Funds rating house Zenith Investment Partners has wasted no time in slapping a “recommended” target on Doug Tynan’s new fund, backing the stockpicker and his team to make money for investors. 

In a first look at Tynan’s GCQ Flagship Fund, Zenith said its rating was underpinned by the team’s experience, and particularly Tynan and his right-hand man Justin Hardwick’s time working together at VGI Partners. 

“Zenith believes Hardwick is a capable investor, who has complementary skills and experience to Tynan,” the report said. 

“Zenith believes the investment team is sufficiently resourced to manage the Fund. However, our conviction is underpinned by Tynan’s involvement, which we believe is critical for the ongoing success of the Fund.” 

The ratings house said GCQ focuses on industries that display monopoly, duopoly or oligopoly characteristics, with companies in these industries benefiting from secular growth, highly valuable brands and strong pricing power. 

It said investment ideas were identified using industry quality and business quality checklists, subject to detailed fundamental analysis, while the shorts were found with proprietary screens aimed at companies expected to experience material share price falls. 

GCQ doesn’t talk about its assets under management, however it is understood to be managing more than $200 million in external capital. It opened to outside investors last year. 

It comes as GCQ also appears to have picked up a mandate from Chris Cuffe’s Australian Philanthropic Services, which has a raft of influential backers.

Anthony Macdonald AFR –  is a Chanticleer columnist. He is a former Street Talk co-editor and has 10 years’ experience as a business journalist and worked at PwC, auditing and advising financial services companies. 

Sarah Thompson AFR – has co-edited Street Talk since 2009, specialising in private equity, investment banking, M&A and equity capital markets stories. Prior to that, she spent 10 years in London as a markets and M&A reporter at Bloomberg and Dow Jones. 

Kanika Sood AFR – is a journalist based in Sydney who writes for the Street Talk column.

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