The London South East, Investing Matters Podcast, Episode 22, Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn, Founder and Director at Aubrey Capital

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Peter Higgins 00:18

Hello and welcome to the Investing Matters podcast. My name is Peter Higgins and today I have the privilege of speaking with Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn. Sharon is the founder director and has been responsible for the European strategy since its inception in 2008. Sharon, welcome to the Investing Matters podcast.

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 00:37

Hello, Peter, thank you very much for inviting me today.

Peter Higgins 00:41

Thank you for being here with us. Now, Sharon, I want to start our conversation if I may. Because originally you trained as an opera singer before becoming a financial wizard, as I may say, please could you share with us your opera training, what was evolved and what made you decide on a career in finance?

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 00:59

Focusing was really the culmination of my musical training not the start I to achieve a fairly high level of ability on the piano before even thinking about singing.

But change course during my undergraduate years, where practicing on the keyboard for six hours a day was not really compatible with getting an academic degree. Of course, if you sing for six hours a day you will destroy your voice, so singing was more compatible up to a point. When I graduated, I took a job at Sotheby's for a year but then switched to part time temping to support my opera training which involves studying in Italy and Paris with various teachers, including one of Pavarotti’s coaches. Suffice to say, I didn't have Pavarotti’s voice or talent, otherwise, I wouldn't be here speaking to you now.

Peter Higgins 01:46

Live that reply, thank you. Now, Sharon, you studied in Italy and Paris. So are you fluent competent in both Italian and French? Do you speak other languages, and was being multi linguistic something that enabled you to stand out from other finance candidates when looking for a role in finance industry?

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 02:03

I'm pretty fluent in French and Italian once I get going. It's a long time since I've lived in either country. I always had an interest in foreign languages, I’m reasonably competent in German as well and can read in Spanish with relative ease. But I'm less confident speaking it, in the languages when my door opener into the financial sector, both CCF, that's Crédit Commercial de France, and Walter Scott and Partners.

Of the former, they needed someone to type up their lengthy reports in French, and that the latter, they had no one with any linguistic ability at all. And that recently taken on a European mandate.

At that time, in the early 1990s, a lot of the smaller companies in Europe did not have English speaking management. And so you had to do the management interviews in French or German. So it really gave me an advantage to be able to do that.

Also, I believe that in order to understand culture, and even how business operates, you really do have to immerse yourself in the language. That is why I've always felt I have more to offer in European equities than, say, Asian equities where I don't speak the languages.

Fortunately, I'm married to a fluent Cantonese speaker. And I've taken in a reasonable amount of knowledge about China from him, which is important in today's world.

Peter Higgins 03:21

I love that reply. Thank you very much. Now Sharon, you started your career as you say a Crédit Commercial de France as an analyst in the mergers and acquisitions division. What was your favourite memory of your time at the beginning of your career?

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 03:34

Working in the M&A Division of CCF around the time of big bang was a great introduction to the world of finance. All the temp jobs I had ever had, it was by far the most interesting, which is why when interest rates spiked to 15%, in the late 1980s, and I was faced with finding the monthly payments on my mortgage, I decided to apply to them for a permanent job.

The best thing about it was the sense of excitement and the quality of the individuals I was working with. It set the standard for the quality of work I should aspire to produce in the future.

Peter Higgins 04:08

Thank you for that response. Thank you. Now please do share with us your thoughts. Now looking back on your formative finance experience during that big bang deregulation of financial markets era?

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 04:19

It's really hard to convey the sense of newness and excitement of that cross border M&A Division of CCF in the mid-1980s. This year for taking over a city stockbroker called Lawrence Press. And they already had a UK M&A division.

The cross border one was new, and people bought into run it both English and French were very clever and motivated. You frequently worked up to midnight on deals ordering in the pizza, and got on well with my original boss who in addition to being a financier was also a very fine amateur cellist and used to play as an extra for the London Symphony Orchestra.

