Six more finance pros share the contents of their portfolios

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Recently I interviewed 50 successful investors for my research paper, “What’s in your investment portfolio?” I met with men and women from various backgrounds and cultures around the world and asked them about their philosophies and approaches to investing.

What surprised me was that even people in the same industry had wildly different portfolios.

What are they holding today? Last week, we focused on six finance professionals from Canada and around the globe who shared the contents of their portfolios.

This week, we feature six more:

Therese Nyren, founder, Lucy Global Fund, Stockholm, Sweden

“In my 10 years as a private banker, I met so many entrepreneurs. I thought, ‘If they can do it, then I can do it.’ I put all my money and all my passion into Lucy Global Fund. It’s a Stockholm-based global equity fund with a main focus on companies in lifestyle, health and beauty as well as companies with well-known and attractive brands. The name Lucy was inspired by the character of the same name on the 1980s TV show Dallas. This is my entire investment portfolio.

“My top 10 holdings are: Deckers Outdoor Corp., Hermes International, Ferrari SpA, RVRC Holding AB, Moncler SpA, PVH Corp., Interparfums, Prada, Nordstrom, and Ermenegildo Zegna NV.

“I am very proud that we are now on nine different platforms in Sweden. So many people told me not to start a fund, but when people say no it triggers me. I’m really stubborn and I want to show them. I don’t listen, I just do it – I solve the problem. Look where we are now! Lucy Global Fund was up 17.3 per cent in 2023.”

Francis Gosselin, economist and consultant, Montreal

“My personal investment portfolio is quite eclectic these days – I’m in a ‘playing around’ mood. My core holdings include:

• One house and one cottage.
• Three rental units generating 7 per cent tax-free returns.
• One commercial office sublet at 8 per cent.
• 12 exotic cars and a barn in which to store them.
• Three private equity investments (I am a member of Anges Quebec).
• Critical illness insurance (Executive Savings Regime Insurance) with a ‘return of premium’ rider where I get all my money back at the end (if nothing bad happened).
• Some 5-per-cent GICs.

“The cars are my hobby, but I also believe they offer great asset diversification. Trading used cars is currently a trend worldwide: You need to commit to doing your research on specialized websites to find the bottom of the ‘U’ price curve. I own a delightful collection of cars including a 20-year-old rare BMW M3 (the last one with manual transmission and no GPS); a Porshe 911 turbo convertible with 36 km on it; a Polestar 2 model BST 270, a very rare, limited edition (270 units worldwide) performance version of the Polestar 2; and a playful right-hand-drive white Kei Truck imported from Japan.”

Michael Chang, public equities value investor, Taipei City, Taiwan

“I hold an emergency cash reserve (roughly six months) and a bit of real estate. Otherwise, I have 80 per cent invested in equities. I do my own research and pick my own stocks. I have 20-30 holdings in total, including 10 that are much larger concentrated bets. I subscribe to the notion of putting the majority of your capital in your best ideas.

“I have three areas of interest right now in my personal portfolio:

• Emerging-market cell towers: Mobile network providers often rent towers from other companies in addition to the ones they own themselves. These tower companies function similarly to commercial real estate with long term (often as high as 10 years) recurring revenue contracts and escalators to adjust for inflation. In the U.S. I have seen American Tower, Crown Castle and SBA Communications prove out the business model; I think there are interesting tower companies trading at attractive valuations with assets in places like Mexico, Brazil and Nigeria today.
• US Cable: There is lots of competitive pressure right now with the market assigning fairly low multiples across the board. I think over the next 2-4 years we’ll see that pressure ease and the companies’ staying power and longer-term tailwinds (i.e. pricing, mobile growth) become more prominent.
• Chinese stocks (Hong Kong and U.S.-listed): There are definitely geo-political risks, but some are trading at extremely low prices. You can find a lot of crazy stuff: sustainable-looking 12 per cent dividend yields, companies trading below 50 per cent of net cash, etc.”

