News & Views

News & Views

The Call of the Wild (Mar 2020)

In our latest commentary, we look back to the great Jack London novel The Call of The Wild as a parallel to the herd mentality dominating the current investment environment. Following a dozen years of post-Global Financial Crisis policy designed to transfer wealth from financial assets to real assets, investors who are operating in panic mode are buying and selling the wrong assets. This has created incredibly cheap buying opportunities and, with that, a favorable environment for value investors.

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Once Upon a Time on Wall Street (Oct 2019)

In our most recent commentary, we pay homage to the 1960’s by contrasting our current environment to that of a mere half-century ago; it was a period when Wall Street saw only good things while Main Street saw turmoil and change. We view 2019 as arguably a supercharged version of the late 1960’s, which can serve as a guide and an excellent source of instruction on how to successfully navigate the current investment environment.

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The Renaissance and the Entropic Arrow of Time (May 2019)

The most recent commentary contrast the renaissance period to the contemporary era. A half-millennium ago, mankind's search for truth began to breakdown the stifling barriers to thought and liberty. In the contemporary world where truth and liberty have conceptually become easy, they are being sacrificed. While this is a gross generalization, excellent opportunities have been opened up for those willing to use common sense, dig for the truth, and act upon their conviction. At Kopernik, we continue conducting in-depth due diligence, thoughtfully appraising value, maintaining patience and self-control, and staying disciplined in our process.

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Waiting for Sebastian (Oct 2018)

We discuss the current investment environment by drawing parallels to the Portuguese myth based on the belief that King Sebastian will return to save Portugal. This seemingly captures the way most people feel about value investing by sneering at unpopular, but value-laden, tangible assets. We believe that what others condescendingly snub as “cigar butts” may turn out to be, figuratively, valuable ‘Cubans’, wrapper intact.

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Master and Servant (Jun 2018)

We discuss the dangers and opportunities created investors allow independent thought and judgment to be subordinated by the dominant theories of the day; to prescriptive economic theories; to formulaic investment models; and especially to price insensitive investment approaches. Why Kopernik prefers independent thought to dependency and judgement to data. We discuss why the future looks bright for active investing, for value investing, and for idiosyncratic investing.

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Misunderstandings Present Great Opportunities (Jan 2023)

In his latest commentary, Kopernik analyst and co-portfolio manager for the International Strategy, Mark McKinney analyzes and compares how the current developed world’s characteristics such as inflation, excessive deficits, censorship and politicized economic decision-making are looking more like emerging markets. This begs rethinking the prevailing rules and risks applied in the valuations of both. Is the valuation premium awarded to developed markets for so long still warranted? Or do emerging markets with sizable discounts offer better investment opportunities due to the misunderstood risks?

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Kopernik Perspective: A Differentiated Approach to ESG (July 2022)

In this whitepaper on ESG, Kopernik’s investment research team provides an update to our March 2021 webinar on the same topic. In summary, ESG is important, complex, and nuanced. This whitepaper will give an update on how we think about the current ESG environment, provide examples of the types of ESG risks we are evaluating, and explain how we integrate ESG risk into our valuation process.

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Managing Geopolitical Risk in a Global Portfolio (July 2022)

In this whitepaper, Kopernik’s investment research team builds on our April 2022 webinar about geopolitical risk, breaking down our process and examples of both successes and losses in emerging markets. Evaluating geopolitical risk has always been a key factor in our global investment process. As global crises have made our role as investment manager more crucial than ever, our mission of being independent thought leaders could not be more pertinent.

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Fear is Good (July 2022)

In his latest commentary, Kopernik analyst and co-portfolio manager for the International Strategy, Mark McKinney, compares today’s U.S. market to the tech bubble of the late 1990s and 2000s. He also gives examples of the many “mini bubbles” that have already burst under the surface of the bigger names in the index. Lastly, there are some thoughts on the US Dollar, inflation, and gold.

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The Greater The Suffering, The Greater The Peace (Jan 2022)

In his latest commentary, Kopernik analyst and co-portfolio manager for the International Strategy, Mark McKinney, compares the actions of the U.S. Federal Reserve and the resultant inflation and choppy investment environment to the dangerous aspirations of villains in Hollywood spy films and how Kopernik is actively managing our investments through “the greater suffering.”

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Lord make me green…but not yet (Nov 2021)

In his latest commentary, “Lord make me green…but not yet”, Kopernik Analyst Steve Rosenthal discusses a range of factors that handicap “net-zero” emission pledges around the world. While this ambitious goal will hopefully materialize, there resides a paradox in achieving it at the rate and extent we want/need.

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Barron's Profile featuring Dave Iben - A Longtime Value Manager Is Betting on Gold Stocks. Here’s Why

Our CIO Dave Iben was profiled in Barron's, where he discussed the history of Kopernik and how his nearly four decades of investment experience have prepared him to find success in value investing. Read the full feature on the Barron's website here.

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BNN Bloomberg - We're calling for a $75 barrel of oil | Alissa Corcoran - March 10, 2021

Kopernik's Director of Research Alissa Corcoran went on BNN Bloomberg to discuss Kopernik's current incentive price for oil, and the big investing opportunities she's seeing in gold and uranium, which she feels continue to be undervalued. Watch the full segment here.

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Event: The Antidote to Correlation Webinar - ESG

On March 30, 2021, Kopernik's President Neda Yarich hosted a discussion on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) with Chief Investment Officer and Lead Portfolio Manager David Iben and Director of Research/Analyst Alissa Corcoran. 

Presentation: Antidote to Correlation E.S.G. Webinar

Video Replay: Antidote to Correlation E.S.G. Webinar

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Barron's Penta: Future Returns: Investing Beyond the S&P 500, featuring Kopernik CIO Dave Iben - March 30, 2021

Kopernik's CIO Dave Iben spoke with Barron's Penta for a column on why investors should consider opportunities outside the S&P 500, and why becoming an "international bargain hunter" is a great first step. Read the full story here.

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Barrons Feature Story on Commodities with Kopernik CIO, David Iben - January 1, 2021

Kopernik Founder and CIO Dave Iben was included in a Barron's feature story, where he spoke with the publication about the buying opportunities he's currently finding in commodities like uranium, energy, and more. Read the full story here.

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BNN Network - Commodities Primed for a Price Surge | Alissa Corcoran - February 4, 2021

Kopernik's Director of Research Alissa Corcoran went on BNN Bloomberg to discuss why commodities like uranium and gold have been underappreciated (partly due to momentum stocks), why the price of each will need to increase, and her key sector picks including Cameco and Centerra. Watch the full interview here.

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