Six finance pros share 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? Here, six finance professionals from Canada and around the world share what they’re investing in now (as of April 2024):

Lisa Melchior, founder and managing partner, VERTU Capital, a private equity firm in Toronto

“My largest holding is my interest in VERTU Capital, so I am very long private equity. As a family we have real estate holdings – my husband is a real estate builder and developer so we have lots of exposure there.

“In terms of my stock portfolio, it probably isn’t surprising that as a private equity investor I would be very comfortable with risk: Being invested 80 per cent in equities has served me well over the last 25 years. In the last five years, I’ve added some uncorrelated investments such as hedge funds and private credit.

“Aside from my equity book that is managed on a discretionary basis, I have a personal equity portfolio of 10 to 12 very high-quality businesses that I am happy to hold forever (e.g., Berkshire Hathaway, Microsoft, Apple, Stryker Corp. and Constellation Software).

“I also love to collect art, but this is more of a passion than an investment. I like to support living contemporary artists, primarily Canadian.”

Dirk Söhnholz, CEO, Söhnholz ESG GmbH, Eicklingen, Germany

“I don’t use any financial criteria for stock selection because there are no future-proof financial criteria for stock selection. I only apply responsible investing criteria, and I focus on four things:

• Exclusions: I completely exclude countries I don’t like and activities I don’t like.
• ESG: I invest in companies that have better ratings.
• Alignment: I invest in companies that align with the UN’s sustainable development goals.
• Shareholder engagement: I want to help to improve all the companies I am invested in.

“For risk management I look only at the past 12 months of performance for every company and exclude the 25-per-cent worst performers. Also, I do not want to have more than one company per investment sub-sector from each country, with the exception of the U.S., for which two such companies are allowed.

“Here is a snapshot of the current holdings in my investment fund:

• U.S.: Exact Sciences (healthcare), Glaukos (healthcare), Premier Inc. (healthcare), Repligen (healthcare), Henry Schein (healthcare), Mueller Water (industry), AMN Healthcare (industry), Badger Meter (industry), Lindsay Corp. (industry), Mettler Toledo (industry), Watts Water (industry), First Solar (renewables).
• Australia: Ansell (healthcare), Cochlear (healthcare), Ramsay (healthcare), Pro Med (technology/healthcare)
• United Kingdom: Helios Towers PLC (infrastructure), National Express Group PLC (transportation), United Utilities Group PLC (utilities)
• Switzerland: Landis+Gyr Group AG (industry), Galenica AG (healthcare)
• Singapore: ComfortDelGro (transportation)
• Norway: Scatec ASA (renewables)
• Sweden: Biotage AB (healthcare), XVIVO Perfusion (healthcare), Elekta (healthcare)
• Spain: Construcciones Y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (infrastructure)
• France: Getlink (infrastructure)
• Japan: Olympus Japan (healthcare)
• Netherlands: Randstad (services)
• Germany: Knorr-Bremse (industry), Nordex (renewables), Nexus (technology /healthcare)
• Canada: New Flyer (transportation).”

Nick Bakish, co-founder, principal, Group RMC, Montreal

“My personal investment portfolio consists of 80 per cent commercial real estate. Group RMC’s commercial real estate business is primarily focused on office property investments in the Midwest and Southern United States. Group RMC owns over 210 properties totaling some 22 million square feet across 14 states, representing approximately $2.6 billion in asset value.

“The balance of my portfolio is made up of impact investments such as Flash Forest (tree planting), Overlay Capital (private markets/sustainability), Terra CO2 (decarbonized cement) and SLI (Standard Lithium Ltd.), which make up 10 per cent of my portfolio; 5 per cent index funds; and 5 per cent lifestyle investments such as Ariete Hospitality Group (they own the first restaurant in Florida to have earned a Michelin Guide Star).”

Oldřich Myslivec, partner, Family Office Partners, Prague

“I’ve been working in the finance industry since 2003. Up until four years ago my personal investment portfolio consisted of real estate and stocks but with no strategy or long term goal. I had been creating investment policies for investment houses and corporates, but I had no time to do this for myself.

“My portfolio is in the process of shifting from 60 per cent real estate/40 per cent stocks to 20-30 per cent real estate and the balance in alternative asset classes largely in fund of funds. I also buy wine, but I would classify this as 50 per cent investment and 50 per cent joy.

“Most recently I worked as the Senior Global Financial Risk Manager for Molson Coors Brewing Company, one of the largest family-owned brewing companies employing over 18,000 people globally. I quit my job in 2019, and a partner and I started a multi-family office from scratch. Our motto is: “Make my life simpler.” If investing is too complex you should just buy an ETF.

“As an MFO we invest in various asset classes such as private equity and venture funds but also more alternative ones like hedge funds, agriculture, land, forestry, art or even wine. We don’t focus only on risk-adjusted return, we focus on risk/admin/tax/legal pain/bullshit-adjusted return.”

Umulinga Karangwa, CFA, founder, equity investment advisor, Africa Nziza Investment, Cape Town, South Africa

“In the last 20 years I’ve worked and lived in Belgium, the U.K. and Africa. I now do business in both Cape Town and Mauritius, and for convenience I own an apartment in each city. My firm Africa Nziza provides investment advisory services for institutional investors, investment appraisal services for private equity investors, and we conduct independent investment research on investment opportunities in the region.

“My investment portfolio consists of 30 per cent real estate and 70 per cent equities and ETFs. Living in Africa you have to buy real estate to hedge against inflation (currently 7 per cent), and this issue is compounded by the depreciation of the currency. Mauritius and South Africa are not very investable stock markets.

“My pension fund is still housed in Europe and it is invested mostly in ETFs. Otherwise, I’ve held onto the S&P 500 for 20 years now and it has appreciated so much more than anything else. I didn’t mean to have so much of my money in the U.S. market, it just happened. Ten years ago I decided not to rebalance – why argue with success?”

Kothai Manickam Laxman, banker, Singapore

“Initially my father guided me on buying stocks on the Indian market, however I noticed there is a lot of foreign exchange risk with the rupee. I decided to focus more on Singapore REITS for dividend income and U.S. stocks for growth. I feel there is less currency risk associated with the Singapore and U.S. dollars. The SG REITS that I own are diversified and from various industries. The U.S. stocks I own tend to be more tech heavy.

“My top five holdings in Singapore are:

• CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust
• CapitaLand Ascendas REIT
• Mapletree Logistics Trust
• Mapletree Industrial Trust
• Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust

“My five U.S. picks are:

• Apple
• Microsoft
• Amazon
• Starbucks
• VOO (Vanguard S&P 500 ETF)

“Here are the top five stocks I own in India along with descriptions of their respective business activities:

• Tata Power, the largest power generation company in India
• ITC Ltd., a conglomerate of diversified industries such as hotels, software, packaging, specialty papers and agribusiness
• NLC India Ltd., a leader in lignite (coal) production and thermal and renewable energy generation
• Escorts Kubota Ltd., a conglomerate that operates in the sectors of agricultural machinery, construction machinery, material handling and railway equipment
• Infosys Ltd., a multinational IT company

“I also invest in mutual funds in India, some of which have exposure to debt instruments.”

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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