Ivan Bonsignore, vice-president and regional director for southern Europe, FactSet, Milan

“Today in my role at FactSet, buying and selling single securities requires a complicated and time consuming internal compliance process, so I don’t bother investing in them. Pre-COVID I owned ETFs with exposure to Africa, China or AI. Post-COVID, my portfolio is invested in three categories:

• Energy funds (a small amount)
• Property (a flat in Milan that I rent out for income)
• Cash (designated for more property in Milan)

“Milan has the lowest price per square metre among all of the world’s big cities. Post-Brexit, many Italians based in London moved back to Milan when they were offered a special tax rate on buying property. I’m focused mainly on investing in real estate because I find it extremely tough to read financial markets these days. I’m usually optimistic but I’m currently pessimistic.”

Sabrina Amélia de Lima, portfolio specialist, Itaú Unibanco, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

“My investment portfolio is focused on global diversification – I believe this is the cornerstone of risk management, portfolio construction and achieving long term, consistent, stable returns. My profile is more aggressive in that I accept taking risk in order to seek greater returns. My main concerns are inflation protection and geographical diversification.

“Here is the breakdown of my portfolio:

• 20 per cent in inflation-linked assets, such as national treasury bonds earning about IPCA (the official Brazilian inflation index) +6 per cent or debentures of good companies.
• 20 per cent in international ETFs, such as IVV, QQQ and VNQ and equities including Coca-Cola, Meta, Alphabet, PayPal, and Ferguson plc.
• 5 per cent in alternative assets, such as cryptocurrency funds via ETFs.
• 5 per cent in mature companies in the Brazilian stock market, such as Itaú, Vale and WEG.
• 50 per cent in fixed income funds and multimarket funds managed by Itaú Asset, Kinea, Kapitalo, Vinland and others.

James Leung Yin Kow, managing director, CFA, Skanda Business Consultants Ltd., Curepipe, Mauritius

“I definitely have a home bias with very little diversification overseas. I think that in order to beat the benchmark you need to have a concentrated portfolio. I believe in my views and that I can manage the risk.

“Here are the details of my portfolio:

• MCB (Mauritius Commercial Bank Group), 49 per cent of my portfolio. It is highly correlated with the index. Two-thirds of its net profit is foreign-sourced (mainly trade and project finance).
• IPRO Growth Fund Ltd., 20 per cent. It’s a long-established, open-ended investment fund domiciled in Mauritius. The fund has a 40-per-cent allocation to local companies and 60 per cent to overseas companies including emerging markets.
• FinCorp Investment Ltd., 8 per cent. It’s a 58-per-cent subsidiary of MCB Group. Fincorp is an investment holding company with a 46-per-cent stake in Promotion and Development Ltd. (PAD) that holds a 35-per-cent stake in Medine, a sugar-based entity with substantial real estate interests in the west of Mauritius.
• Mauritius Union Ltd., 2 per cent. It’s the second largest insurer in Mauritius (life and general) with East African operations.
• Naiades Resorts Ltd., 2 per cent. One of the largest hotel groups in Mauritius, trading under the LUX hospitality brand.
• PAD (as per Fincorp explanation above), 2 per cent.
• United Basalt Products, 2 per cent. It manufactures and sells construction materials.
• Miwa Sugar, 3 per cent. It’s a key player in East Africa Sugar company.
• Twelve per cent of my portfolio is in 23 miscellaneous stocks that enable me to obtain the shareholder reports, attend the annual meetings and meet the CEOs.

Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Writer Barbara Stewart is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 30 years of investment industry experience. She spent five years as a foreign currency trader, more than two decades as a portfolio manager for high-net-worth entrepreneurs, and for the past six years she has been performing interview-driven research for financial institutions around the world.  Barbara is a keynote speaker for CFA Societies, banks, stock exchanges and industry conferences globally, and she is a columnist for CFA Institute and Canadian Money Saver magazine. She is on the advisory board of Kensington Capital Partners and also is the Ambassador for the Kensington Women’s Forum. In addition, 13 years ago Barbara saw a need to challenge outdated financial industry stereotypes and share positive messages about women and money. Today, Barbara is recognized worldwide as one of the leading researchers in women and finance. Her Rich Thinking® global research papers quote smart women and men of all ages, professions and countries and are released annually on International Women’s Day, March 8. To find out more about Barbara’s research, visit www.barbarastewart.ca.

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