about us
why we exist
We simply enjoy challenging the market and get great satisfaction when we’re right. We seek opportunities where we believe the market is inefficient and where temporary imbalances exist in terms of price.
what we believe
We believe that markets are mostly efficient and that securities are generally fairly valued. At times the market is inefficient and the resulting temporary imbalance in terms of price leads to investment opportunities. Such opportunities typically occur because of behavioural biases that lead markets astray.
Human nature generally serves us well in coping with day-to-day life but it can also get in the way of achieving success. We suffer from behavioural biases that influence our judgement and decision making. These behavioural biases are persistent and sit deep within our psyche as fundamental parts of human nature. We believe that when it comes to investing we are our own worst enemy. We suffer from behavioural biases that stand in the way of achieving investment success. We try to exploit these persistent behavioural biases.
Most investors succumb to the pitfalls typically caused by these biases. By focussing on sound businesses offered at a discount to their intrinsic value (the ‘margin of safety’) we believe investors can protect themselves against their behavioural missteps. We fundamentally believe that good businesses make sound investments only at bargain prices.
We don’t believe that we can invest your money credibly without having our own money in the game. We eat our own cooking and a substantial part of our own personal wealth is tied up in our funds. Our clients eat first and we’re happy with the remains. They allow us to pursue our dreams and we are deeply committed to aligning theirs interests with ours.
our edge
Value investors exploit the systematic behavioural weaknesses that the vast majority of investors succumb to when making investment decisions. At Gritcapital we look for investment opportunities where these biases have the most profound effect on the market. This means we will hold portfolios that will raise a few eyebrows; but we can defend them.
The straightforward way of avoiding human behavioural biases is by eliminating the human using a computer; with the right algorithm and reliable data it will crank out a stock portfolio that follows a set of rules; no questions asked. The algorithm is conceptually extremely easy and surprisingly straightforward. In the Research Library of this site we give you ample support for our investment thesis. Multifactor Investing is a core element in our investment philosophy and we like using it for benchmarking our actively managed portfolios.
We develop interesting products at competitive rates by taking out the unnecessary fluff out of investing. We focus on what is important; no glitzy marketing, no lavish spending, just committed to achieving investment returns over the long run.
who we are
We seek personal development; constantly seeking self-improvement, adding skills and acquiring knowledge. We like to challenge common thinking and will challenge every fact, every assumption, and every analysis. We like to. We like to keep things simple but acknowledge complexity; in fact we understand that keeping things simple is the result of long and hard work. If we make mistakes, we remain engaged, correct them, adjust our course and move on.
We like to think different and never let ourselves be limited by common perceptions. Whilst we are flexible and be open-minded we are stubborn on our values and principles. This may not always be the path of least resistance we believe it is right and in the end will lead to maximum satisfaction and self-fulfilment.
Arthur van der Linden – Director & Founder of Grit Capital
“Business minded engineer with a passion for Finance & Economics”
Arthur van der Linden (www.arthursworld.com) is the founder of Grit Capital and co-founder of Finneir. Since 2008 heading mergers and acquisitions at RMA Group in mainly Asian emerging and frontier markets. Arthur started his career in Business Development at Dow Chemical after which he joined entrepreneurial ventures in San Francisco, New York and Amsterdam. Arthur is a avid reader and lifelong learner. Arthur holds a Master of Science (Chemical Engineering) from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University.
Steven De Klerck, Ph.D. – CIO Grit Multifactor
“Academic in quantitative studies”
Co-founded Pure Value Capital in 2010. Since 2007 Accounting & Finance assistant at the Universiteit Antwerpen (UA); since 2013 assistant in Statistics at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). Over the period 2014-2020 professor in Corporate Finance at the KU Leuven.
Steven holds a Master in Commercial Engineering (2003) from the VUB Solvay Management School and a Master of Science in Statistics (2004) from the KU Leuven. He graduated Magna Cum Laude in each of the six academic years. Steven also holds a Ph.D. in Finance with a focus on fundamental analysis and value investing (UA). Finally, Steven specialized in Artificial Intelligence at the KU Leuven and Austrian Economics at the Ludwig von Mises Institute (2011).