Dear Fellow Investor

It should come as little surprise when we say the sharemarket can be unpredictable. Seemingly overnight, it can reach extraordinary highs. And just as quickly plummet to new lows.

While the temptation to follow the market closely is obvious, to do so is fraught with danger. As history repeatedly demonstrates, those who tie their fortune to the market's daily movement suffer terribly in volatile times.

We know that every time the market dips it also bounces back. This is irrefutable, historical fact. That's why, at Gavin Ross & Co, we steadfastly refuse to waste any of our time analysing the market's every movement.

For any serious investor, this type of analysis is a red herring, a distraction from the real criteria of a successful investor – his or her expertise in selecting undervalued stocks with enormous growth potential.

Strange as it may seem, in a world brimming with investment analysts, it is remarkable how few understand, let alone master, this relatively simple concept.

At Gavin Ross & Co, we will never pay more than the intrinsic (true) value for an investment. After all, an intelligent investor would never willingly pay more for a company than it is worth. Within this framework, we scour markets for investments we believe to be good value.

We read hundreds of annual reports and countless business publications every year. We avoid investments which are fully priced or, even worse, overpriced.

This investment methodology mirrors that of the world's most successful investor, Warren Buffett. (Warren Buffett is the world's richest person. He has derived his wealth purely from share investment.)

Like Buffett, we adamantly believe that day-to-day (or even month-to-month) price fluctuations in the sharemarket do not make you richer or poorer – only changes in the intrinsic value of a business have the power to do that.

We are the first to admit that our portfolio service is not ideally suited to all investors.

If you await the market's every move with bated breath, and if your focus is firmly on the short-term, then our service is definitely not for you.

But if the idea of investing in companies trading at, or below, their intrinsic value excites you – and if you are prepared to take a meaningful and long-term position – then we firmly believe we can help support your wealth creation goals.

I'm sure you'll agree that finding an investment advisor you can trust is not easy. The problem is that the investment industry is based on commission and selling, and uses hype to hide this fact. The industry's big secret is that it underperforms the market.

Investing is actually straightforward, although not necessarily easy. It is simply investing in attractively priced businesses with outstanding long-term economics, run by honest and able managers.

The professional investor needs to be dedicated and self reliant — excelling in conducting raw research and drawing independent investment conclusions. It helps if you live and breathe business investing (not to be confused with the sharemarket!), love what you do and have had decades of experience at it. You need to be risk averse: if you don't understand it, don't invest in it. You need to be infinitely patient. Yet you must also be prepared to act as soon as opportunity presents itself.

As you can see, our service is truly a unique share investment solution. It facilitates every step of what otherwise could be a complex and time-consuming process for a high net worth investor.

I look forward to welcoming you to our portfolio management service.