Amiral Gestion in the Press

Patrimoine & Marchés - June 2010

« Petrole : despite the crisis, Peak Oil is still relevant today » Philippe Amoroso

Read the article (in French)

Citywire - Wednesday 26 May 2010

« European equity veteran unapologetic over underperformance » Philip Haddon

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Les Daubasses selon Benjamin Graham - Wednesday 28 april 2010

« François Badelon et Amiral Gestion: une autre approche de l'investissement value »

« François Badelon and Amiral Gestion: an other approach of value investing »

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Option Finance - Number 1061, Monday 25 January 2010

« Asset Management : These little asset managment companies that resist the crisis » Sandra Sebag

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Option Finance - Number 1058, Monday 4 January 2010

« Amiral Gestion – François Badelon obtains very strong performances in alternative gestion » Sandra Sebag

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Mieux Vivre Votre Argent - Number 340, December 2009

« These stock funds which are very well managed » Pascal Frasnetti

Read the article (in French)

Tradingsat.com - 31 July 2009

« Julien Lepage, Amiral Gestion: "Insvestors should concentrate themselves on valorisations " » François Berthon

Read it on www.tradingsat.com (in French)

Citywire . co.uk- May 1st, 2009

«Amiral's Badelon: Equities are now a win/win bet » Philip Haddon

Read it on www.citywire.co.uk

La Vie Financière- February 15-21, 2008

“The Awards of Vie Financière : European Stocks” by Jean-François Tardiveau

Sextant PEA wins the award for the category “European Stocks” for one year.

La Vie Financière- February 15-21, 2008

“The Awards of Vie Financière: International Stocks” by Jean-François Tardiveau

Sextant Autour du Monde wins the award for the category “International Stocks” for one year.

Funds Magazine - February 2008

“Amiral Gestion plays Peak Oil”

“International stocks: disparate performances”

Sextant Autour du Monde places second in the 2007 performance comparison in the category of international stocks.

“European Euro Stocks: the second half of a difficult year”

Sextant PEA places first in the category European Stock in the Euro zone in 2007.

Citywire - February 2008

“Leading managers divided over direction of oil price”

François Badelon is interviewed about the price of the barrel of petrol. He estimates that the decline in the price of petrol is already taken into account in the price of petrol values in the stock market; on the other hand, he thinks that the price of crude will increase greatly contrary to popular consensus which counts on a barrel between 60 to 80 dollars.

La Tribune – January 25, 2008

“European Stocks : the French lead the dance” by Agnès Lambert

La Tribune – January 25, 2008

“The mutual fund of the week : the category European stocks not doing well over one year” by Agnès Lambert

Le Temps - January 22, 2008

"Small companies on the front lines of the stock market crash", by Pierre Alexandre Sallier

Le Figaro - January 22, 2008

“Individuals worry but don’t panic” by Anne Bodescot

Challenges - January 17, 2008

“The 2008 values of the best mutual fund managers” by Damien Pelé

LeTemps.ch – December 24, 2007

“Get rich by betting on the rarefaction of petrol” by Pierre-Alexandre Sallier

Peak Oil, peak of the production of petrol announces the beginning of a progressive decline in production; in terms of costs, petrol could see a large increase because of its rarefaction. François Badelon estimates that Peak Oil constitutes an enormous investment opportunity, so much so that the effort to reduce oil dependency is enormous. Moreover the makets values oil companies with the barrel at $75, whereas the barrel is close to $100, which leaves a security margin.

La Vie Financière www.lavf.com – December 18, 2007

“« Believing in Peak Oil, it’s a question of good sense» François Badelon – president of Amiral Gestion” by Emmanuel Schafroth

As early as the 1950’s, a geologist predicted that Peak Oil would happen in 1970 in the United States, down to the year. On a global level, the opinions are still divided concerning the date; the question is no longer if there will be Peak Oil but when it will occur. François Badelon announced the launch of Sextant Peak Oil, which aims to invest in companies capable of profiting from Peak Oil and the changes that it will provoke in our economy.

