Claudia Cole

Claudia Cole — Research Analyst

One of my greatest passions in life is learning about different cultures through travel. I was brought up in a hodgepodge of cultures - my parents moved us from the U.S. to South Africa when I was a child. This not only introduced me to the magic of travel at a young age, but allowed me to experience first hand how much culture and society influence the person we each become.

After graduating from university I worked for two years as a Media Planner in an advertising agency in London (working with research tools and analyzing how consumers think and can be targeted). Then I embarked on a long trip - nearly two years - that brought me all over the world.

I hitch-hiked across Africa, spent six weeks in a yoga ashram in India and accumulated over 500 scuba dives while working as cook on a luxury motor yacht. Over a relatively brief period of time I got a close-up view of a huge spectrum of life - from feeding millionaires to meditating with yogis who lived in voluntary poverty. Needless to say, this gave me new insight into the diversity of human experience in the world.

After my trip, hungry for a new challenge, I wondered how this new knowledge could inform my career. I was introduced to finance in my role at Capital Group in the Emerging Markets team. Within my first few weeks I realized that my email inbox was in fact my eyes to the world. A write-up on every major or minor event happening in every part of the world was right in front of me on a daily basis. I was excited that current affairs and behavioral analysis played such a large role in investing.

Being at Daruma has given me yet another perspective on the world. I see how each member of our team lends their unique insight to our investment process. Daruma has given me access to ample investment tools to help support the team in their investment decisions and to suggest creative ways of contributing to our investment style. In many ways, I’m still getting to experience the world through others’ eyes - and I don’t even have to leave the comfort of my own desk.

Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Many factors affect performance, including changes in market conditions and interest rates, as well as other economic, political and financial developments. You should not assume that investment decisions we make in the future will be profitable or will equal the investment performance of the past.

The portfolio is actively managed, so holdings, sector weightings and other portfolio characteristics may have changed since the date shown. They should not be considered recommendations to buy or sell any security or of a particular allocation. You should not presume that any holding or allocation shown has been or will be profitable. The information in the Small-Cap and SMid-Cap commentaries supplements the related Composite Presentations available on our website (click here for the Equity Composite Presentation: Small-Cap, here for the Equity Composite Presentation: SMid-Cap).

The information in each commentary is current as of the date of the commentary, and may have changed by the time you read this. Daruma has obtained some of the information in this presentation from third-party sources we believe to be accurate. However, we cannot guarantee the accuracy of such information.

Statements in any commentary that were not historical facts at the date of that commentary reflect our opinions, beliefs or expectations as of that date. Subsequent events will have, or may yet impact whether they prove to be correct.

Charts included in any commentary are included to demonstrate certain information or conclusions. You should not make any investment decision relying only on these charts.

The appropriate comparison benchmark for the Small-Cap Equity strategy is the Russell 2000. The Russell 2000 includes approximately 2000 of the smallest U.S. common stocks based on a combination of their market cap and current membership in the Russell 3000. The Russell 2000 Value Index includes those Russell 2000 Index companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values, while the Russell 2000 Growth Index includes those with higher price-to-value ratios and higher forecasted growth values.

The appropriate comparison benchmark for the SMid-Cap Equity strategy is the Russell 2500. The Russell 2500 includes approximately 2500 of the smallest U.S. common stocks based on a combination of their market cap and current membership in the Russell 3000. The Russell 2500 Value Index includes those Russell 2500 Index companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values, while the Russell 2500 Growth Index includes those with higher-price-to-value ratios and higher forecasted growth values.

The Small-Cap and SMid-Cap Equity strategies are concentrated strategies that are not managed to a benchmark, so there are material differences in characteristics, such as the number of holdings and sector and industry weightings. In addition, benchmark performance does not include any fees or expenses. Because of these differences, benchmarks should not be considered a completely accurate comparison.