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Experienced Team at Cook & Bynum Capital

Meet the skilled team at Cook & Bynum Capital, including Richard Cook, J. Dowe Bynum, and David Hobbs. Learn about their backgrounds and expertise in finance, investment research, and client relations.

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Experienced Team at Cook & Bynum Capital

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  1. Cook & Bynum Overview

  2. Our Team Richard Cook Partner & Portfolio Manager Mr. Cook co-founded Cook & Bynum Capital Management in 2001. Before forming the firm, he worked for Tudor Investment Corporation in Greenwich, Connecticut. Richard attended Hampden-Sydney College where he graduated summa cum laude in three years with a B.S. in Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, and Economics and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. David Hobbs Partner & President Mr. Hobbs joined Cook & Bynum Capital Management in 2010 as a principal and the firm’s President. He oversees and is ultimately responsible for the firm’s non-investment operations, including sales, marketing, back office support, and compliance, while also participating in the firm’s investment research efforts. Prior to joining Cook & Bynum he was a principal at Founders Investment Banking, a boutique merchant bank. David also previously worked as a financial analyst in the corporate finance groups of investment bank Robertson Stephens and commercial bank Wachovia. He received an M.B.A. from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University and attended Hampden-Sydney College, where he was valedictorian of his class and graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Economics. While at Hampden-Sydney, David was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and captain of the basketball team.

  3. Our Team J. Dowe Bynum Partner Mr. Bynum co-founded Cook & Bynum Capital Management in 2001. Before forming the firm, he worked as an analyst in the Equities Division of Goldman, Sachs & Co., Inc. in New York, New York. Dowe attended Princeton University where he graduated with a B.S.E. in Operations Research & Financial Engineering and a Certificate in Finance. Dowe serves on the Glenwood Board of Directors & Advisors and is also a member of the Mountain Brook City Schools Foundation Board. Whitney Wright Director of Investor Relations Ms. Wright joined Cook & Bynum Capital Management in 2017 as the firm’s Director of Investor Relations. In this role, she is primarily responsible for the firm’s communication and marketing efforts, as well as client relations. Prior to joining Cook & Bynum, Whitney worked in several roles with Time, Inc., where she most recently led business development across several of the company’s brands including Food & Wine, Fortune, People, and Southern Living. Previously, Whitney was the project director for the food-focused vertical at Gilt Groupe, an e-commerce startup. She began her career as a management consultant in the construction and energy industries and was based in New York, NY and Washington, D.C. Whitney graduated from Lehigh University with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and is also a graduate of L’Academie de Cuisine where she was the valedictorian of her class.

  4. Our Team Rob Genkin Research Analyst Mr. Genkin joined Cook & Bynum in 2018 as a research analyst. In this role, he is fully dedicated to the firm’s investment research efforts across all of our investment vehicles. Rob was born in Moscow, Russia before moving to the United States early in life. He completed his undergraduate studies at New York University and earned an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Investing in both public and private companies, Rob has spent the vast majority of his career focused on developed and developing international markets and has lived and worked in a variety of countries including Cambodia, Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan, and Thailand. He was most recently a director and investment analyst at Caravel Management in New York. Enrico Camata Research Analyst Mr. Camata joined Cook & Bynum Capital Management in 2016 as a research analyst after completing an internship with the firm. In this role, Enrico is fully dedicated to supporting the firm’s international and domestic investment research efforts across its investment vehicles. He attended Yale University where he graduated in three and a half years with a B.S. in Physics and a B.A. in Economics.

  5. Our Team Allison Greenhalgh Investor Relations Associate Ms. Greenhalgh joined Cook & Bynum Capital Management in 2017 as an Investor Relations Associate, making her responsible for a variety of client support, marketing, and administrative activities. Prior to joining Cook & Bynum, Allison worked in various marketing roles within the finance and publishing industries. Allison graduated with a B.S. in Marketing from the University of Alabama and has a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Amanda Pridgen Fund Administration Associate Ms. Pridgen joined Cook & Bynum Capital Management in 2014, and she currently serves as an associate within the firm’s fund administration and compliance functions. In this role, Amanda is responsible for managing the day-to-day fund administration and compliance activities for the firm’s mutual fund, The Cook & Bynum Fund, and private accounts. Prior to joining Cook & Bynum, she worked at Georgia Pacific in Atlanta Georgia, where she held various positions in the company’s Containerboard Division. Amanda graduated with a B.S. in Marketing from Auburn University.

