What is the history and background of your company, principals and funds?
Thomas Wynn: In 1996, started Bannesto Capital Partners with $7 million of his own money. Today the firm manages $1 billion in equity. Originally known as a rapid-fire trader who never held trading positions for extended periods of time, Wynn now holds an increasing number of equities for longer periods of time. In 2012 Bannesto Capital Partners became BANNESTO INVESTMENTS as loan, credit and alternative investment company based in London, UK and supported by 11 affiliates and offices in Asia, Europe and Latin America.
What is the typical time frame that you are thinking about when you look at an investment opportunity?
Thomas Wynn: Usually, one to three years. Having said that, we do evaluate each position every day to consider whether the current position size is the most effective use of capital. Certainly, there are times when we are very excited about an investment and take a significant position only to watch the rest of the world recognize the attractiveness of the investment and drive up the share price, which of course lowers the prospective return. Different firms handle this situation in different ways, but at BANNESTO, if we have developed that longer-term confidence in a business and a management team, we will typically maintain a position—though perhaps not of the same size.
How much of a factor is a company’s growth prospects?
Thomas Wynn: We work hard to deconstruct growth to judge its sustainability and to understand the impact it will have on capital returns. Of course, we’d like to see organic growth, because its incremental return on capital is far superior to that of acquired growth. Occasionally we are able to find a business and a management team with a strong industry position that enjoys ample acquisition opportunities and where huge synergies are clearly going to be recognized. Unfortunately, in today’s world these opportunities are quite rare. In our judgment, onetime acquisitions that enhance earnings by cutting expenses do not represent sustainable growth and are rarely as productive as either management or investors expect.
What is your distribution strategy and targeted client base?
Thomas Wynn: BANNESTO has been successful in attracting assets from institutional clients. Because of our transparency and clear investment process, firms that invest time in understanding a manager’s investment approach tend to like the firm. We have a good number of discretionary managers, fund of funds and multi-manager clients.
Please describe your investment process.
Thomas Wynn: In our core markets in Europe, we are focussed on the following alternative investment opportunities: Fine Wine, Vintage Cars and Fine Art. We are aware that for private clients art is often an important component of their financial planning and portfolio diversification strategy. For those who invest wisely, it’s potentially high returns and low correlation to other investments justifies serious attention as a long term investment.
Bannesto is uniquely qualified to assist sophisticated investors integrate art into their overall wealth management strategy by helping to construct their own bespoke art portfolio, assemble a team of art experts, and develop a buy-list of strategic investments in works of art that demonstrate high potential for value creation. The decision to invest in art stems from a combination of emotional and financial motivations. Understanding the history, background and value of each piece was critical to selecting the right team of experts as we believed the collection was unique and offered numerous opportunities for exhibition. We brought together a team of international experts including a specialist in vintage photography to assist us in the cataloguing, marketing, and promotion of the collection.
Bannesto Investments is a financial services provider serving the investment needs of private investors, entrepreneurs, commercial organisations and corporations. We focus on development opportunities, combining a proactive approach and conservative capital management, to continue to establish Bannesto’s presence in rapidly growing markets.