Peter Higgins 04:59

Sounds fascinating. Now you've already touched on one there. So who were the individuals who inspired you during your career at CCF? And what were the greatest lessons and takeaways from that time?

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 05:11

One individual in particular, Dominique Carrel-Billiard that recently joined as a graduate but was hugely intelligent and productive and both English and French, clearly destined for great things. You have this kind of aura about him even at a very young age, which everyone recognised.

He subsequently went on to become a partner at McKinsey, then CEO of AXA asset management, and now has a senior role at Amundi. The other great role model from a totally different perspective was my first one employer, Dr. Walter Scott. Walter was also hugely intelligent with a postgraduate degree in nuclear physics from Cambridge.

But it was really his persona, and formidable ability in marketing that singled him out, he would travel the world in a kilt legend has it when he visited a garment factory in China, all the workers, mostly female, simply downed tools that they looked up at this apparition in a kilt, and the factory, previously a hum of activity went completely silent.

Of course, it's impossible for me as a woman to emulate either Dominique or Walter. I'm quite different personality type, much more reserved, but I hope I gain something of Dominique’s work ethic, and some Walter’s investment wisdom. It was certainly Walter who gave me the opportunity to pursue a career in investment, and set me on the path of company analysis that has enabled me to reach the top of my game.

Peter Higgins 06:43

Love the thought of just walking into a massive place that's humming and busy and wandering in a kilt and everything just stops.

That's absolutely fantastic. Now, as a founding member of Aubrey Capital, what was your original philosophy, when you and your co-founders started the firm Sharon?

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 07:01

When I joined Andrew Dalrymple and his colleagues who had been at another Edinburgh firm. The initial discussions around philosophy were crucial. We were both growth stock investors, but we had to work out what philosophy was behind our most successful past investments.

He came up with what we subsequently called the theory of wealth progression, which directs us to different areas in the market, depending on the level of economic advancement of the region we are investing in, simply for which we need to follow where the money goes, which is likely to be towards basic infrastructure, consumer goods in emerging markets, and more sophisticated goods and services as economies advance.

This provides a repeatable model for investment. Beyond that imposing high financial hurdle rates for stocks inclusion in the portfolio is a hugely important discipline and risk mitigation tool. As a growth stock investor.

For us to be interested in a company. It must fulfil the basic rule of being capable of a 15% Cash Flow return on assets or self financing growth rate, a 15% return on equity and 15% earnings per share growth. In the case of the European stock universe.

This effectively reduces the opportunity set from 3,000 to 200 companies watch lists are comprised of a very select group of highly profitable businesses.

Peter Higgins 08:31

Thank you for that reply. Now, what was the closing amounts of assets in the management after the first year of Aubrey Capital and what is the AUM now?

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 08:41

We had a single digit amount and a single digit amount, just a few million pounds under management, none of the partners took a salary in the first couple of years. We now have a billion pounds under management and 32 staff.

Peter Higgins 08:55

Fantastic very, very well done. Now has your success as a female founder and female fund manager led to more men in industry, rightfully recognise the benefits of that have a diversified and the attributes of females can bring to outperforming benchmarks, Sharon?

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 09:18

No, in a word.

Peter Higgins 09:19

That's so sad.

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 09:19

Yes, it is sad when I think of my days at CCF in the 1980s, where there were several very talented women working in the department. I was utterly astonished to learn from the Citywire Alpha Female Report a couple of years back, but only 10% of the funds they followed were headed up by a female Portfolio Manager.

And over the last couple of years, the percentage has risen to a measly 11 to 12%. I had been shielded from that reality by the fact that I've worked for two boutique firms that had a reasonable number of female analysts.

There is a lot of noise currently about the under representation of women in our industry. It is easy to understand why but not so easy to rectify and it will take time. I believe it starts at the grass roots, and we need to get more girls applying to work in the industry.

Then there is also the cultural aspect which needs to be changed to make the working environment more conducive to women. At Aubrey, we have avoided the very combative, intellectually aggressive style of our previous houses and work in a much more collegial way.

