Platinum is an Australia-based investment manager that focuses on one asset class – international shares, or, more simply put, we provide portfolios of listed companies from around the world. Platinum offers only one core investment style – we seek out companies whose true worth and prospects are yet to be fully recognised by the market. Past performance shows that our approach is one that has worked in different economic climates and withstood the test of business cycles. Choosing among our products will depend on whether you want general global exposure or would prefer a more tailored exposure to a geographic area or particular industry group.

The Platinum Way

Platinum’s approach to managing our clients’ wealth is shaped by five pillars:

• A contrarian, long-term investing philosophy; With a focus on achieving strong long-term absolute returns (rather than simply by comparison to a benchmark index), we look beyond short-term market turbulence caused by events of a transient nature to seek out ‘unfashionable’ companies whose actual worth is greater than the value implied in their present share price.
• A bottom-up, index-agnostic approach to stock selection; As a true active manager, we build up our portfolios by selecting one company holding at a time through quantitative analysis and detailed fundamental research. The proportion that each investment represents in a portfolio of, say, 80 companies is based on the conviction we hold in that particular investment case. The composition of a portfolio is not influenced by what stocks make up the index that is used as a comparative reference to evaluate the portfolio’s performance (such as the MSCI All Country World Index) or the weightings of the stocks within that index. As a result, Platinum’s portfolios tend to give investors a very different exposure to that offered by commonly used market indices or index-tracking funds, whether by region, sector or in terms of opportunities in specific companies.
• Uncompromising business ethics: Our business is centred on providing dependable service to our clients, not the pursuit of sales targets or the accumulation of funds under management. That ethos has underpinned Platinum’s approach to investing, product distribution, investor communications and every other aspect of our operations since the beginning. We do not engage in active selling (such as cold calling) to market our products or services.
• A dedicated and experienced team: Making all of this possible is our dedicated staff of more than 107 employees, including 31 analysts and portfolio managers in the investment team and nearly 76 staff in operational roles (as at 28 February 2021), many of whom have been with the firm for over 10 years.
• Alignment of interests: Many Platinum employees, including key members of the investment team, have co-invested their personal money in our funds alongside our clients. The alignment of management and employee interests with those of our investors is reinforced by Platinum’s ownership structure, with staff retaining a relevant interest in approximately 49% of Platinum’s ultimate holding company, Platinum Asset Management Limited, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange under the ticker code ‘PTM’. Further, Platinum’s incentive structure emphasises performance-based remuneration, with one of the key components being a deferred bonus plan that awards high-performing employees with deferred rights in PTM shares.