Insight Provider, CrossASEAN Research

Nicolas Van Broekhoven

Was on the buyside for 15 years, most recently at a medium-sized boutique asset management firm. I grew up in Europe, went to university in the US and have been living in Singapore for the last 7 years which has given me a broad scope on the world and investing in general.

Consider myself a generalist investor with a preference for small and mid-cap companies and special situations. However, a large cap that has gone temporarily out of favor might also pique my interest. 

My style of investing could be categorized as more of value investor, rather than growth at any cost. Learning from Charlie Munger on the importance of quality of a company has been of tremendous value over the years.I like businesses with real earnings, cash flows, dividends, book value and insider ownership.

Insight Provider

AEM: Temasek Investment + New Customers = Pre-Cursor to Nasdaq Listing? Fair Value to 8 SGD

Aem Holdings: Raises Guidance for FY21, New Customer Wins in FY22 to Drive Re-Rating to 8 SGD

AEM Holdings: 2H21 Revenue Acceleration to Continue into FY22. Fair Value Maintained at 8 SGD

AEM: Onwards to $1 Billion Market Cap; Now More Attractive as M&A Target with Biz Diversification

AEM Holdings: Optimistic on FY21; Fair Value Remains at 5 SGD (41% Upside)

AEM: Temporary Weakness Creates Buying Opportunity Going into New Product Cycle as of 3Q21

CrossASEAN Research

At CrossASEAN Research we strive to produce unbiased and differentiated on the ground insights on companies across South East Asia. Our Research is produced for the most part after face to face meetings and conversations with company management to dig deep into the long term vision and strategy of the companies we cover. We seek to deliver investable and actionable themes on sectors and markets across SE Asia, often in collaboration with other Insight Providers across the region, pooling the vast experience of the analysts within the Smartkarma Ecosystem. We also offer bespoke work and tailor made trips for our clients. 

Insights across South East Asia

Equity Bottom-Up

<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/aem-holdings-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:11019:1" rel="noopener">AEM (AEM SP)</a> reported results which disappointed the market. See my latest insight for more details <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/aem-temporary-weakness-creates-buying-opportunity-going-into-new-product-cycle-as-of-3q21" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:51051" rel="noopener">AEM: Temporary Weakness Creates Buying Opportunity Going into New Product Cycle as of 3Q21. </a>As a result the stock is now lower by 1% YTD.Over the past week the company has been buying back shares almost every day. Does this signal a bottom?  We looked at similar episodes in 2019 and 2020 and conclude that when the company is aggressively buying it is a pre-cursor of strong share price performance going forward. Unlike some US companies which are perennially buying back their own stock <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/aem-holdings-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:11019:1" rel="noopener">AEM (AEM SP)</a> is very specific in their timing and it usually reflects management sentiment that AEM is undervalued.Bottom line: while 2Q21 results might not be glorious we expect strong performance in 2H21 and into 2022. Management was very clear on the call "big" new customer wins by 2022 are very likely. If AEM can prove other big customer wins outside <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/intel-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:16764:1" rel="noopener">Intel Corp (INTC US)</a> this would be a game-changer and increase its M&amp;A appeal going forward. Fair Value remains unchanged at 5 SGD (43% upside from 3.5 SGD).

AEM (AEM SP) reported results which disappointed the market. See my latest insight for more details AEM: Temporary Weakness Creates Buying Opportunity Going into New Product Cycle as of 3Q21. As a result the stock is now lower by 1% YTD.Over the past week the company has been buying back shares almost every day. Does this signal a bottom?  We looked at similar episodes in 2019 and 2020 and conclude that when the company is aggressively buying it is a pre-cursor of strong share price performance going forward. Unlike some US companies which are perennially buying back their own stock AEM (AEM SP) is very specific in their timing and it usually reflects management sentiment that AEM is undervalued.Bottom line: while 2Q21 results might not be glorious we expect strong performance in 2H21 and into 2022. Management was very clear on the call "big" new customer wins by 2022 are very likely. If AEM can prove other big customer wins outside Intel Corp (INTC US) this would be a game-changer and increase its M&amp;A appeal going forward. Fair Value remains unchanged at 5 SGD (43% upside from 3.5 SGD).

AEM Holding: Aggressively Buying Their Own Stock; Historically Pre-Cursor to Strong Performance