Peter Higgins 10:26

Yeah, that seems that's important to work and to nurture others. Now, Sharon, your leading female role model in the fund management industry, rightfully so.

Please do share with our listeners some of the barriers, issues you face as a woman in being successful in this field? How did you overcome them? And how are you endeavouring to nurture a fairer, more equal path for young females at Aubrey Capital, and in the wider investment industry?

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 10:53

Let me preface what I say with a general observation that I personally have been extremely fortunate in my career and that I've not been overly burdened by the prejudices and issues faced by many women. I think it partly comes from my background of having observed professional women in previous generations of my family and how they operate.

I just had an awareness right from the start that for women to get on in business, they have to be serious, super hard working self discipline, and probably work harder than most men to prove themselves. I recently discussed the issue of these persisting gender issues at work with a cousin of mine, who was also very successful in her field and an entrepreneur like me, she made an ostensibly flippant comment that we were helped by the fact we inherited tall jeans from our grandfather, who was six foot four inches tall, which was was tall for people born in the 1890s.

Thinking about that height as an advantage, both men and women short men have to work harder and have more forceful personalities to stand out. There are several very well known individuals in the business world who fall into that category. With women, if you're small, with a high pitched voice, and all of a sudden, you will have a lot more difficulty being taken care of. Also, as a rule, women are less comfortable putting themselves forward than men are and in investment management, you really have to be confident and articulate presenting your ideas.

At Walter Scott, my previous employer, one of the partners who interviewed me in the first round, leaned across the boardroom table and said, pretty girls go and get married, then the implication being that I would leave within a few years and their efforts and training me will be wasted. Without missing a beat. I replied that, yes, they do get married, but they also have to work. And my mother worked as a lawyer and a judge until she was 70.

When I came back from maternity leave, and I was the first employee of ever to have taken it, my male colleagues assume that my brain had gone to mush along with motherhood, it was pointless trying to explain to them to natural fat and looking out for wee one meant that you had to be super alert with eyes in the back of your head.

So if anything, your mental paths were enhanced by motherhood not diminished. But notwithstanding all this, I was the first of my intake group of analysts to make director features and five years later, so my male colleagues must have come around in the end. Maybe if I take more time off to have more children, it would have been more difficult.

I'm full of admiration for Helena Morrissey, who has managed to combine an incredible career with leading up nine children. But I guess she is a really exceptional individual.

For the vast majority of women, we can't have our cake and eat it, something has to give. The good thing though about investment management as a career for women is that if you take a maternity break, you can pick it up again, because you've learned the basic analytical techniques. It is also a results driven business.

You either make money for your clients or you don't. And if you can, you will get on nor a success in this business down to intellectual brilliance. Some people have great brains, but they don't have a feel for the markets and they can't make decisions.

I do count myself as extremely fortunate to have been employed by a firm whose investment philosophy made total sense to me. I took to it like a duck to water. And I will never deviated. It's a tried and tested methodology based on investing in cash generative businesses that console finance their own long term growth. But the process I learned at Walter Scott has been enhanced and improved my own long experience at Aubrey. And it is this that I convey to young analysts brought into the firm of the sixth author that we've implied.

The majority were women. we've employed three Chinese and Indian and Swedish Filipino national, compared to just two young men. This wasn’t a conscious bias. It was done after lengthy interviews on the basis of merit.

Peter Higgins 15:10

Brilliant, love that reply Sharon. Thank you very much. Now, please, can you give us an overview on Aubrey Capital and what differentiates it from other asset management firms, please?

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 15:21

Firstly, we're a boutique not an institution. So I have time as a senior manager to get to know everyone, which isn't always the case in a bigger firm, we want everyone on the investment team to buy into our investment idea.

So when we research a stock, a whole team is involved in meeting management, and then the ongoing maintenance of the investment. And by that, I mean, following the company's quarterly earnings announcements, updating financial spreadsheets and purchasing is taking company visits, meeting notes, and so on.