  6. Our Team Lynne Owens Controller Ms. Owens joined Cook & Bynum Capital Management in 2006 as the firm’s Controller, making her responsible for a variety of the firm’s internal administrative and financial reporting functions. Before joining Cook & Bynum, Lynne served in a number of management and leadership roles for various nonprofit and philanthropic organizations. Additionally, she founded, ran, and later sold a small service business. Lynne graduated cum laude with a B.S. in Marketing Management from the University of Alabama

  7. Philosophy & Approach

  8. Our Philosophy is Simple… • We demand a margin of safety. This discipline offers asymmetric risk vs. reward – it allows for outsized returns when we are correct and protects against permanent capital losses when we make mistakes. • We are long-term investors by nature, and we complement patience with the preparedness and ability to act quickly and decisively when mispricings arise. • We search globally across cap-sizes and most industries for public equity investments. Instead of limiting our mandate by arbitrary constraints, we rely on remaining disciplined to our circle of competence. • We concentrate our capital in our best ideas. • We align with clients who share our values and philosophy and are focused on long-term investment results rather than short-term market fluctuations. Our partners invest their money exclusively in our funds.

  9. …Our Approach Is Hard To Implement • Immersive Research • Put boots on the ground globally to improve understanding • Iterative Investment Process • Apply core investment criteria to generate and evaluate ideas • Challenge assumptions and consider psychological errors of decision-making • Refine conclusions • Deliberate Portfolio Construction & Management • Consider expected returns and ranges of outcomes for position sizing • Concentrate capital in compelling opportunities • Constantly reassess holdings • Adhere to sell disciplines

  10. Immersive Global Research • Our investment process is informed by deep, on-the-ground research • We travel extensively to observe and interact with a company’s customers, assess its competitors, meet its managers, visit its facilities, and survey its operations in action • We discover and confirm facts ourselves – first-person observations in the field are critical to appropriately evaluate each investment opportunity Monterrey, Mexico Jakarta, Indonesia Aklan, Philippines

  11. …Our Approach Is Hard To Implement • Immersive Research • Put boots on the ground globally to improve understanding • Iterative Investment Process • Apply core investment criteria to generate and evaluate ideas • Challenge assumptions – consider psychological errors of decision-making • Refine conclusions • Deliberate Portfolio Construction & Management • Consider expected returns and ranges of outcomes for position sizing • Concentrate capital in compelling opportunities • Constantly reassess holdings • Adhere to sell disciplines

  12. Core Investment Criteria Business Companies with durable competitive advantages that produce predictable cash flows and attractive returns on capital Circle of Competence Our ability to recognize our limitations is as important as our ability to execute competencies People Businesses led by trustworthy and capable managers who treat shareholders like partners Price We require a significant discountto intrinsic value

  13. Iterative, Collaborative Underwriting Circle of Competence Business (Moat) People Investment Ideas Price Key questions to evaluate ideas: If the answer is NO… Are the core economics of the business within our knowledge base? We will reconsider as we expand our competencies. YES NO Is the business high-quality and predictable with identifiable competitive advantages and sustainable earnings? We will not invest in a business without a sufficient moat. YES NO Does management have integrity, energy, intelligence, and a history of maximizing long-term shareholder returns? The company goes on our watch list and we will revisit if people change. NO YES Is the price substantially less than our conservative appraisal of the business? The company goes on our watch list for ongoing evaluation as price and valuation changes. NO YES Invest We re-run conclusions through our process to challenge assumptions and refine conclusions.

  14. Idea Generation & Management • Sources of ideas • Reading, reading, reading • Frequent calls and visits with companies and management teams • Broad traveling and networking • Pattern recognition • Watch list • 1,500 domestic and international companies • Monthly review driven by valuation metrics • Always adding to the list…investing is cumulative

  15. Dissecting A Moat • A defendable moat allows a business to earn outsized returns and makes it more predictable • What will a company’s owner-earnings be over time? • How sure are we about their longevity and scope? • To identify a moat it is critical to fully understand a customer’s decision at the time of purchase • How does a business satisfy a customer’s needs? What are these needs and how will they change over time? • How important is price?  How important is the price of a substitute?  How important is the price of a complement?  How important is availability? • We search for management teams who understand these dynamics and work hard to dig their moat wider and deeper culturally and through appropriate capital allocation decisions

  16. Fundamental “Law” of Investing… The price paid for an investment and its expected future returns are inverselyrelated

