In this episode of The Australian Investors Podcast Rask Founder Owen Rask is joined by Peter Johns, portfolio manager at Westferry Investment Fund. Peter also goes by the handle Microcap Jesus (@Saintly96) on Twitter.
What Peter & Owen talked about
You told me that one year you had ~$50 million annual trading volume via CommSec but had just ~$200k balance every night. What type of investing/trading were you doing?
- Did it work?
- How much brokerage did you rack up on CommSec?
Going back a bit, why did you get into law? In particular, criminal law? What did you specialise in?
Why was investing so appealing? Were you investing on the side? How did you convince your other half?
Given your diverse background, do you study or follow people in the finance industry? (specifically spivs) Related: has doing 1,000 interviews as a lawyer changed the way you judge people? What skills could investors leverage to better analyse management?
What are some red, amber or green flags you look for? When have these worked for or against you? Peter walks us through the fascinating story of Indonesian Apple reseller, Story-I Ltd (ASX: SRY).
You started with 300 Capital. What was this and why did you take on friends’ money? In 2021 you transitioned to Westferry. Why did you bother to get an AFSL and go down that path?
Can you describe why you invest? Specifically, how would you describe your investment philosophy and reason for investing the way you do? Are you a fundamental investor? Do you invest long-term? etc.
How do you source new ideas?
Stock stories:
- Australian Family Lawyers (AFL) has been a consistent holding for you, and it’s interesting given your background. Are legal businesses really good businesses? Why is that different to Shine (ASX: SHJ) or Slater & Gordon (ASX: SGH)? What key metrics do you track?
- Pacific Turbine Brisbane (ASX: PTB) is another large holding you’ve had for some time. Can you dive into the thesis and journey of this company through your research process?
Final question: if you could go back and tell a younger Peter one thing about investing, what would it be?
Visit the Westferry website: https://westferry.com.au/
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Why on earth would I bother listening to this episode?
The Australian Investors Podcast brings together Australia’s best investors. Weekly episodes by investors, for investors.
In this episode, Owen & Peter dive into Peter’s unconventional backstory and unearth some of the softer skills that are required to thrive in ASX microcaps. Peter goes into great detail to explain why the people behind companies are often some of the most important indicators of a company’s success on the stock market, and why Peter tracks ‘spivs’ and promoters.
Finally, Peter into great detail about the reasons why he owns shares of Pacific Turbine Brisbane (ASX: PTB) and Australian Family Lawyers (ASX: AFL), including how he found and analyses the companies.
This is a fantastic episode for new and experienced small-cap investors alike.
Date of recording: December 16th, 2021
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