فلسفة العمل

Philosophy

 

For man, understanding the world means reducing it to what is human, putting the stamp of mankind upon it. – Albert Camus


Mankind has left its stamp upon the world, with consequences yet unknown – for example as concerns the exploding global population and resulting competition for limited resources. Over 23% of the world’s habitable land mass is already being utilized for the fulfillment of human needs.1 Moreover, at our current level of consumption, every individual on earth requires 2.2 hectares, but only 1.8 hectares are available.

And at the same time, conventional stock and bond portfolios have generated only modest returns over the last ten years. The buy-and-hold strategy so successful throughout the 1980s and 90s now holds scant promise, as a repeat occurrence of this top 20-year performance period in modern market history will not be forthcoming.

Understanding and knowing how to address the challenges of today is at the core of our business model, which hinges upon developing new types of products geared towards the opportunities than simultaneously exist. As an independent investment boutique, Aquila Capital has the freedom to find the best managers for optimal realization of sound investment concepts. Our products are unconventional, both in terms of structure and the quality of specialized management offered. Our fund managers include experts in such fields as real assets, hedge funds, derivates, commodities and private equity. We began creating innovative investment solutions designed around global trends at the start of the new millennium.


These non-traditional investment vehicles are optimal for portfolio diversification, as they are largely uncorrelated with stock and bond markets.

1Global Footprint Network – Ecological Footprint and Biocapacity 2006
(http://www.footprintnetwork.org)

 

Interview

From the very beginning, Aquila Capital has been committed to finding opportunities off the beaten path as a boutique for non-traditional and alternative investments. The interview printed below, conducted in September 2008, illustrates how the personal views of shareholding directors Roman Rosslenbroich (CEO) and Dr. Dieter Rentsch (CIO) translate into responsible management with regard to business partners and clients.


Interviewer: “Mr. Rosslenbroich, how did Aquila Capital get started as a firm?”

R. Rosslenbroich: “Dieter Rentsch and I knew each other from back when the German chapter of the International Federation of Technical Analysts was being formed. At the regular meetings being held we came in contact with Bernardino Branca. His interest in alternative investments inspired us to think ahead and pursue these concepts as early adopters, without waiting for the crowd.”

D. Rentsch: “Long-term trends showed clear potential for products totally unknown in Germany at that time. Back then I was leading the asset allocation research team for MEAG, and Roman was with Salomon Brothers. Both of us wanted to focus on opportunities not available through conventional asset classes.”

Interviewer: “So you just jumped right into it?”

D. Rentsch: “We brought out our first products in the fall of 2001. The stock market had been rocky since the spring of 2000, and several family offices we were in contact with had already expressed interest in our alternative investment concepts. And then came September 11, precipitating a big selloff and two years of market anxiety. We used this time to optimize our concepts for developing innovative, non-traditional investment products offering both return potential and solid risk management.”

R. Rosslenbroich: “From the start we focused on markets impacted by global trends like population growth and newly industrializing nations. Our plan was to build an outstanding asset management solutions around research-based insights. Structuring these solutions involved continual challenges, and we proceeded step-by-step up our own learning curve. The overarching concept we followed was to identify ideas and trends to pursue by creating a fast platform designed specifically to enable fund managers to concentrate exclusively on investment selection. Our efforts led to the creation of our Alphagroup in August 2004.”

Interviewer: “What does this group represent?”

D. Rentsch: “First of all, is a group of professionals who share our basic philosophy. Our dual aims as a research and development unit are to be highly creative and highly disciplined at the same time, so as to not only generate but also concretely implement innovative ideas with precision and professionalism. “

R. Rosslenbroich: “Structured freedom is our recipe for successful development. Imagine a pyramid: Tried and tested infrastructures represent the base, providing maximum stability, while at the top is the idea factory where the creative element unfolds. This is also like a lab where we diligently analyze long-term economic trends to identify potential investment options for profiting from these insights. We work on the cutting edge, pioneering into unknown territory.

D. Rentsch: “It is essentially a three-step process. We identify long-term trends and investment opportunities, create suitable investment vehicles based on these, and ensure alignment of interests by investing our own money in them, side-by-side with our clients. It is like our slogan says: The only constant is change, and change is opportunity.”

“Thank you for talking to us.”