With Gabriel Grego, Quintessential Capital Management
Gabriel Grego of Quintessential Capital joins the podcast to discuss his short activist strategy.
Grego finds three or four “high conviction” ideas to trade a year. His process is exhaustive but straightforward, though few managers have the stomach to replicate it. The reasons for this are discussed in the second half of the podcast.
Content:
- How it all starts. Finding the right target is crucial. Grego’s focus on “extreme corporate catastrophic situations” (1:39);
- Some of the typical “red flags” to look for (3:43);
- Trendy industries are often clusters for fraudulent behavior. COVID-19 is the most recent example (6:01);
- Narrowing the target list and creating a thesis (10:37);
- The final step: “boots on the ground” research (16:46);
- Background on the guest (21:57);
- Activist shorting is “scary stuff” (25:38);
- More terrifying than being a paratrooper? (27:29);
- Background on QCM’s fund and current exposure (30:28);
- How QCM has dealt with the events of 2020, including a rare (and successful) attempt to time markets in March (34:05);
- Chinese companies traded in the U.S. look “very very interesting,” though Chinese fraud is “a different beast” (42:14).
More Information on the Guest:
Not intended as investment advice.
