Truffle – A decade later

BY IAIN POWER Chief Investment Officer, Truffle Asset Management

The benefits of partnering with a boutique asset manager have been well researched and documented over the last two decades. Boutiques are generally asset managers, not asset gatherers, so investment performance is their priority. Being owner-managed means that business and client interests are aligned, and staff turnover is low. Being smaller also allows boutiques to be more nimble and flexible in their investment approach. Ironically, many of today’s mega-managers started as small boutiques and are now faced with the very challenges that made them decide to start a boutique in the first place. Truffle is an owner-managed asset manager founded in April 2008. Looking back at the last decade, it is satisfying to see that our clients who trusted and partnered with us have received the benefits that you would expect when investing with a strong boutique manager.

We are proud of the fact that over the last 10 years, our Truffle SCI General Equity Fund ranks top of its ASISA category (SA Equity General) and has delivered an annualised return of 12.31% p.a., beating the peer group average of 8.12% by 4.19% p.a. While a 4.19% p.a. additional return might not sound significant, over 10 years, a client who invested R1m into our equity fund would now have R3.2m. That is 46.6% more than a client who achieved the peer group average return!

Our Nedgroup Investments Balanced fund (previously called the Truffle Balanced Fund) will reach its 10-year anniversary in November this year. It has also delivered top decile performance since its inception. Our Raging Bull-award-winning Truffle SCI Income Plus Fund has delivered best-in-class returns for those investors seeking a more stable and consistent level of monthly income.

SCI = Sanlam Collective Investments

Overall, I believe that Truffle has managed to deliver what we promised our clients a decade ago: consistent superior performance. We’ve done this by combining the skills of our experienced investment team with a disciplined and rigorous investment process, and a focus on downside risk.

At Truffle, our clients always come first. We strive to ensure the best possible client experience across all areas of the business, not just from an investment return perspective. This includes high-quality client engagements and process transparency with both our investment professionals and client service professionals. It also includes interactions with the administrative side of our business.

As boutique managers grow and attract more assets, they inevitably need to build capacity in the investment team and the broader business. This can make it difficult to keep the ‘owner-managed’ focus and culture during this growth period. At Truffle, however, I think we have managed to do exactly that. Our culture is based on diversity, excellence, integrity and transparency, and we challenge ourselves to live up to this every day.

Source: Morningstar for the 10 year period ended 28 February