Managing healthy portfolios means a vigorous ongoing research effort to see if there's anything outside the portfolio that has better prospects and the stock we are already invested in. We want the portfolios to really motor.

So we do not let our staff get hung up feeling they have to justify an investment simply because they've been a major proponent of it in the first place. We don't allow ourselves to fall in love with stocks. average turnover is higher than most growth stock managers.

When not buy and hold forever merchants, typical holding period would be three years. But a few investments we've held for seven to 10 years, we believe value added is in finding somewhat under researched stocks and getting into them before everyone else does.

Peter Higgins 16:37

Yeah. So always get in early and get into the trend as they say that's a really good idea. Now, Sharon, please, can you talk us through an example of an investment that did not quite play out as it should have done and what were the lessons learned from this, please?

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 16:53

We were early into the solar industry in 2007-8 and stocks mainly German solar cell and module producers were well in the first year, doubling in value, and then crashed during the global financial crisis as cheap Chinese competition came into the market, and commoditized the industry. The lesson learned, of course, is that I had good ideas may not stay good forever. And if the margins are really fantastic, it invites all the competitors to play in the industry.

We're back in the sector now but through owners of solar plants rather than the module producers themselves, and the cheaper there's more modules are, the better it is for the utilities, the solar plant owners, the prospects look good as they ramp up capacity with ever increasing demand for energy. The high price of conventional fuels is an added incentive for people to switch now.

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Peter Higgins 18:14

Thank you for that I think you're right that sometimes you can almost be almost too early and be ahead of the game. So it can cost you some times.

Now on the opposite side of that. Sharon, please can you tell us one of those long term investments that proved super successful for you and profitable for including and also in your reply can you include for me the analytical fundamental characteristics you identified that led to this level of conviction and the level of success attained from that investment please?

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 18:42

We invested in ASML back in 2014. ASML is the world's leading producer of lithography machines for the semiconductor industry.

These produce the patterning on the wafers which allows chip makers to pack ever increasing numbers of transistors onto them, which gives the result in chips that processing power.

When we first analysed the company, it was already displaying the financial characteristics we look for a return on equity and cash flow Return On Assets above 15% of the company was trying to increase wafer throughput on their latest generation of photography machine, the so called EUV Extreme Ultraviolet.

We knew this might take two or three years to achieve for commerciality. But it happened and it has been an extremely good investment. From our initial purchase price. The share price is up some 560%.

Peter Higgins 19:35

Very well done and commendable to you and your team there, now Sharon how much importance do you put on psychology with regards to combating over 200 cognitive biases we all face as investors and more so as financial fund managers, where are our monthly and quarterly returns are being measured meticulously?

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 19:56

Absolutely none at all. I try not to clutter my mind with psychobabble and just stick to the investment process.

Our process is very numerical, very disciplined. It's a tried and tested method which has worked for me for over 30 years, and that mitigates some of these biases. The process includes an important maxim keeping the portfolios fresh. And we would expect to see 1/3 of the names change annually. We don't fall in love with our stocks.

They've done really well for us and then looking expensive, we will sell them sticking to the investment discipline is really important.

Peter Higgins 20:31

Thank you for that. Now, Sharon. You are the head of research and the lead fund managers for Aubrey capital’s European strategy. Firstly, how is your strategy fared during the past 12 months after Brexit vote, and secondly, how it’s performed since then?

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 20:50

The fund fell eight and a half percent between the end of May and the end of June 2016 over the period of the Brexit vote, but rose 23% over the next 12 months. Since the end of June 2016. The NAV of the fund is up 96%.

Stock markets go up and down and that can be quite long periods of drawdown. That's why if you're investing in equities and should only do so with money you can afford to set aside for a minimum of three years and preferably five.

Peter Higgins 21:23

That’s exceptional Sharon very well done to you and your team. Now Sharon you’ve managed the European Conviction Fund since 2008. Please tell us how the fund has performed since inception. And what has been your greatest challenges, lessons and greatest successes please?

