Celestial manages a portfolio of long term investments of very high quality companies worldwide. The investment philosophy has remained the same since inception in 2010. We have 8 key principles that form the basis of our investment strategy.

Our Principles

It is important you understand what we are aiming to achieve, and how we approach it, to ensure your journey with us is on an informed basis, with realistic expectations.

  • Investment funds can have many labels like Value Fund, Growth Fund, Divided Fund, Income Fund etc. At Celestial we focus on Quality businesses. In essence quality businesses generate increasing amounts for free cash flow annually with management that has a track record of deploying the incremental capital at high rates of return in an owner orientated fashion.

    Quality businesses, acquired at the right price, gives investors peace of mind in turbulent markets.

  • We aim to be long term, buy and hold investors. We want to own stocks that will compound in value over the years. Accordingly we have to be careful in our stock selection and there may be periods that we do not find quality stocks at reasonable prices.

    Accordingly, we seek investors with a longterm mindset who want to compound their wealth over time.

  • Most advised investment portfolios have funds places with 3 to 5 managers, some ETF’s, and a number of individual shares. If you analyse the total number of underlying shares , it will count in the hundreds if not the thousands. At best, the portfolio will perform to extremely broad market indices, before fees. After all fees, (advisor, manager, platform, custodian trading) which can range up to 4.5%, performance will be sub par.

    We aim to have between 15 and 20 quality companies in the portfolio that should outperform the market over time.

  • Underlying cashflow of the companies that we own, is key.

    Sustainable free cash flow generation and the sensible application of the additional cash is one of the key determinants of wether a company quaifies as “Quality“.

    The implied future free cash flow, embedded in the ruling share price is our key determinant of reasonable price.

  • Warren Buffets favourite rule no 1: “Never lose money” is something all investors aspire to. In reality all prices go up and down. We seek to minimise the risk of permanent loss through diligent preparation and decision making.

    It is our belief that if we avoid the losers, the winners will take care of themselves.

  • Our management fees should compensate us fairly for the value we add, they should be fair, competitive and clear. We charge a single reducing fee to cover the cost of the investment advisor. This is capped at 1% annually and will reduce as the investment pool grows.

    The performance fee shall be calculated as 20% on annual investment gains more than 6% (after management fee) annually on 31 December.  If the annual investment gain is less than 6% after fees, no performance fee will be paid. Performance fees are subject to a high water mark.

    There are no hidden charges for advisors, platform fees, entry or exit fees, additional custodian fees or any other fees the end investor should know about, but never see. Fees that are disclosed or hidden, reduce performance.

  • No index hugging

    No currency hedging

    No derivatives

    No active trading

    No debt (margin)

    No scrip lending

  • The future is uncertain and we place the highest focus on preventing losses. As such, we evaluate all our investments through a specific lens:

    • The certainty with which the long-term economics characteristics of the business can be evaluated. 

    • The certainty with which management can be evaluated, both to its ability to realise the full potential of the business and to wisely employ its cash flow.

    • The certainty that with which management can be counted on to channel the rewards of the business to the shareholders rather than itself. 

    • The purchase price of the business.  If you overpay, you reduce the margin of safety of all investments.

This investment strategy is for you if:

  • You understand that investing is not for the short term, you are seeking long term, stable returns.

  • You don’t have the time to search, analyse and monitor companies globally.

  • You want to own high quality businesses for the long term.

  • You do not like overpaying for investment management. Our fees are clear with no hidden costs.

Potfolio Managers

Chris Mostert

Chris has been managing Celestial Partners for the last 14 years investing in global quality companies for the long term.  Over this period the Investment strategy has returned a net 9% average per annum in USD after all costs and fees.  Chris was formerly group CFO of a pan European IT company that was successfully turned around and sold.  His passion for understanding the drivers of management actions was honed during this time and as management consultant at one of the big 4 advisory firms.  Chris has spent more than 10 years working in Europe, the UK, Japan and the USA gaining an understanding of cultural differences and international operations.  As corporate financier he led numerous fund raisings and advised and participated in more than 50 corporate sale and purchase transactions internationally.  Chris obtained a B.Acc (Hons) degrees and is a qualified Chartered Accountant (South Africa).

Grant Oosthuizen

Grant has more than 20 years of experience in the financial sector. His experience includes financial advising, local as well as offshore stockbroking services and advice on fund management operations. For the last 10 years, his focus has been on providing local as well as offshore stockbroking solutions to the South African retail and institutional market via his involvement at SA Stockbrokers. In 2015 SA Stockbrokers, initiated by Grant and his partner, entered into an introducing broker agreement with Interactive Brokers LLC in the US. Grant co-founded Ibex Capital in 2016 which focuses on foreign currency intermediary, juristic representation, and fund management services as well the marketing of the broking services via SA Stockbrokers. Grant obtained a B.Com specializing in Accounting from the University of Pretoria and completed the CFA Charter holder designation.

“Simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication”

– Steve Jobs

Disclaimer

The information and opinions on these pages were prepared by Celestial Capital Partners (Pty) Ltd and/or one of its affiliates. The information herein is believed to be reliable and has been obtained from public sources believed to be reliable. Celestial Capital Partners makes no representation as to the accuracy or completeness of such information. Opinions, estimates and projections in this report constitute the current judgement of the author as of the date of this report. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Celestial Capital Partners and are subject to change without notice. Celestial Capital Partners has no obligation to update, modify or amend these pages or to otherwise notify a recipient thereof if any opinion, forecast or estimate set forth herein, changes or subsequently becomes inaccurate. This report is provided for information purposes only for sophisticated and professional investors. This report does not constitute a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any interest, shares or other securities in the companies mentioned in it nor does it constitute financial advice. Past performances are not indicative of future performances. Celestial Capital Partners is a Juristic Representative of IBEX Capital (Pty) Ltd, FSP No. 49055.