Our aim is to provide thought-provoking investment insights and access to information to help readers understand where we believe the world's best investment opportunities lie.
Each letter discusses a topic that relates to our portfolio and investment philosophy. We’ve been able to learn an incredible amount over the years by reading ideas and thoughts from other successful investors. Our quarterly letters take inspiration and at times quote writings that have influenced our approach including; Charlie Munger, Howard Marks, Philip Fisher, Warren Buffett, Nomad Partnership and Saber Capital to name a few favourites. Contact us directly at tom@5amcapital.com.au if you would like access to historical archives:
Each quarter we share our investment thinking with clients. These letters cover portfolio strategy, individual company deep dives, valuation frameworks and market observations.
We explain why high-quality compounders are trading at some of the most attractive valuations since inception, drawing on historical parallels from Microsoft during the dot-com bust, Visa during the GFC, and Intuit during the 2022 rate shock. We share fieldwork from the National Accounting & Business Expo on Intuit and enterprise software in the AI transition, and present our framework for separating noise from genuine impairment. We are optimistic about the forward return profile and have personally added to our holdings.
How long-term incentives and valuation discipline create an enduring behavioural edge in markets shaped by short-term narrative and noise. We discuss our framework for separating noise from impairment, our increased position in Hemnet AB and InPost, and reflections on uneven sentiment and overlooked quality.
How true monopolies and duopolies capture a far larger share of an industry's profit pool than their revenue share suggests. We draw on Hemnet, Rightmove, Microsoft 365 and AWS/Azure to illustrate how market leaders convert market share into free cash flow, and explain why we avoid "monopolies in name only".
Cash isn't a drag — it's deliberate optionality and risk control. Why we let cash build when margins of safety are thin, then deploy it decisively into dislocations. We outline our absolute-return mandate, the valuation discipline behind cash allocation, and why being benchmark-agnostic makes cash a competitive advantage.
While headlines focused on tariffs and tech volatility, conglomerates returned to our radar. From CK Hutchison's asset unlock to News Corp's revaluation and Berkshire's steady climb, we explore how complexity paired with quality can deliver strong long-term returns.
Valuations through the lens of Occam's Razor. Inspired by the principle that favours fewer assumptions, we focus on essential drivers of durable value whilst avoiding unnecessary complexity. Simplicity isn't easy — it's a discipline that requires clarity and focus.
The importance of companies that prioritise the interests of shareholders, customers, employees and the community. Amazon/AWS as an example of customer-centric innovation, contrasted with Coca-Cola's pricing strategy that may strain its ecosystem over time.
Our focus on prospective return on invested capital in light of a step change in AI capex by big tech. Is Microsoft becoming more like an infrastructure play with Azure?
Our approach to capital preservation, defining risk as permanent capital loss — not volatility — and highlighting how we avoid exposure to fraud, regulatory changes, excessive leverage and poor management.
Our approach to portfolio construction — more than just picking stocks — and how it involves positioning across risk, sectors and regions to drive sustainable long-term returns.
Though we rarely sell, this letter discusses our disciplined sell process, walking through five recent examples, each with a different rationale.
Why global listed equities provide access to the highest quality businesses worldwide. We analyse core components of the ASX, including banks and mining, and explain why we look beyond Australia.
Management alignment through stock ownership. Eurofins Scientific as a family-run compounder with aligned incentives and long-term vision.
Challenging conventional views on inflation, showing how its effects are uneven across industries. Visa as a company with embedded pricing power and inflation-linked revenues.
Investing is as much about what we avoid as what we own. Our filtering process through the lens of Alphabet, and why our discipline matters more than ever.