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 21:38

Inception in March 2008. It's up to 100% versus 96%. For the index greatest challenges. I didn't really think about running the fund as being particularly hard or challenging. It's mainly a pleasure. But looking back, I have to say that managing the funds through the global financial crisis was pretty dispiriting as it hit within three months of starting the European strategy.

Many businesses went to the wall at that time, but we didn't thanks to faithful clients and a lot of determination. The clients have since been amply rewarded for their constancy and I'm so grateful for that the best reward is and feeling you've done a good job for people. Particularly as in this instance, the longtime supporter of our European strategy is a European philanthropic organisation.

As to lessons a career in investment is all about developing investment judgement. You can learn all the analytical techniques and be a good analyst. Developing judgement comes over many years of getting things right and getting things wrong.

Part of this is down to timing and market timing is notoriously difficult. At times when given a free hand I might have gone 50% or more into cash. The clients want you to invest in stocks and make their own cash decisions go into cash and the market goes against you, i.e. up it's fatal for your client relationship.

As to successes, I suppose the founding of Aubrey which supports 32 members of staff and their families is the greatest success. The fact that it's a very nice place to work as well with a great energising entrepreneurial but still compassionate culture is an added bonus.

Peter Higgins 23:20

Love that response and fantastically well done in achieving 2,000%, sorry 200% since inception Sharon, very well done now in summer 2021 Aubrey Capital launched a version of its European Conviction Equities funds that exclude UK exposure and only holds continental stocks. Please can you tell us more about the S V. S. Aubrey Europe X UK fund and its strategy and your goals and aspirations for this new fund?

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 23:52

We launched this fund for Investors and wealth managers in the UK who prefer to asset allocate separately between the UK and continental Europe. The fund comprises all the continental stocks in the main strategy plus two or three other small smaller cap names. It's been going just over a year and is available on several platforms including Hargreaves Lansdown, Accenture, Aviva, Nucleus and Transact.

Peter Higgins 24:16

Thanks you for that, so that now with regards to investing in Europe, what are you seeing value and significant opportunities at present?

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 24:24

Well, stocks in Europe have been significantly so down this year due to rising interest rates are central bank's try to control inflation, which has been unleashed by years of money printing and compounded by the economic fallout of the Russia Ukraine war. Our own portfolio is trading at valuation levels not seen since the global financial crisis. But the earnings growth prospects are much better than that time. There are opportunities in technology and industrial stocks in renewable energy and infrastructure, a wide variety of sectors in fact.

Peter Higgins 24:57

Thank you for that. Now. So how's your Aubrey European conviction strategy performing of late and longer term? What has been the key to your long term outperformance across Europe? And where? Where many of the other funds and your peers have floundered?

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 25:15

Yeah to date strategies on 28% versus 10% for for the main European index, but over three years the fund has made 27% versus 17% for the index, and over five years 54% versus 28%. For the index. We're in a period of drawdown right now, therein lies the opportunity.

One can never say when the prof might be reached, maybe it was already back in June. nor can one say when the geopolitical situation particularly regarding Ukraine will ameliorate over one can say that this is an exceptional drawdown for this group of quality stocks, and represents a cheap buying opportunity for long term shareholders. And on the drawdown analysis of the strategy since inception, it would be fair to let people know that the longest period from top to bottom has lasted 30 months during the global financial crisis. We are currently in our seventh month of drawdown. So if the previous longest drawdown has anything to go by, our stocks may have regained their previous highs within the next two years. But as I said investors should have a minimum three year investment horizon.

Peter Higgins 26:25

Very good points made their Sharon. Thank you very much. What are your thoughts views on interest rates and inflation looking into 2022 and beyond Sharon?

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 26:37

High interest rates and high inflation are not entirely negative for all types of companies so long as they can pass on higher prices and protect their margins. high interest rates are generally considered good for banks and bad for companies with high levels of debt. We rarely invest in banks, but we never invest in companies with very high debt.

