Emanuel was recently featured on 'The Rules of Investing Podcast' by Livewire Markets.

Investing hasn’t been easy these past few years amid a pandemic, soaring inflation and monetary tightening. The ASX200 did 1.4% in 2020, 17% in 2021 and then -1% last year. Hugely volatile. 

But it's in times like this when the cream rises to the top. As most fund managers struggle to match the benchmark, Datt Capital’s Absolute Return fund has returned an enormous 25% per annum over the last three years. It's a staggering performance that most fund managers would give their left arm to get.

In this week's episode of The Rules of Investing, Livewire's David Thornton speaks to Emanuel Datt, founder of Datt Capital. Datt’s modest demeanour belies the rockstar performance he’s generated.   

Not one to rest on his laurels, though, he’s about to launch a new small-cap fund that seeks to outperform the Small Ordinaries Index by 5% per annum. While the fund may be new, Datt's experience with small cap stocks certainly isn't - he bought market darling Afterpay at $6, long before it became Australia's largest ever takeover at a cool $39 billion. 

Datt discusses:

• the processes and investments that netted the absolute fund such stellar numbers;
• how he found Afterpay;
• why he believes now is the time to get into small caps; and
• the investment opportunity he sees in rare earths. 

Note: this episode was recorded on Tuesday May 16, 2023

Timestamps
1:50 - The man behind Datt Capital
3:20 - Opening up shop
4:30 - Achieving 25% p.a.
7:30 - Rare earths
12:00 - The opportunity in small caps
19:00 - The sectors leading small caps
21:00 - Spotting Afterpay
24:00 - Red flags
27:00 - Finding sustainable companies
30:10 - Inflation can't be understated
31:20 - Winning big with Adriatic Metals (ASX: ADT)

Emanuel was recently interviewed by Alan Kohler for the Eureka Report sharing the rationale behind launching the Datt Small Companies Fund and the opportunity he sees in small caps at this stage of the market cycle

The decline in the valuations of Australian listed small caps of more than 20% on average in calendar year 2022 raises the question for investors on whether the tide is likely to turn in the near future, presenting buying opportunities.

Emanuel Datt, chief investment officer, Datt Capital says: “Small caps present many compelling reasons for investing. These include access to earlier-stage, higher-growth businesses, a broader range of sector opportunities to pick from and an ability to more easily back future trends."