Le Figaro – November 8, 2007

“Investment ideas worth 1000 euros” by Carole Papazian

Amiral Gestion is interviewed about their Internet site dedicated to the exchange of investment ideas

La Tribune – October 5, 2007

“François Badelon: « Only buy what you understand »”, by Agnès Lambert

International Herald Tribune – August 16, 2007

“Funds: Betting on the Internet and oil”, by Adria Cimino of Bloomberg News

Sextant PEA is in first place in its category of 424 funds, according to a rating by Morningstar. Julien Lepage, co-manager of the fund estimates having good visibility for the next 20 years in two sectors: the internet and oil. The barrel will remain expensive for a long time; the markets don’t seem to have taken this into account based on their prices.

Option Finance – May 21, 2007

“Managers who resisted the crisis well”, by Ludivine Garnaud

Interviewed about Sextant PEA’s performance, Julien Lepage specifies that the beginning of the year 2007 was particularly favorable for the mid-ranged values in the fund. In the sector of metals and raw materials IMS, Kloëckner, Jacquet Metals had a very good beginning of the year with an increase in 70% for the last. Conviction management, translating to a strong concentration of funds allows benefiting from performances of the highest positions. Finally, he reminds us that the Sextant funds are occasionally partially covered against a risk of a decline in the markets, to counterbalance the risk of liquidity of small values.

Easybourse.com - May 21, 2007

“Interview with Julien Lepage, Manager at Amiral Gestion” Imen Hazgui

In this interview Julien Lepage presents the principal sectors in which the Sextant funds are invested. He speaks also of certain companies presented in the funds.

Le Figaro Economie – May 18, 2007

“The best funds allocate themselves for increases of around 20% since January” Anne Bodescot

"Another young manager finds himself for the past five years regularly in places of honor, François Badelon (Amiral Gestion). His star fund, Sextant PEA is once again first in the category "European stocks" (+19%)." "Our investment philosophy is very inspired by that of Warren Buffett: only chose companies whose activity is clearly comprehensible, and whose intrinsic value is clearly superior to the Stock market rate” underlines François Badelon."

La Tribune – May 15, 2007

“Young management spouts awarded by Newfunds Europe”

Investir – April 21, 2007

“Franco-European funds: choose the best on the market.” Michel Lemosof

The journalist presents a selection of Franco-European funds, their method is based on consistence and performances and the earnings of risk-taking. “For five years, the uncontested leader is Sextant PEA (+292.3%)", specifies Michel Lemosof. François Badelon and Julien Lepage describe themselves as being “prudent investors before being capital collectors.”

L'AGEFI Actifs – April 6-12, 2007

« Management style is no longer a guarantee of a type of behavior » Caroline Durand

In an article consecrated to the difficulty met by specialists in attributing a management style to a fund; numerous styles have different approaches, while two major families of styles the most commonly used in the profession are value style and growth style. François Badelon exposes his point of view: “We are not value investors in the traditional sense: we select companies having value rather than companies not quoted on the Stock Exchange.

Option Finance – April 2, 2007

« Warren Buffett’s philosophy in the fund PEA » Cécile Bredelet

Sextant PEA, top European stock fund for five years in a rating established by Standard and Poor’s for Option Finance, is the subject of a specific article to understand the principal characteristics of its management philosophy inspired by the wise man from Omaha.

Economie Matin - April 2-8, 2007

“Invest around the world” Pierre-Louis Forlini

In an article consecrated to Sextant Autour du Monde, Mr. Forlini calls to mind the management philosophy: “There are few good investment ideas, it is for that reason that they need to be sought out without preconceived ideas as to the country, sector or the size of the capitalization”.

Investir – March 24-30, 2007

“We buy between 5260 and 5330” S.A

If the title of the article reuses the quotation of Mr. Scarpaci of Agilis Gestion, Julien Lepage estimates that concerning the Parisian Stock Market, it is correctly valued and he doesn’t take the indexes into consideration for individual values. Nevertheless, he accepts that it is possible that the markets strongly correct themselves in the short term; faced with the risk of correction he occasionally covers his portfolios.