  17. …Shows The Importance of Price • Price is the best predictor of future returns • The three most important words in investing are “margin of safety” • Margin of safety is the discount between a company’s stock price and its intrinsic value per share (represented by the present value of its future owner-earnings) • A margin of safety has asymmetric benefits – it both lowers risk and allows for higher prospective returns • A discount to intrinsic value means we can make a mistake in our analysis (i.e. our estimate of intrinsic value is too high) and still not lose money • A discount also provides an opportunity for outsized returns if our analysis is correct or conservative (i.e. our estimate of intrinsic value is too low)

  18. Minimize Psychological Errors We work to mitigate common psychological errors in decision-making. Examples include: • Confirmation bias • Optimism bias • Narrative fallacy • Recency bias • Deal momentum • Herd mentality • Power of incentives • Irrational deference to authority • Reductive bias • Correlation vs. causation “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble.  It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” - Mark Twain

  19. Sources of Investment Edge • Informational & Analytical • We identify ideas in places where others are not looking. Being on-the-ground generates key insights that are otherwise difficult to recognize. • We are intently focused on understanding the existence, source, nature, and durability of businesses’ moats. • We apply a “latticework of mental models” from the natural sciences, economics, history, psychology, etc. to differentiate between the temporary and enduring. • We do independent research to understand where we have a differentiated view about the long-term operational prospects of a business. • Behavioral/Time Horizon • We will absorb short-term underperformance in a business for the benefit of long-term outperformance; we think in decades, not quarters. • Patience, discipline, and a willingness to look out-of-step are required to capitalize upon and realize this advantage. • We account for the impact of psychological misjudgments on our investment decisions to avoid “our fair share of folly.”

  20. Organizational Edge • Our partners own our firm, which removes institutional pressures from investment decision-making • We have consistently applied a single investment philosophy since our ‘01 founding • We are resistant to style-drift and performance-chasing • We are not compelled to pursue action for action’s sake • Our partners invest solely in our funds

  21. …Our Approach Is Hard To Implement • Immersive Research • Put boots on the ground globally to improve understanding • Iterative Investment Process • Apply core investment criteria to generate and evaluate ideas • Challenge assumptions – consider psychological errors of decision-making • Refine conclusions • Deliberate Portfolio Construction & Management • Consider expected returns and ranges of outcomes for position sizing • Concentrate capital in compelling opportunities • Constantly reassess holdings • Adhere to sell disciplines

  22. Goal of Investing The object of investing – an exercise in repeated decision-making over time – is to maximize the geometric mean of investment outcomes, not the arithmetic mean… <

  23. Position Sizing is Based on Kelly • We use the Kelly Criterion as a framework for position sizing, which tells us we should consider both expected return and range of outcomes: • The key takeaways as we apply Kelly: • The larger the expected return, the larger the position size (and vice versa) • The larger the potential range of outcomes, the smaller the position size (and vice versa) • “Zeroes,” which represent permanent capital loss, are important and should be carefully avoided

  24. Great Opportunities Are Rare • We make concentrated investments when we feel that information is adequate, risks are low, and potential returns are high, recognizing that bigger stakes can be taken when outcomes are more certain • Application of Kelly is the logic behind a concentrated portfolio • Minimum Hurdle Rate of Return  Higher Expected Returns • Higher Quality Businesses  “Tighter” Range of Outcomes • In the absence of truly compelling opportunities, we will hold cash and wait patiently • We will not put capital in harm’s way without an adequate prospective return • The avenue to superior long-term returns is being “fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful” 

  25. How We Think About Risk • Our primary goal is to avoid permanent impairments of capital – we are focused first on not losing money (return of capital before return on capital) • Our primary risk is that a business materially underperforms our long-term earnings expectations • Our core criteria and investment process are built to control for this outcome • Circle of competence and the “too hard pile” • Checklists to avoid psychological errors • Dedication to margin of safety • Strong balance sheets provide staying power when earnings are below expectations • Stock price volatility is a behavioral risk that we try to exploit • Irrational stock prices provide opportunities to buy cheaply and sell dearly • Stagnant or declining prices in the face of solid business performance are simply an opportunity to own a greater proportion of the future profits of a business

  26. Thinking About Expected Returns • Input variables • Present Value  Current market-determined stock price • OEn Our proprietary, conservative estimate of future owner-earnings • We solve for r, which is the expected compounded annual rate of return at the current stock price • Undiscovered and unloved opportunities exist where and when we have superior insights to other market participants; we want the market to agree with us…later

