How Funds evaluate the Management of a company:
The 4 most important factors
It is universally accepted that the quality of management is reflected in the annual profitability of the company it manages. One can hardly challenge the work of management when the company is profitable for a long time. However is only one criterion enough to evaluate the quality of management? Is it enough to predict the duration and viability of good management?
The majority of value investors according to Prof. Bruce C. Greenwald, examines four main factors for evaluating management.
1. Operational Efficiency
By far the most important factor is the ability of management to contain a company’s operating costs, including marketing and development costs of its products. One of the criteria used is the ratio of operating costs (selling, general and administrative costs (SGA) to sales [SGA/Sales]. The smaller the ratio is the better.
This ability, which is “a marathon and not a sprint”, is probably the most important factor of the four. The most “capable” companies have up to 50% lower operating costs than the weak ones and are improving daily.
How often do you measure the cost-effectiveness of your company?
2. Growth Strategy
The company’s growth strategy. We have seen over and over again CEOs whose vanity to increase sales at any cost can lead management in the wrong direction. The wisest investors evaluate the management’s ability to invest in projects that increase the overall value and wealth of the company. Most of these development projects are in “areas” where companies enjoy a competitive advantage. In most other cases they can be harmful.
What criteria do you use to approve development projects in your company?
3. Human Resource Management
It is not uncommon for management to dismiss or let remarkable executives go in difficult times and to try to hire executives when the times are good. Quite the opposite of what it should do, namely hire in difficult times when many notable executives are readily available and cost less. The experienced eye of investors looks for this and evaluates it accordingly.
How do you deal with the issue of human resources?
4. Financial Resource Management
Funds place great emphasis on a company’s financial management. They examine how the capital structure of the company is managed, what is the relationship between equity and debt and when it is good to replace one with the other. Funds also watch if the company’s attention is focused on finding funds at the lowest possible cost and what its dividend policy is. Value investors look at all of this very carefully.
How often do you deal with these issues?
These 4 factors together constitute a complete evaluation of management. We will analyze them with examples and case studies in our next articles. For questions, comments or clarifications get in touch.
Company Valuations: Fast- Effective- Economical
References:
Greenwald B.C, Kahn J., Bellissimo E., Cooper M.A., Santos T., (2021), Value Investing- From Graham to Buffett and Beyond, (2nd Edition), Wiley
Benjamin Graham, (1973), The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing, (4th Revised edition), Harper and Row Publishers
James G. March, (1988), Decisions and Organizations, Basil Blackwell