Maran Capital Management’s 2019 Q1 Investor Letter

Maran Capital Partners is a Denver, Colorado-based value-driven investment manager that boasts about being different, which enables it to bring back strong returns. The firm was launched only four years ago by its current President and CIO, Dan Roller, who also has a large part of his personal capital invested in Maran Partners Fund. Its investment philosophy is focused on small-cap stocks and special situations, and the fund usually runs a concentrated portfolio. Recently, the fund published its 2019 Q1 Investor Letter, a copy of which you can track down below. The fund started its report disclosing its Q1 2019 positive return of 15.8% net, and also its gains for the period from January 2018 to the end of Q1 2019 of 17.8%, beating the Russel 2000 which brought back 2.0% in the same period

Dear Partners and Friends,

While the market spent the majority of the first quarter recapturing last year’s losses, our fund, following our positive return last year, broke new ground. The return of Maran Partners Fund in 1Q 2019 was +15.8% net (for our highest-fee share class). From the beginning of 2018 through 1Q 2019, the Russell 2000 was up 2.0%, while our fund was up 17.8% net.1

I’ll be the first to remind you that I think one quarter or five quarters is too short a period over which to judge results. The concentrated and idiosyncratic nature of our holdings means that at times we will have drawdowns or periods of underperformance that are out of sync with the market.2 As I have written, we are seeking unconventional – that is, superior – results, so an unconventional approach (patient, concentrated, and therefore accepting of looking different in the short term) is required.

You can download a copy of Maran Capital Management’s 2019 Q1 Investor Letter here:

Maran Partners Fund LP 2019 Q1 Letter