Le Journal des finances – March 9-15, 2007

“Managers of European mid caps negotiate the crisis” Antoine Joël

Sextant PEA places in the top of the rating of the ten best European stock funds since the beginning of the year.

Le Monde – February 24, 2007

“Five stocks to buy for the long term” Jérôme Porier

Each year the Le Monde asks it managers to give a long term investment idea. Julien Lepage recommended looking into Jacquet Metals, a stainless steel distribution company.

Newsmanagers.com - February 20, 2007

“Sextant Autour du Monde a circumnavigation seeking “good” values” Elodie Witting

In an interview consecrated to the fund Sextant Autour du Monde, Julien Lepage addresses one of the specificities of the fund: “It’s about seizing opportunities in all regions of the world with geographic or sectorial bias”.

Les Echos Week-End- February 16/17, 2007

“The gaps widen” Blandine Blanc-Durand

While the journalist states that if the performance of international stocks is in general slightly inferior to the progression of the MSCI World index for one year; certain funds manage somehow to pull through by showing performances that are much higher. Sextant Autour du Monde, fifth in this rating, profits from the flexibility of its investment zone. According to the manager, “International investment should not be a constraint, but an opportunity.”

La Vie Financière – February 2, 2007

“2006 Performances of the best contracts” Sophie Liotier & Franck Audonnet

Sextant Autour du Monde places first in the ranking of the 15 best offensive funds.

Les Echos Week-End – January 19/20, 2007

“The melting world” Blandine Blanc Durand

Sextant Autour du Monde (3rd) assumes without complex its dynamic approach. This year the fund accomplished its mission: go looking for value where it is created, favor small and mid caps, as well as certain emerging countries.

Investir – January 6- 12, 2007

“Mutual fund assessment. The year ends with very positive overall scores” Michel Lemosof

Sextant Autour du Monde places 4th in its category (international stocks out of 421 mutual funds in the Lipper rating).

La Tribune – January 5 /6, 2007

“Good behavior of European funds” N Avril

Sextant Autour du Monde places 5th in the awards for best international stocks among all of the products on the market.

Challenges – December 7, 2006

“French stock mutual funds – opportune stock picking” Damien Pelé

Thanks to their unearthing managers, these funds absorbed the crash of 2001. Centered on small values, they could come back to big ones. The manager of Sextant PEA made one of the Warren Buffett’s (the financial billionaire) strategies into his own: seeking out undervalued stocks with expansion potential.

Les Echos Week End – December 1-2, 2006

“In the footsteps of the indexes” Blandine Durant

Sextant Autour du Monde, ranked 7th in the 10 best international stock funds.

Investissement conseils - December 2006 Issue

“The funds recognized during the 3rd Pyramids of collective management offered good capital gain” Bernard Le Court

Following a ranking based on the MRAR (Morningstar adjusted Ratio, an indicator that divides a fund’s performances by its historical volatility) established by Morningstar, the fund Sextant Grand Large won the Golden Pyramid in the category Moderate Mixed.

Citywire Magazine - Fund manager international - November 2006 Issue

“Badelon learns from the greatest - Amiral's star manager on boxing and Buffett” Angus Foote

Interviewed by Citywire, François Badelon highlights the strong points of his company. Thus he reminds us that Amiral Gestion wants to take its time to advance its throughput and that the seeking of performance takes precedence over the collection of throughput. He also emphasizes the management philosophy that is orientated towards the long term which allows one to keep the pressure of modes and indexes at bay; and finally touches on the constitution of the management team for which he admits seeking future Warren Buffetts.

Les Echos Week End – November 3-4, 2006

“Audacity always pays” Blandine Blanc Durand

Sextant Autour du Monde places 10th position for one year in the rating of the ten best international stock funds.

