We operate on principles that are old, simple and few.

 

From the first—a place where folks keep their heads stocked with prairie-town views and values—it inherited the nimble, no-nonsense spirit that has shaped its approach to ownership. From the second, a resolute set of values centered around culture and character.

We are a humble company. We prize grit and gumption, but despite being youthful in spirit, we’re resolutely conservative, orthodox and old-fashioned in business. To qualify, investment opportunities must fall within our realm and be accessible at compelling prices—ones that leave sizable margins of safety and allow ample room for our frequent mistakes of judgment.

Our primary drive remains to acquire shares in growing companies run by proven owner-operators when they wrestle with temporary setbacks, and hold them for the very long run. We may from time to time broaden our scope to more traditional corporate structures when valuations become unusually attractive. Standard is sector-agnostic and opportunity-driven, but adamant on value. 

We believe in buying right and sitting tight. Executing on this requires a contrarian mindset, permanent capital, a pragmatic analytical framework, and the fortitude to stay the course—all of which, fortunately, we can provide in spades. Our portfolio management is guided by these essential principles drawn directly from John Maynard Keynes’ playbook:

1. A careful selection of a few investments chosen in relation to the discrepancy between their price and intrinsic value; to the quality and integrity of their management teams; and to the alternative investments available at the time.

2. A steadfast holding of these large commitments through thick and thin until either they have fulfilled their promise or it is evident that they were purchased by mistake.

3. A balanced investment position—that is, a variety of risks in spite of individual holdings being large, coupled with sizeable reserves of cash at hand to absorb financial shocks and maintain optimal latitude of action.

Our philosophy, however, is always to keep an open mind. We have no strategic agenda or long-term plan other than doing sensible things, learning from accomplished practitioners, and pouncing with vigor on those rare opportunities that fall into our modest circle of competence whenever they surface, which by nature isn’t often.

Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance,
but to do what lies clearly at hand.

Carlyle’s wisdom echoes with the tested investment principles we defer to: looking for permanent value; detaching ourselves from volatility concerns, for the market is here to serve us, not to instruct us; thinking independently and having the courage to side against the consensus when conviction and reason command it; demanding a tangible margin of safety for every risk we underwrite; avoiding anything that doesn’t match our standard of virtue and integrity; and, of course, always keeping things simple and pleasant as we go.