry and is responsible for the business management of Ethos Investment Management. She started her career in 2008 as an equity research analyst at Westwood Global Investments where she developed a passion for emerging market investing. Since then she's touched every side of this business. First with her time spent working in trading operations for Goldman Sach's equity derivative trading desk followed by her most recent experience in client relationship management at Fisher Investments.
Patricia earned a B.S. in Finance from Brigham Young University and has spent time living in São Paulo, Brazil.
Benjamin Sain, Senior Research Analyst
Benjamin is a senior research analyst for Ethos Investment Management. Benjamin was a founding member at Rondure Global Advisors, an emerging markets mutual fund. From 2013-2016 Benjamin was with Wastach Global Investors as an analyst.
Benjamin has a B.S. in Business Management with an emphasis in Finance from Brigham Young University and an M.B.A. from Duke University.
Tim Zhang, CFA, Research Analyst
Tim Zhang is a generalist research analyst for Ethos Investment Management. His prior buy-side experience includes internships at Dupont Capital Management, BOCCOM Schroders Fund Management, and an equity research analyst at ICBC Asset Management (2017-2018). Prior to that he was an auditor at Price Waterhouse Coopers (2014-2017).
Tim graduated with First Class honors from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2014 where he studied Accounting and Mathematics. He obtained an MBA from Columbia Business School in 2020. He is a CFA charterholder& CPA. He is fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin and English.
Articles
Ethos Featured in Emerging Manager Monthly Feb-2022
Ethos Looks To Build Legacy With Focus on ESG, Culture
Download PDFInvestment Process
A bottom-up approach to identify high-quality companies that have attractive fundamentals, and that can drive long-term sustainable earnings growth. We typically hold a concentrated portfolio of 30-50 names that are well-researched and meet our rigorous criteria.
We look for companies that:
- Have a durable sustainable advantage through brand, network effect, high switching costs, or distribution advantage;
- Are in attractive industries with secular growth. This leads us to have a higher focus on Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Internet, Information Technology, and Healthcare sectors;
- Have leading market positions within their respective markets, are investing ahead of competition to sustain those market positions, and possess a company culture of continuous innovation;
- Generate high returns on invested capital, strong earnings stability through the cycle, and with an ability to sustain those returns over the mid to long term; and Are high-quality businesses that we can buy at reasonable valuations.
ESG is integrated into our process. After rigorous individual company analysis, we aim to identify businesses that rank highly on Governance, Social, and Environmental factors with a unique focus on company culture, governance, and sustainability.
We believe a deep integration of ESG factors is an important element in our assessment of quality. We believe that our ESG approach allows us to control risk, as well as determine sustainability. Where we see material areas for improvement through ESG engagement we seek to partner with investee companies and advise them on best practice in order to enhance shareholder returns.
- Our risk management philosophy focuses on reducing business risk through owning high quality businesses with lower than average balance sheet risk, cyclical risk, and political risk
- We ensure that risk is intentional and appropriately scaled through understanding concentrations and exposures
- Risk ratio and tracking error limits help to manage overall risk in the portfolio
- Limits are placed at the security level
- If a stock declines 20% vs. the Index during a six-month period, we conduct a Position Review. This serves as a trigger to reevaluate the investment thesis
Contact Us
Our "Ethos"
Our vision is to create a boutique investment firm that delivers exceptional returns for clients by investing in high-quality, sustainable growth businesses at reasonable valuations with robust ESG integration.
Our mission is to achieve an equitable, healthy, and prosperous society for all.
Our Core Values:
Excellence
Collaboration
Humility
Integrity
Generosity
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