Mid-Summer Update from JCIC
We hope you are enjoying the summer months. Here is an update from the JCIC office.
Introducing JCIC’s Newest Investment Analyst
As soon as he graduated from university, Kobe Arai took off to see Europe.
“I traveled for a little over a month,” says Arai. “I did two weeks in Italy and did a lot of hikes in the Dolomites as well as Venice and Chicara. And then I headed north and west through Switzerland, France, Spain, and finished in Morocco.”
The highlight was a one-day ascent to Lake Sorapis in Northeastern Italy.
“It was the very last hike I did in the Dolomites. It was an intense climb: essentially just straight uphill for about two hours. That was one of the best hikes I did on the whole trip because you're working so hard and you get rewarded with such a beautiful view. Then you take a different route down the backside for a whole different experience.”
— Kobe Arai, JCIC Investment Analyst
Now that he’s back in Canada he has other lofty goals. Having done an internship with JCIC during his school years, Arai has now officially joined the team as an Investment Analyst.
“I'm doing a lot of work on a broad spectrum of industries,” explains Arai. “I take the philosophy that JCIC has founded, which is a bottom-up approach. We do a lot of research on both the company and the industry it's in. We like to look at companies that have strong momentum in terms of what analysts think and combine that with our own research.”
“We use a scorecard of 10 fundamental indicators to rank each opportunity. Once we see a company that we like based on that scorecard, we start talking to the company itself and go from there.”
The objective nature of the scorecard helps cut through the noise.
“There are so many different opinions out there by analysts and they are all a little bit biased in their own way. What I do is combine all those opinions and form my own view of company.”
That sort of 360-degree awareness is not new for Arai. He developed his situational awareness and his anticipation playing centre for the Oakville Rangers.
“I’ve played competitive hockey my whole life. That was a massive part of my childhood,” Arai says of his time growing up just outside Toronto. “I loved playing, and hockey is literally all I did growing up.”
Having grown up in that team atmosphere, Arai feels at home at JCIC.
“Being a boutique sized asset management company, the culture is amazing. There's a lot of collaboration and trust across the team,” he says. “I'm talking to Cam (JCIC President Cameron Scrivens) every day, and I'm talking to Kai (Chief Investment Officer Kai Lam) every day. We're just constantly bouncing opinions off each other. There is a lot of continual learning.”
Please join all of us at JCIC in welcoming Kobe to the JCIC family.
Explaining the 10-point system
The JCIC team uses an objective measuring system for evaluating investment opportunities. It is a 10-point scorecard that helps us compare very different companies. Kai Lam explains:
Toronto Summer Music
JCIC is thrilled to continue our long relationship with Toronto Summer Music. TSM is both an academy and a festival featuring the very best of classical music. In July, TSM brought George Li in a for a one-night performance. Li is an American concert pianist with a long list of international accomplishments.
His performance included a pair of Sonatas by Beethoven, and very modern interpretation of Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.”
Thanks to Lucky Tang for the photos. For more information about the Toronto Summer Music please visit their website.
We hope you are “living the good life” this summer, but if you have any questions about your own investments, or those of a friend or family member, don’t hesitate to reach out to our relationship managers.
Upcoming dates to remember
Thursday, August 7th – Bank of Canada Interest Rate Announcement
August 23rd –September 1st – Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), Toronto
Monday, September 1st – Labour Day
September 10th – 20th – Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)
Thursday, September 18th – U.S. Federal Reserve Interest Rate Announcement
Tuesday, September 30th – National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Wednesday, October 8th – Bank of Canada Interest Rate Announcement
Saturday, October 11th – Nuit Blanche Toronto
Monday, October 13th – Thanksgiving
Disclosure:
Although we obtain information contained in our newsletter from sources we believe to be reliable, we cannot guarantee its accuracy. The opinions expressed in the newsletter are those of JCIC Asset Management, its editors and contributors, and may change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed in the newsletter may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. The information in our newsletter may become outdated and we have no obligation to update it. The information in our newsletter is not intended to constitute individual investment advice and is not designed to meet your personal financial situation. It is provided for information purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor or a group of investors. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. We strongly advise you to discuss your investment options with your Relationship Manager prior to making any investments, including whether any investment is suitable for your specific needs.
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