Challenges - Octobre 19, 2006

“Dynamic funds – risks and opportunities – Accepting the risks and the performance” Damien Pelé

In this issue dedicated to placements, the fund Sextant PEA comes in first in the category of dynamic funds. The funds in this category have a high volatility (superior to 15%). Julien Lepage reminds us that Sextant PEA takes advantage of investment ideas in international stocks coming from the selection of values of the fund Sextant Autour du Monde.

Investissement Conseils – October 2006

“Companies to rediscover”

The editors of Investissements Conseils makes a brief description of Amiral Gestion and reminds us that François Badelon is rated AAA by Citywire, he is in 9th position in the ranking of the 2006 European managers.

Funds - Septembre 2006 Issue

“François Badelon, a former broker on the prize list of the best European managers” Guitel Cohen-Cebula

“We are simply looking for great companies that we are capable of understanding that have an intrinsic value much higher than their market price” such is how François Badelon summarizes the essential activity of Amiral Gestion. Concerning the organization of the management, he points out that the funds are divided into sub-portfolios, to take advantage of the teamwork without having to undergo the unpleasantness of consensus.

L'Agefi Hebdo – September 7 – 13, 2006

“Five rules for creating an asset management company” Jérôme Porier

Jérôme Porier paints the portrait of entrepreneurial asset management companies, as well as the reasons for their success. In the inset dedicated to François Badelon, the journalist recalls the reasons that pushed the former stock broker to pursue management: reading The Warren Buffett Way in 1995, which changed his vision of investment and the irrationality of the markets at the beginning of the 2000’s, which allowed for the appearance of extraordinary investment opportunities.

Mieux vivre votre Argent - September 2006

“Eight star managers place their bets” Catherine Brault

Which share would you chose if you could only chose one to do better than the CAC 40? Questioned for the forth consecutive year by the journalist, François Badelon proposes for this year LeGuide.com, an internet site for comparing prices.

La Vie Financière – July 28, 2006

“10 renowned managers reveal their secrets” Fréderic Cazenave, Anne Michel and Emmanuel Schafroth

Interviewed for an article dedicated to the secrets of 10 asset managers, François Badelon, reveals to us his vision of the trade. “Our line of work is making long term bets with the hope of positive returns.” François Badelon also advises to always be attentive and aware, “I listen to the conversations of the people around me or of outside analysts; especially if they are not in agreement with me!”

Financial Times, June 5, 2006

“Buffett fan well-served by simple strategy”, by Angus Foote

In an article about François Badelon and his Citywire ranking, Mr. Badelon stresses that Amiral Gestion does not attempt to follow market fads or mood swings. “We simply seek solid companies that we can understand thoroughly, and with an intrinsic value that is well above their market price.”

Challenges, June 1, 2006

“The precepts of master Buffett (Les préceptes du maître Buffett)”, by Agnès Severin

In an interview for this article about Warren Buffett describing the US billionaire’s major investment principles, François Badelon explains how he draws inspiration from Mr. Buffett and attempts to put his principles into daily fund management practice

Challenges, May 24, 2006

“New horizons to boost your equity savings plan (De nouveaux horizons pour dynamiser votre PEA)”, by Eric Leroux

Eric Leroux discusses several ways to diversify an equity savings plan: trackers, money market funds, bond funds … and funds from small investment houses. Sextant PEA is among those listed, "a small fund who thinks big; invested in all types of capitalizations, from the smallest to the largest."

La Tribune, April 21, 2006

“Citywire rankings: Austrian managers in the limelight (Classement Citywire : les gérants autrichiens en vedette)”, by Franck Pauly

François Badelon was ranked 9 th in Citywire’s annual listing of the top 100 European fund managers, based on his Sextant Fund management.

“Citywire winners – Three French managers selected: Master mariner ( Palmarès Citywire - Trois gérants français sélectionnés: Capitaine au long cours )”, by Frédéric Tixier

Frédéric Tixier reviews François Badelon’s career, from his start with Meeschaert-Rousselle, to his time with Exane, and then his move to Financière de l'Echiquier, where he remained to launch the Sextant PEA Fund. The author also notes that François Badelon was inspired by the methods of the successful investors Warren Buffett and Benjamin Graham.

