Mark Houghton, Founder and Chief Investment Officer, Saxe Coburg
In September, I travelled through the world’s leading financial centres — London, New York, Zurich, Singapore and beyond — to meet with more than 40 fund managers, investors, and capital allocators. These conversations reaffirmed a few enduring truths about how to protect and grow capital in today’s complex environment.
1. True alignment drives performance
One of the most striking commonalities among the top-performing managers we met was the depth of personal alignment. In many alternative funds, the portfolio manager’s single largest investment is their own fund, often representing the bulk of their personal wealth.
That level of commitment creates genuine alignment with investors.
Performance matters more than scale; success is measured in risk-adjusted returns, not assets under management. This stands in contrast to many traditional investment structures, where incentives can skew towards gathering funds rather than protecting capital.
At Saxe Coburg, we believe this kind of alignment, where conviction and accountability go hand in hand, is fundamental to building resilient portfolios.
2. Independence enables opportunity
The meetings spanned the full spectrum of investment firms, from global giants like PIMCO, specialists like Gator to emerging managers like Isabella.
At one end, PIMCO’s vast resources and leadership in fixed income are now being channeled into alternative strategies such as macro, quantitative, and private credit. With over 260 portfolio managers and 130 dedicated quant specialists, their ability to extract value from data and structure is formidable.
At the other, boutique firms like Gator demonstrate how agility, expertise and skin in the game can deliver exceptional results. Managing just US$300m, including US$50 million of his own capital, representing 98% of his liquid net worth, Gator’s founder has compounded returns at 22% per annum since 2007, outperforming broader equity markets with comparable volatility.
By remaining independent and unconstrained by size, structure, or strategy, Saxe Coburg is able to identify and access both kinds of opportunity — combining institutional discipline with entrepreneurial innovation.
3. The world is full of mispriced possibility
From conversations about the global infrastructure boom and AI-driven growth to niche opportunities in convertible bonds and private credit, one message was clear: markets continue to misprice both risk and innovation.
As one manager noted, “the best trades are often the second and third derivatives of the original idea.”
The investors creating real alpha today are those willing to look beyond the obvious, applying experience and creativity to uncover the next layer of opportunity.
For Saxe Coburg, this reinforces our ongoing commitment to global research, active engagement, and continual learning. Each new relationship deepens our understanding of where the smartest capital is moving — and why.
Looking ahead
These global conversations reaffirmed that successful investing is as much about who you invest with as what you invest in. Whether it’s a trillion-dollar global manager or a boutique founder with everything on the line, alignment, independence, and insight remain the cornerstones of strong, risk-adjusted performance.
At Saxe Coburg, our role is to harness those relationships for our clients, building portfolios designed for resilience, not just returns.
If you’d like to discuss any of the observations above, or how alternatives can support your long-term financial goals, please don’t hesitate to contact Mark or Sam.