Typically, our companies have low or no debt, high interest rates and inflation are not good for consumers. And our exposure to the consumer sector is more limited than usual and restricted to very stock specific cases where demand will be less influenced by these macro factors.

Peter Higgins 27:15

Very important point you've made there regarding debt and what we've just seen recently regarding Cineworld potentially going out of business and bankruptcy there so thank you for pointing that out again, Aubrey Capital now signatories to the UN PRI, and the fund is recognised as article eight under the European SFDR.

Please can you explain to our listeners what UNPRI and SFDR are, and also why it is this process and inclusion by Aubrey Capital and so important?

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 27:46

UN PRI are the United Nations supported principles for Responsible Investment around human rights, labour, anti bribery and corruption and environment. SFDR stands for Sustainable finance disclosure regulation, though article eight funds are defined as funds which promote among other characteristics, environmental or social characteristics or combination of those characteristics, provided that the companies in which the investments are made follow good governance practices.

The long definition. Signing up to UN PRI and SFDR involves subjecting the whole firm and its various strategies to external scrutiny on the subject of ESG, environment, social and governance issues. It involves completing lengthy questionnaires annually and submitting them to the UN, the Luxembourg regulator and ongoing scrutiny of the companies we invest in to encourage best practice.

Peter Higgins 28:47

There's a very, very high benchmarks to maintain, I imagine. Yeah, very well done. That Sharon in the category of Fund Manager of the Year, you're awarded highly commended investment weeks women in investment awards 2021. How does it feel to have your success recognised by the industry?

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 29:06

These industry accolades are very welcome. They lead to more recognition of what we are doing here at Aubrey, but I feel slightly sad that there have to be women and investment awards at all. Because I would have hoped after 30 years in the industry, that women would be more fairly represented, and that we would think it is strange to hold such awards as we would men in investment awards, but such as the state of affairs.

I'm more proud of the fact that we were awarded best in class for Europe equity in the benchmark font of the Year awards in Hong Kong last year. Because in addition to fund performance, the judges took a long hard look at our approach to ESG. And we came out way ahead of the competition in our class, both male and female. I think the fact that we can run funds with great performance that are also highly ethical is what I'm most proud about.

Peter Higgins 29:54

Brilliant very good. brilliantly done now, as more and more investors are choosing it ESG related funds and investments, how are Aubrey Capital facilitating these investments demands which are getting higher and higher and higher?

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 30:08

ESG has been incorporated in our way of investing since inception 15 years ago, we've always invested on the Do No Harm principle. But today we have a very detailed questionnaire which is applied across all stocks. And we're looking to invest in companies that have a beneficial impact. All the companies in our fund score highly on our methodology.

It's not just a question of allocating a box tick either, nor of investing in the least bad company in a controversial sector, what's known as the best in class approach, we operate a lengthy exclusion list. We weren't invest in arms or armaments, alcohol, or tobacco, gambling or pornography, fossil fuels, genetic modification, nor pharmaceuticals.

In this way, we managed to avoid almost entirely the more controversial areas, and we won't compromise on this principle. Of course, not everyone shares the same ethical concerns, and it's really up to individual investors to check with their managers, whether their money is being invested in companies they approve of.

Peter Higgins 31:13

Very very good. Fantastic reply. Thank you. What are your processes, triggers for selling and exiting stock?

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 31:21

We won’t have a fully invested investor portfolios of no more than 40 stocks. So generally, if we want to add a new name, another must be sold. So in the stock research process, we're constantly on the lookout for companies that might give us better returns. And once we already hold, keeping portfolios fresh is important. Valuation might be a trigger for trimming or selling a stock which has done well. We buy on PEGs, that's price earnings to earnings per share growth rate. So price earnings to growth rate below 1.5 times and usually sell up for him at two times, then we have a maximum stock weighting of 5%. So if a stock starts to exceed that, we will sell it down. And we have sector and country exposure limits too.

