SD Davis


HISTORY

Entrepreneurship is one of my earliest passions since a friend's mom needed her grass cut when I was 12 years old. Aside from a few months picking oranges in Greece, waiting tables in a pub in Ireland, working on a farm in Israel, and performing miserably as a waiter/ busboy at Chops steakhouse, I've been fortunate to have signed my own paychecks. While I've been blessed to be able to run a few successful companies, I've learned about as much from my failures.

No matter what business I was in since college, there were numerous folders in filing cabinets filled with investment articles. For whatever reason, I could never bring myself to throw them away and still have them all. While in my attic recently, I noticed that the only book and notes I kept from college was from Securities Analysis. I read One Up on Wall Street and Beating the Street by Peter Lynch when I was 23... just for fun! In 2008 as a side hobby, I started handling all my own investments as well as studying the macro and fundamental investing worlds, reading everything I could find by exceptional investors such as Jim Rogers, Jeremy Grantham, George Soros, Warren Buffett, Philip Fisher and Benjamin Graham. I found that I was spending 4 to 5 hours a day on this side hobby.

In 2012, after the Google Panda update drastically reduced CEAG's online publishing search traffic, I started thinking about my next venture. Although it seems obvious now, I never thought about turning my investing hobby into a profession until 2013. In mid-2013 Fortunato 1 strategy was started, and now there are three Fortunato strategies that I manage along with my assistants. One advantage I feel I possess over many investment managers, is having been in the trenches, running companies. I believe that examining a business, and management team, through the lens of an experienced entrepreneur, provides an invaluable edge.

INVESTING PHILOSOPHY

Value is at the core of my investing philosophy. Whether I'm buying a stock, a car, or a leaf blower, I always think, “Why would I ever ignore the Value I'm receiving for the Price I'm paying?” This thought process has always been second nature to me (as friends and my wife will laughingly attest). The investment business is as much about learning and studying ones own strengths and weaknesses as it is about learning what's outside. Adressing blind spots through a disciplined process, while uncovering opportunities helps to mitigate risk.

Over time, Value tends to work with stock picking, and stock picking can be an immensely rewarding activity. I believe that the best returns over time will always be made through investing in businesses, just as they have in the past. This is especially true when buying company shares at a good price.

What Sets Fortunato Apart from Other Investment Managers

Size: Smaller dollar volume allows us to invest in smaller equities our larger competitors cannot.

Flexibility: Our fund strategies are unconstrained, allowing investments in any geographic region or size cap in order to find the best values.

Concentration: Common mutual fund guidelines limit performance of best ideas by allowing no more than 5% of the fund invested per equity. Fortunato is able to concentrate investments on our best ideas when warranted.

Combining a disciplined, value driven, low expense ratio investment strategy through fundamental, bottom up research from an experienced operator's perspective summarizes how we are different from other managers.

OTHER AWARDS AND HONORS

  • Graduate of the MIT Entrepreneurs Masters Program 2006
  • #1 (out of 100 awardees) Winner of the ICIC 100 Fastest Growing Companies, an award presented at Harvard University by noted Harvard Professor and Author Michael Porter and Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin
  • Three time winner of the Inc. 500 Award for fastest growing private enterprises
  • Two time winner of the Deloitte and Touche Technology Fast 50 Award for fast growth technology companies
  • Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award Finalist
  • Former Adjunct Professor, Entrepreneurship, Emory University Goizueta School of Business
  • Founder, Spiritus Scholarship Award for underprivileged high school graduates in Mississippi to attend 4 year university

Contact me through this link for a free consultation about your investment strategy and objectives.

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