Proventus invests in companies that need to change. This has been a fundamental objective since Proventus was founded by Robert Weil in 1969. Today, against a background of a global economy challenged on multiple fronts by adverse business conditions, there are more of them than ever. We work with those companies that have short-term problems, but good long-term prospects, and help them to make the most of their potential by offering our expertise as well as our capital.

It is not just companies that are changing. The nature of capitalism itself is evolving. It has been transformed from its old incarnation into what might be called the age of personality. It has been molded by strong individual leadership into its new, more corporate form, with capital markets dominated by anonymous investors often operating at arm’s length. At Proventus, we believe that this change has had negative as well as positive impacts on the ability of the financial marketplace to function effectively. As a result of mainstreaming, conventional investment policies will face increasing difficulties in achieving the long-term gains that investors seek.

We see an opportunity for investors with the ability and resources to take on complex situations. Our approach, we believe, makes good business sense, and at the same time can help to address some of the economic and social challenges facing society. We are working to make the most of those changing circumstances. In everything we do, from considering the impact of social change on the economy, to playing as active a role in the cultural life of the community as we do as investors, Proventus believes in taking the wider view. We are in business to make a profit, but we recognize that our business cannot operate in isolation from the world around us.

As a business based in Sweden, with an international perspective, we must address an environment in which the mature economies face a whole range of structural problems. There is the shift of manufacturing jobs to the low wage factories of Asia. But equally important, the earnings of consumers in Europe and America have not kept up with economic growth, a shortfall that has resulted in a significant transfer of wealth from salary earners to shareholders. The results: increased household indebtedness, low savings levels and home price inflation, together with demographic change, have limited growth prospects in those areas of the world. At the same time, European industry faces problems that are rooted in structure and cost base, as well as in lack of innovation – problems that demand long-term solutions.

The capital market does not address these problems adequately. It has become increasingly institutional and commoditized, which means it has less flexibility in the way it makes investments, while financial institutions have become more short-termist. There is an excess of capital available for certain situations, while others are not financed at all because they do not meet the rigid criteria of the market.

We might be regarded as pessimists, and it is true that Proventus is concerned at what we see around us. But we also believe that this environment presents opportunities and that an appropriate approach, focused on the fundamentals of developing successful businesses, can help address those problems. Additionally, we see an opportunity for responsible, accountable and truly independent capitalists ready to rely on their own analysis in the current investment climate. It’s an opportunity that depends on having the ability and the structure to take longer-term perspectives.

These are challenging, difficult times for all the European economies. To operate in this climate, marked by restructuring – in the public as well as the corporate sector – and adverse demographics, we believe that we have to be in a position to use the full range of our skills in an intelligent way, rather than conform to the conventional formulae of institutionalized investment. As we see it, a well thought-out view of the world around us will make us more successful. It allows us to be more effective at what we do.

We take a long-term view of investment and base our strategies on an analysis and understanding of the fundamental issues that are shaping our economies and our societies. We are not time limited. Our perspective when we work with a company is to develop it for the long-term. Private ownership allows us to be much more flexible about time perspectives as well as investment structures. Crucially, it allows us to focus on substance, not form. And it gives us the opportunity to react quickly to investment opportunities and to be patient. For us, the products that a business makes are the key to everything. They are fundamental to how a company will perform, and how it will see itself and be seen by its customers and by the market. This may seem obvious, but a disproportionately large part of management effort is still directed towards structural and financial issues, while effective product-driven development is much rarer. Proventus is organized to offer a blend of skills, both financial, and managerial.

Proventus believes in the bigger picture. We operate as a part of the wider cultural landscape supporting a variety of exceptional individuals Active in dance, drama and art, from personal conviction, rather than philanthropic motives. We know we have something to learn from the way they approach their creative processes. Our vision is to be recognized as outstanding active, accountable and creative investors, known for our ability to handle complex situations, and initiate long-term growth and healthy returns. We see ourselves as problem solvers and company builders. Proventus has a long record of financial creativity, flexibility, integrity, and independent minded analysis.

As a family-owned investment business we have had the freedom to develop our own, distinctive approach. Being private serves our fundamental purposes better: making real financial returns long into the foreseeable future. Sustainable investment, you might call it. This document is a look at what we are doing, and how we think and operate. It’s a reflection of our concerns and interests and of our values, in the cultural sense as well as in our business activities.

Daniel Sachs, CEO Proventus