🗣️ Investor Talk #23: Kevin

Founder - Atmos Invest

Welcome to Investor Talk — where we interview successful investors to uncover their journeys, strategies, and the lessons they've learned. Get inspired by real stories and gain valuable insights to sharpen your own investment approach.

Every interview follows the same set of sharp, insightful questions — such as “What is your investment strategy?”, “What are your highest conviction stocks?”, and “What’s the biggest investment mistake you’ve made?”

In this edition, we have the pleasure of interviewing:

Name: Kevin @atmosinvest
Age: 42
Residence/Country: Belgium
Invests since: 2014

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
I started working as a nuclear engineer in 2007, with a fascination for processes and systems. A nuclear power plant is a complex system, with a lot of similarities to the stock market: human behavior is the most important factor.

I always felt a bit slower to pick things up, compared to people around me, so I like breaking down topics into their smallest parts. This was the case when I was diagnosed with diabetes in 2013 (I spent a month in the medical library figuring this disease out) and later on when I started investing.

In 2014, I finally saved up some money and went to the bank. They offered me some funds and IPO stocks to secure my financial future. It seemed to me, based on entry costs and fees, that the only future that was secured was that of the bank(er) itself. So I decided to try it out on my own, breaking down the investment process into checklists. I’ve been investing in public companies since then and for the last couple of years, I also invested in some private companies. I started writing about my journey online last year.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆?
I look for quality in 3 dimensions:
- Strong (great balance sheet)
- Efficient (ROIC > WACC)
- Growth (great sales growth ahead)

I manage a reactor portfolio: A stable ‘moderator’ with quality stocks as a base, and a volatile core containing quality underfollowed companies. Size ranges from mid-cap to micro-cap.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼?
About 10.

𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻?
No specific focus, I exclude sectors I do not understand like pharmaceuticals, commodities, and financials.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘀?
$DNP.WA - Dino Polska
$ADYEN - Adyen
$5078.T - Cel Corp

𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻?
$THO - Thor Industries was a 4-bagger in a year. It was not the highest return stock I held, but it was the first for which I had written down a thesis and done the work since I started investing. (It no longer felt like speculating although there is always luck involved).

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲? $MITRA - Mithra Pharmaceuticals, an IPO stock that my bank recommended. I lost 95%. Luckily it was a very small position. Not enough is written about the importance of position sizing!

𝗠𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀
Favorite book: The Nomad Partnership Letters but that’s not a book. Then I would say Atomic Habits @1AtomicHabits as good habits and temperament is what investing is all about.

Favorite podcasts: Jro show because he goes into the nitty gritty details of the process of professional money managers @JRogrow

Favorite quote: "I never lose. Either I win or learn." - Nelson Mandela

Favorite FinX account: @Giuliano_Mana, someone who tries to understand investing and the world on a deeper level.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂?
I publish a weekly article on my website: http://atmosinvest.com where I dive deep into the investment process or write a destination analysis on a company. If you ask yourself questions like What is the P/E ratio really or Why is a DCF always calculated in 5 or 10 years? (hint: look at your hands), then you may find an answer to those questions on my site.

Disclaimer:
The information and opinions provided in this article are for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any financial product, security, or asset. The Future Investors does not provide personalized investment advice and is not a licensed financial advisor. Always do your own research before making any investment decisions and consult with a qualified financial professional before making any investment decisions. Please consult the general disclaimer for more details.