Investor studies

Scale economies shared — a business that returns its scale gains to customers as lower prices builds an un-crossable moat.

The record

Ran the Nomad Investment Partnership 2001–2014, compounded far ahead of the market, then closed the fund and held a concentrated set of businesses. State figures plainly; some retellings inflate them. (Seed entry.)

The method

Extreme concentration, very low turnover, multi-year holding periods, deep qualitative work on business models over screens. Small team.

Applied here

The 'destination business' and scale-economies lens map directly onto reading Indian retail, platforms and low-cost operators — where flat margins can hide a widening moat.

Where they were wrong

Mandatory section (seed): early positions and timing calls that did not work; concentration that would have been punishing had one thesis broken. To be authored in full.

What is not transferable

A tiny, patient partnership with aligned capital could hold through drawdowns most investors — and most fund structures — cannot.

Avoid permanent loss rather than chase winners; reject almost everything, and almost never sell.

The record

Runs Nalanda Capital; author of the best investing book by an Indian fund manager. State the record plainly and flag any contested figure. (Seed entry.)

The method

A biology-inspired filter: reject on a single disqualifier, buy high-quality durable businesses, hold for many years with very low turnover.

Applied here

The rejection-first discipline is directly usable on Indian mid-caps: fast disqualifiers (governance, capital allocation, cyclicality) before any deep work.

Where they were wrong

Mandatory (seed): where 'never sell' meets a genuinely broken thesis; the opportunity cost of an ultra-tight filter. To be authored.

What is not transferable

A closed, long-horizon fund can wait out cycles a retail investor with near-term needs cannot.