We will also sell if our subsequent research led us to believe the company might not make our hurdle rate of 15% earnings per share growth in any given year.

Peter Higgins 32:21

Brilliant, that's very strict, very strict. Indeed. Now, what are you looking for in the leadership in a company to enable you to make an investment with their company with conviction?

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 32:33

We meet the management of all the companies we invest in, and they need to impress us with their knowledge of the business, their awareness of their responsibilities towards investors, staff, and stakeholders. And we need to be reassured that they run their businesses in an ethical, responsible way.

Peter Higgins 32:51

Thank you for that. Now, what is the guiding leadership strength of principle that has guided your career thus far, please Sharon?

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 33:00

Tell them to leave them what I'm doing and the desire to do my very best and communicate that to others, particularly the younger generation.

Peter Higgins 33:09

Brilliant. Now, many UK investors are essentially UK centric in their investment approach and investment strategies. I gather from a recent interview, you were quietly confident that investors can make money by having some European listed exposure. Please can you share with our listeners an example of a type of company you are invested in? That simply doesn't exist in the UK.

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 33:34

I mentioned renewable energy before and we have a stock in Europe called Grenergy Renovables, quoted in Spain, which focuses on the development of large scale renewable energy plants. Historically, mainly solar, though they have some wind power now in the pipeline. UK is bigger on wind farms solar energy for obvious reasons.

There are no solar investments available in the UK market. Most of Grenergy’s existing capacity is in the Atacama Desert in Chile one of the most arid but still inhabited regions of the globe. And also in Spain. Looking forward, they have projects in six other countries, Italy, UK, Poland, Colombia, Peru, and the USA. Sales and earnings could easily double for them over the next three years.

Peter Higgins 34:23

I think I’ll have a look at that one myself, I think Sharon going forward given the energy crisis we're currently having. Now, Sharon, you have a son, has he shown any interest in pursuing a career in investment or the financing industry?

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 34:36

Well, we thought he could do something perhaps more creative, let's say and encouraged him to read engineering at university. He completed his degree and then he did a short internship with us and decided he much preferred investments. And he's currently working for the Bank of England in London. Not quite sure what to think about that. I suspect it was in the jeans all along.

Peter Higgins 35:03

Wow, that's fantastic. You must be very, very proud indeed.

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 35:06

We'll see how that goes.

Peter Higgins 35:09

Thank you. Now I've got a final question for you, Sharon. Please, can you tell me the new addition to your family? Yes, I'm referring to your foal. How long have you had a passion for horses? And what other non investing hobbies do you have? And what charitable organisations that you aligned to and associated with?

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 35:29

I've been passionate about horses for as long as I can remember my horses a bit like the staff are all very different.

Getting to know them individually, it takes time, but they are incredibly rewarding. Horses are great communicators too. If we listen. Foals. I've got two actually they’re just enchanting to watch in their play, but they grow into adults far too soon, just like our children.

I've been associated on a charitable fund with a number of small local charities over the years, but the one I'm currently most involved with is called Future Asset, which introduces girls at school in Scotland. We are located in Scotland. If people don't know that, always an Edinburgh firm.

It introduces girls at school up here in Scotland to the employment opportunities within investment by sponsoring an investment competition where we act as mentors. We are hoping some of these girls will apply to us and other firms in the future just start to help address the gender imbalance. Investment is an intellectual pursuit and there's no earthly reason why girls can't be every bit as good as their male counterparts.

Peter Higgins 36:41

Brilliant, love that. I love that you're doing that with young girls as well and getting them involved and giving them an early sort of exposure to the industry. Sharon, that concludes my interview with you. Thank you ever so much for being on the Investing matters iterview with me. That was Sharon Bentley Hamlyn, founder and fund manager at Aubry Capital. Thank you ever so much, Sharon. Take care. God bless.

Sharon Bentley-Hamlyn 37:05

Thank you very much, Peter. It's been a pleasure.

Peter Higgins 37:08

Thank you.

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