Le Figaro, April 15, 2006

“Profit taking on the CAC 40 (Prises de bénéfices sur le CAC 40)”

François Badelon states that he would not be surprised to see a drop in short-term indices stemming from the latest surge in oil prices. He notes that his Funds are geared towards energy and gold investments, and that he is very cautious about consumer goods and equity that is highly sensitive to commodity price fluctuations.

Challenges, April 13, 2006

“The top mutual funds in 2006 (Les palmarès 2006 des SICAV)”, by Eric Tréguier & Agnès Séverin

Every year, Challenges magazine, in association with Morningstar, selects the top equity savings plan funds. Amiral Gestion won second place among the top ten specialized managers, and its Sextant PEA won first place in the specialized manager dynamic fund category. Julien Lepage points out that the Sextant PEA Fund invests outside Europe as well, and benefits from the views of Amiral Gestion’s Sextant Autour du Monde Fund. He also notes that energy is currently seen as one the Fund’s strongest drivers

Citywire January 2006

“Top Fund Manager"

Citywire publishes an annual ranking of the top fund managers, and over the last 3 years, François Badelon came in 2 nd out of 277 managers in the Equity Europe category, and obtained the highest possible rating, AAA.

Challenges, January 5, 2005

“Competitive life insurance (Une assurance-vie de competition)”, by Agnès Severin

Agnès Severin highlights the quality of the mutual funds available in the "Mes-placementsVie" life insurance contracts with no entry fees; contracts that offer the Sextant PEA and Sextant Grand Large Funds exclusively.

La Tribune, November 15, 2005

“François Badelon at the helm of Amiral Gestion ( François Badelon à la barre d'Amiral Gestion)”, by Tarek Issaoui

Tarek Issaoui describes the intellectual and professional path that led François Badelon to create Amiral Gestion, while applying the Warren Buffett investment principles that he had been following with increasing success over the past 7 years. The consistent outperformance seen today by independent asset management firms in commercial banking make Mr. Badelon more confident than ever in Amiral Gestion’s future.

Le Figaro, October 14, 2005

“Discover the little-known funds of star managers (Découvrez les fonds méconnus des stars de la gestion)”, by Anne Bodescot

Some high-performing asset management firms are broadening their range of funds. This article summarizes the reasons that led to the creation of Sextant Grand Large and Sextant Autour du Monde.

Challenges N°5, September 29, 2005

“Know how to buy on the stock market (Savoir acheter en bourse)”, by Damien Pelé

Julien Lepage comments on the old adage, “buy low, sell high.” He notes the difficulty in researching forgotten companies, and points out that they are so for what are often very good reasons. He cites Aufeminin and Maurel & Prom as examples.

La Vie Financière, September 20, 2005

“The winning stocks! 10 managers place their bets” (Les valeurs gagnantes ! 10 gérants s’engagent )”, by Christophe Descamps

Each of the managers that gave the best advice in May 2005 offers three investment views. François Badelon discusses the cases for Statoil, IMS, and Vet’Affaires.

La Vie Financière, June 14, 2005

“Emerging countries: funds on the climb (Pays émergents : Ces fonds qui grimpent),” by Anne Michel

In the conclusion of an article on investment opportunities in emerging countries, François Badelon announces the upcoming launch of Sextant Autour du Monde, a fund that will be partially invested in emerging countries.

Le Figaro Économie, May 21, 2005

“Managers who perform twice as well as the CAC 40 (Ces gérants qui font deux fois mieux que le CAC 40)”, by Anne Bodescot

François Badelon, regularly cited among the best managers, describes his management methods: a portfolio focused on discounted, hand-picked stock …

La Tribune, January 28, 2005

“Subscriptions forbidden (Interdit de souscrire)”, by Blandine Blanc-Durand

Some funds, as a result of their success, have seen their balances skyrocket, and the consequent need to rapidly reinvest the cash flow may interfere with the funds’ management and alter its quality. François Badelon explains how he is able to control subscription flows.

