History

36ONE Asset Management was formed by Cy Jacobs and Steven Liptz in 2004. After completing their accounting articles in the mid-nineties, they joined Simpson McKie, which was later sold to HSBC. In 1999 the Johannesburg retail operation of HSBC was sold to Investec, where Cy and Steven remained for another five and a half years. By late 2004, with the benefit of years of experience, they resolved to launch their own venture and do things their way.

Cy and Steven subsequently founded 36ONE Asset Management where, over time, they hand-picked a deliberately small team of exceptional, committed and talented individuals. This recruitment policy ensured that 36ONE could adopt a leaner, more efficient and more customised approach than the typical investment management firm.

Following the firm’s initial success with private client portfolios, 36ONE launched two unit trusts in September 2005 and its first hedge fund in April 2006. Today the firm manages several billion rand across its unit trusts, hedge funds and institutional segregated mandates.

With single-minded focus, the team continues to deliver award-winning performance and exceptional service. Despite rapid growth, 36ONE remains small enough to maintain its flexible and agile investment approach.

Firm Philosophy

With years of consistently exceptional performance behind them, 36ONE maintains a position carved out by a commitment to excellence, endurance, agility and hard work. It is this approach that lies behind the name 36ONE.

Because 360 degrees is the full circle, for many it is the limit of what is possible. However, 36ONE is a company with a vision that breaches boundaries. For us, good is not good enough; only the extraordinary is acceptable. We believe that the extra degree, the degree of difference, is the principle of performance. It is flawless service and efficiency. It is the unique structure that inspires agility and allows a truly customised offering. In that one degree is the drive to be exceptional.

In less than a decade, 36ONE has become a leading South African asset management outfit — a testament to the power of being exceptional.

Investment Philosophy

Our investment approach is centred on the principle that the market does not efficiently price securities at all times. We therefore believe that stock selection through bottom-up fundamental analysis can out-perform over time.

We apply fundamental analysis – through proprietary modelling techniques and meetings with company management – to identify securities that we believe are priced incorrectly. This bottom-up approach is supplemented by a top-down, macroeconomic overlay which is used to manage exposure to industries and asset classes. Our primary focus is on value investment within the South African equity market, but attractive growth shares and opportunities in other asset classes may also be explored. The 36ONE hedge funds and unit trusts invest in all sectors and across the range of small, medium and large cap shares. Risk management is a core component of our investment philosophy and is embedded in all stages of the portfolio management process.

We maintain an absolute focus on the management of our clients’ portfolios and therefore will remain a small team of investment professionals, while outsourcing peripheral functions. Our remuneration structure ensures that our interests are closely aligned with those of our clients.