While some billionaire investors seek the limelight, either due to ego or to further their own investment agendas, 83-year-old David Hains who heads up the $2.3 billion private Hains family investment vehicle Portland House, is unassuming and prefers to stay well away from the media.
With a fortune that rivals the likes of more widely known investors such as Solomon Lew of Premier Investments (ASX: PMV) and Kerr Neilson of Platinum Asset Management (ASX: PTM), the Hains family know how to invest. The fact that the workings of Portland House are relatively unknown, makes the recent interview that the Australian Financial Review (AFR) gained with Mr Hains all the more interesting.
Interestingly, while most of the Hains' funds are managed in-house, much of the interview focused on Portland House's selection of hedge funds to manage portions of the portfolio. The interview was peppered with the names of famous global hedge fund managers such as George Soros, Carl Icahn and Dan Loeb, however portfolio managers from Perpetual (ASX: PPT) also scored a mention.
As is often the case with the very best fund managers, the 'average' investor can rarely gain access to their investment products. In many cases this is because they only accept large sums of money, however in the case of Portland House it is because it is a private family investment vehicle.
One exception has recently arisen. For years an arm of the Pratt family (of Visy Industries fame) privately managed money through the investment vehicle Thorney Holdings. Recently Thorney Holdings has effectively opened up its investment skill and deal flow to the public via Thorney Opportunities (ASX: TOP). This has created a rare opportunity for investors to gain access to the usually private world of family offices and hedge funds.
Foolish takeaway
While the investment world is full of 'hot shot investors' who briefly make a name for themselves but then fail to live up to the hype, the pool of long-term outperforming investors is very small. This reinforces just how difficult it is to outperform stockmarket indices in the long run.