  27. Clear Sell Disciplines While we favor long-term investments, situations arise when investments should be sold: • The price approaches or surpasses our appraised value and no longer offers an appropriate margin of safety • Fundamental negative changes in business, management, or return prospects lower our appraisal of value for a business • The core business changes and is no longer within our circle of competence • Opportunities arise to re-allocate capital to more compelling ideas when the portfolio is fully invested

  28. Low Turnover is Tax & Cost Efficient • Tax-efficient returns • Long-term hold periods delay the realization of gains and take advantage of “interest-free loan from the government” • Long-term gains enjoy lower tax rates • Low frictional costs • Low commission rates as a % of invested capital • No “soft dollar” arrangements further reduces trading costs

  29. In A Nutshell From Charlie Munger… “It’s not given to human beings to have such talent that they can just know everything about everything all the time. But it is given to human beings who work hard at it – who look and sift the world for a mispriced bet – that they can occasionally find one. And the wise ones bet heavily when the world offers them that opportunity. They bet big when they have the odds. And the rest of the time, they don’t. It’s just that simple.”

  30. Our Track Record

  31. 34 Investments in 17 Years • High quality businesses trading at a significant discount to intrinsic value are rare; we prefer to concentrate our capital in these investments • These opportunities tend to have one of two characteristics (or both): • Undiscovered businesses are under-the-radar and, for now, are mostly found in international markets. For these investments we generate an informational advantage through in-depth research that others are unwilling or unable to do. • Unloved businesses are widely followed but out-of-favor, so they require a strong stomach, careful analysis, and willingness to go against then-prevailing sentiment. • We are benchmark-agnostic  a differentiated portfolio is a prerequisite for long-term outperformance

  32. Long-Term Outperformance † Cook & Bynum Capital Management, LLC took its first clients on August 24, 2001. Cook & Bynum Capital, LLC (the “Fund”) began operation on February 15, 2007; returns reflect this short quarter. The performance results and “Hypothetical Investment Growth” chart represent the net, pre-tax return that would have been realized by an investor who had invested $100,000 in the Composite Portfolio of accounts managed by Cook & Bynum Capital Mgt. LLC at inception on August 24, 2001, had subsequently invested the proceeds in Gullane Capital Partners, LLC upon its formation on May 1, 2003, and then moved the resulting capital to the Fund on February 15, 2007. Trade-date valuation is used for all performance calculations, and dividends and interest have been accounted for on a cash basis in the Composite Portfolio. The Composite Portfolio is comprised of all accounts on a time-weighted basis since inception and these performance results have not been audited. The performance results for Gullane Capital Partners and the Fund have been audited annually. The performance results are net of all fees, expenses, and allocations and include the reinvestment of accrued dividends and interest. Gullane Capital Partners charged a percentage of assets under management and a performance fee to investors. Cook & Bynum Capital Mgt. only charged investors a percentage of assets under management; the Fund similarly only charges investors a percentage of assets under management. Annualized return is calculated from inception using a 360-day year.

  33. Why The Arch? • As the supporting scaffolding was removed following the completion of a Roman arch, the responsible engineer was required to stand beneath it. This approach ensured that the engineer designed and built the arch with a substantial margin of safety. • We have applied the lessons of this highly effective quality control system in two ways: • We demand a “margin of safety” – meaning we only buy companies at a significant discount to our appraisal of their intrinsic values. • We believe it is imperative to have our interests aligned with those of our investors, so our partners only invest in our funds.

  34. Disclaimer This presentation shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of any offer to buy any interests described herein which may be made at the time a qualified offeree receives a confidential private offering memorandum describing the offering. These securities shall not be offered or sold in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful until the requirements of the laws of such jurisdiction have been satisfied. This presentation is solely for information purposes, is confidential, and may not be reproduced or distributed without the prior written consent of Cook & Bynum Capital Management, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company which acts as the Manager of Cook & Bynum Capital, LLC (the “Fund”). This presentation is qualified in its entirety by the confidential private offering memorandum of the Fund (the “Offering Memorandum”), which should be read carefully prior to any investment in the Fund. The purchase of interests in the Fund may be deemed to be speculative investment and is not intended as a complete investment program. Investment in the Fund is designed only for sophisticated persons who are able to bear a substantial loss of their investment in the Fund. There is no assurance that the Fund’s investment objective will be achieved, and investment results may vary substantially from year to year. An investment in the Fund involves significant risks, which should be carefully evaluated before making an investment in the Fund. For a discussion of the risks associated with an investment in the Fund, please refer to the section of the Offering Memorandum entitled “Risk Factors.”

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