We bring significant global diligence capabilities based on our deep domain experience. We like to back businesses that are creating scalable innovations that have the potential to become market leaders.
At Sands Capital, we maintain a single growth-oriented philosophy that is applied across all strategies.
Our philosophy is rooted in the belief that, over time, stock prices will reflect the earnings power and growth of the underlying businesses.
We practice our philosophy in three simple yet powerful ways
- Seek to identify the few truly innovative businesses with sustainable above-average growth: Our core strength lies in applying proprietary, fundamental research to identify leading growth businesses that we think are innovative and offer products and services for which there is no substitute. In our view, the businesses we own tend to be differentiated leaders in their industry with significant competitive advantages. Often, they possess game-changing qualities that allow them to create their own growth drivers through new product development, entering new markets, or innovating within existing markets.
- Construct a concentrated, conviction-weighted portfolio: Concentrated investing—allocating more money to what we believe are the right types of wealth-creating businesses—has been a powerful way to magnify the impact of our stock selection over time. Though some investors assert that a concentrated portfolio poses greater risk in terms of higher short-term volatility, we believe that a portfolio diluted with a large number of holdings may introduce the risk of not knowing the businesses well enough.
- Maintain a long-term investment horizon: In our experience, attempting to time investment actions typically does not add value to our investment process. As investors in business enterprises—as opposed to stock traders—we focus on trying to understand the strength and duration of the long-term growth drivers for each business. As a result, we are willing to accept short-term stock price volatility in exchange for the potential to create significant wealth over the long term.
Our Investment Focus
Our Six Investment Criteria:
- Sustainable above-average earnings growth
- Leadership position in a promising business space
- Significant competitive advantages/unique business franchise
- Clear mission and value-added focus
- Financial strength
- Rational valuation relative to the market and business prospects
In addition to the six criteria that guide all investment decisions at Sands Capital, Global Ventures invests in businesses that fit the following criteria:
- Sector: Transformational technology companies
- Stage: Series A and B focused
- Geography: Emerging tech hubs, primarily focused in the eastern US and UK
- Concentration: $10 million to $15 million target investment size per company