MEDIA RELEASE: Small cap specialist ICE Investors has appointed Roman Aliev to the position of investment analyst, effective today. He will report to managing director and lead portfolio manager, Callum Burns, and fellow portfolio managers Roger Walling and Mason Willoughby-Thomas.

ICE Investors is a boutique fund manager based in Melbourne, specialising in franchise style investing in Australian equities.

Mr Aliev was previously employed with Franklin Templeton Investments – Global Equity Group as a research analyst for eight years. Prior to this he held research positions with Mercer Investments and AXA Australia.

He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) from the University of Melbourne and is also a CFA Charterholder.

Mr Burns said the appointment reflects both the capabilities of Mr Aliev and also the demands of the current market environment.

“Given the uncertainty in the market and the need to identify sound, long-term stock opportunities, Roman joins the business at an opportune time.

“He is a passionate investor and a high performing global equity research analyst, with strong experience covering a wide range of geographies and sectors.

“His analytical experience and focus on identifying companies that are well positioned to grow shareholder value over the long term make him a good fit for the investment team. We’re looking forward to having Roman join the team,” he said.

ICE Investors’ SGH ICE fund is a benchmark unaware fund that has a strong long term track record since its inception in 2006. It is an actively managed predominately small cap equity fund, that aims to invest in ASX listed franchise companies with a sustainable competitive edge.

The Fund currently holds 39 stocks which are a mix of longer-standing companies growing at a steady rate, and those that have been advantaged by the pandemic and experienced more significant growth as a result.

The underlying philosophy of the investment team is to focus on franchise companies with a durable competitive advantage, organic growth opportunities, appropriate debt levels and strong cash flow generation.

“We look for franchise companies that have high barriers to entry and use assets that are difficult for competitors to replicate. This typically leads to strong pricing power and, most importantly, sticky customers,” Mr Burns said.

“Inflation will continue to have an impact on markets, and the key risk to margins is not being able to pass on material or labour costs. As pricing power is such a key element of our investment process, many franchise companies are well suited to this market environment. We’re continuing to identify opportunities for the fund,” he said.

Stocks currently favoured by ICE Investors include Ooh Media (ASX: OML), carsales.com (ASX: CAR), Steadfast Group (ASX: SDF), and medical supplier, EBOS Group (ASX: EBO).