Les Échos – n° 19294, November 26, 2004

“Prudence is the better part of securities (La prudence mère de toute les suretés)”, by Blandine Blanc-Durand

In a focus on the best-performing funds over one year, the No. 2 on the list benefits from its no-holds-barred research for the best opportunities on the market.

La Tribune, November 19, 2004

“The Vietnamese dragon is once again short of breath (Le dragon Vietnamien a encore le souffle court)”, by Pierre-Alexandre Sallier

While international investors seem to be ignoring Vietnam, some fund managers are paying it attention. François Badelon points out the Vietnamese population’s extraordinary drive and “admits” he is planning to create a new global investment fund.

Les Échos, October 29, 2004

“Top performers widen the gap (Les plus performants creusent l’écart)”, by Blandine Blanc-Durand

In a selection of 130 French equity funds, the average performance is below that of the CAC 40 Index. Sextant PEA, the leading fund in the category, gives a few reasons for its success.

La Vie Financière, October 26, 2004

“The selections of good managers (Les choix des bons gérants)”, by Christophe Descamps

Julien Lepage outlines his vision of the financial markets; movements in the indices are not of great concern. The manager discusses his two favorite shares, "Altamir & Cie" and "ADL Partner".

La Tribune, September 17, 2004

“Sextant Grand Large stays the course (Sextant Grand Large tient le cap)”, by Marie Caroline Lopez

With its Sextant Grand Large Fund, Amiral Gestion will invest according to what it most firmly believes in, with a maximum safety margin and without the tax constraints of Sextant PEA.

Les Échos - n°19177 June 11, 2004

“Small-caps lead the dance (Les petites valeurs mènent le bal)”, by Blandine Blanc-Durand

While mutual funds invested in French equity are posting annual performances of around 25%, the leading fund, Sextant PEA, jumped 68.2% in one year. The Fund was able to benefit from the momentum in small-caps and the explosion in Internet stock prices.

La Tribune, May 3, 2004

“His methods require effort, but they pay off (Ses recettes demandent un effort mais sont payantes)”, by Lysiane J. Baudu

While attending the Berkshire Hathaway general shareholders’ meeting in Omaha, François Badelon is interviewed about his investment philosophy inspired by Warren Buffett.

La Vie Financière, February 16, 2004

“The La Vie Financière honours list: the best mutual fund managers (Les palmes de la Vie Financière: SICAV Les meilleurs gérants)”, by Pascale Besses-Boumard and Anne Michel

The most daring fund managers in 2004 discuss their management methods. François Badelon talks about his principles-based management combined with a high safety margin.

Les Échos, January 16, 2004

“The circle of Les Echos managers: Louvre Gestion – The Paris Bourse remains appetising – The Paris Bourse returns to normal (Le Cercle des gérants Les Echos: Louvre Gestion – La Bourse de Paris reste appétissante – Retour à la normale à la Bourse de Paris)”

The key managers of the Paris stock exchange, including François Badelon, give their outlook for 2004.

Les Échos, November 7, 2003

“Hard-discount equity (Ces valeurs qui cassent les prix)”, by Nathalie Olof-Ors

In an article focusing on hard-discount retailers, fund managers comment on the reasons behind these companies’ success.

Les Échos, April 25, 2003

“A selection based on simplicity (Une sélection fondée sur la simplicité)”, by Nathalie Olof-Ors

Amidst the highly volatile financial markets, François Badelon founded a new asset management company, Amiral Gestion. Mr. Badelon is particularly adept at Warren Buffett’s investment strategy, and applies these principles in his fund management.

La Tribune, April 18, 2003

“Sextant PEA hasn’t lost its bearings (Sextant PEA ne perd pas le nord)”, by Jean François Filliatre

Amiral Gestion took over management of the Sextant PEA Fund previously owned by Financière de l’Échiquier, but always managed by François Badelon. François Badelon, a man who claims that “For a company to win my interest, I have to first understand it, value it, and see that it is at a discount.”