Welcome to a bonus edition of ROE The Boat.

This newsletter recently became a Substack Best Seller which is very pleasing. Your support is greatly appreciated.

As a show of appreciation I thought I would publish a bonus edition for this month.

In this issue I’m highlighting another South Korean small cap that seems far too cheap for the nature of the business.

Every month we publish exclusive research on profitable growing small/microcaps trading at cheap prices.

To read these reports, and to access the full archive, consider becoming a paid subscriber. An annual subscription is just $100.

Subscribe now

This particular family run holding company dominates a particular niche in South Korea, while the other part of the business generates high margin recurring revenue.

The company is expanding abroad, has a healthy balance sheet, and reward shareholders with a dividend too.

Despite these positives the shares trade on a P/E of 6.

Let’s dive in…

Please note: this article should act as an introduction to the company mentioned and is not a complete deep dive. Make sure you do your own research before investing in any company mentioned in this newsletter.

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Welcome to another edition of ROE The Boat.

There’s a few reasons why South Korea could be a good hunting ground for value investors.

Following Japan’s lead, reforms are currently being implemented that will push listed companies to improve capital allocation and increase returns for shareholders.

These changes aim to reverse the chronic undervaluation of South Korean stocks, which has been mainly driven by weak governance and meager shareholder returns. The reforms have evolved from optional guidelines into mandatory legal obligations.

Another catalyst is Interactive Brokers, one of the world’s largest brokers, has recently enabled trading in South Korean public companies - this should provide more liquidity.

There’s certainly plenty of value to be found in the small and microcap segment of the KOSDAQ.

For this issue of ROE The Boat I want to highlight five companies I think are worthy of your attention.

Every month we publish exclusive research on profitable growing small/microcaps trading at cheap prices.

To read these reports, and to access the full archive, consider becoming a paid subscriber. An annual subscription is just $100.

These companies have the following characteristics →

Company #1 -

Manufacturer of mission critical components that supply energy, semiconductor and infrastructure companies around the world.

• Operating margins 27%

• ROCE 12%

• PE 9

• No net debt

• Buying back shares

Company #2 -

Family run microcap with a monopolistic business and hard-to-replicate physical assets. AI will definitely not be replacing this business.

• PE of 4

• PB of 0.38

Company #3 -

Quality founder led healthcare compounder. Selling much needed products to hospitals and clinics in South Korea and internationally.

• Operating margins 30%

• ROCE 37%

• No net debt

• PE 9

Company #4 -

Consumer defensive business in deep value territory.

• No net debt

• PE 4

• PB 0.42

Company #5 -

High-quality data business with sticky recurring revenue.

• Operating margins 17%

• ROCE 18%

• No net debt

• PE 6

• Dividend yield 4%

Let’s dive in…

Please note: this article should act as an introduction to the company mentioned and is not a complete deep dive. Make sure you do your own research before investing in any company mentioned in this newsletter.

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Welcome to another edition of ROE The Boat.

Every month we publish exclusive research on profitable growing small/microcaps trading at cheap prices.

To read these reports, and to access the full archive, consider becoming a paid subscriber. An annual subscription is just $100.

I’m pleased to report the Pirate Pension Fund has achieved a return of 11% so far this year. Amid the negative, and sometimes quite baffling events unfolding around us, this performance is especially gratifying.

Last week, I added a new company to the fund, which I will discuss in this issue. This particular company crafts high quality luxury products, has high insider ownership, consistent margins, high returns on capital, and trades at an attractive valuation.

Let’s dive in…

Please note: this article should act as an introduction to the company mentioned and is not a complete deep dive. Make sure you do your own research before investing in any company mentioned in this newsletter.

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Welcome to another edition of ROE The Boat.

Every month we publish exclusive research on profitable growing small/microcaps trading at cheap prices.

To read these reports, and to access the full archive, consider becoming a paid subscriber. An annual subscription is just $100.

For this issue I want to share with you another high quality UK small cap whose share price has fallen due what I believe is an unfortunate series of one-off blips. If this proves correct the share price will see a strong recovery.

This business has the following characteristics…

• 25% operating margins.

• 34% returns on capital employed.

• High insider ownership.

• Operational leverage as they roll out more machines.

• A strong moat.

• Pricing power.

• Healthy balance sheet.

• Buying back shares.

• A chunky growing dividend.

• Trading on P/E of just 8!

Let’s dive in…

Please note: this article should act as an introduction to the company mentioned and is not a complete deep dive. Make sure you do your own research before investing in any company mentioned in this newsletter.

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Welcome to another edition of ROE The Boat.

For this issue I want to share with you a high quality compounder whose share price has been hit by what I believe is just a temporary sentiment shock set back (that’s a mouthful).

This particular business is one of the highest quality companies listed on the London Stock Exchange and has the following characteristics…

• Dominant player in their niche.

• Pricing power.

• +60% operating margins.

• +60% returns on capital employed.

• Buying back shares.

• A growing dividend.

• 12 month forecast rolling P/E of 12.

• A well known investment company has recently bought 5% of outstanding shares.

Have I piqued your interest?

Let’s dive in…

Please note: this article should act as an introduction to the company mentioned and is not a complete deep dive. Make sure you do your own research before investing in any company mentioned in this newsletter.

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For this issue I want to introduce you to the Pirate Pension Fund - my own personal portfolio.

Yes, I know what you’re thinking… boats, sailing the seven seas, pirates… this guy is obsessed with sea faring.

I hope by opening up the hood and looking into the engine of my personal portfolio it will provide readers with a better understanding of how I invest, and more importantly introduce you to more interesting public companies.

If I had to label this portfolio with an investment style I would describe it as…

‘Consistent growth at a reasonable price with a bias towards smaller quality founder led companies.’

In this issue I cover…

• My investing process.

• Reducing the risk of ruin.

• Performance.

• Portfolio metrics.

• Thoughts on gold/currency debasement.

• Top 10 holdings.

• 2 new additions.

• Final thoughts.

Let’s dive in…

Please note: this article should act as an introduction to the companies mentioned and is not a complete deep dive. Make sure you do your own research before investing in any company mentioned in this newsletter.

The January issue of ROE The Boat can be downloaded below… 🗞️

Roe The Boat Newsletter January 2026 Pirate Pension Fund

1.68MB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Thanks for reading.

Thanks to all those who have recently become paid subscribers.

For this issue we’re sailing to the British Isles to cover a company that has the following characteristics:

• Over 190 years old.

• Has a portfolio of irreplaceable prime real estate that’s worth more than the current market cap.

• One of only a handful of dividend aristocrats trading on the LSE.

• Buying back shares.

• 70-100% upside to fair value.

Also included in this issue is a trading update on some of the companies we’ve previously featured in the newsletter.

Let’s dive in…

Please note: this article should act as an introduction to the companies mentioned and is not a complete deep dive. Make sure you do your own research before investing in any company mentioned in this newsletter.

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Thanks to all those who have recently become paid subscribers.

For this issue we’re sailing back to Hong Kong to highlight two dirt cheap stocks.

The first company is a growing founder-led business with a solid balance sheet, high returns on capital, 8% dividend yield - yet is trading on a single digit P/E (there’s also a potential catalyst coming which could result in a re-rating).

The second company is an overlooked 40 year old family led operation with no net debt, 10% dividend yield, and is trading at an -80% discount to NAV.

Let’s dive in…

Please note: this article should act as an introduction to the companies mentioned and is not a complete deep dive. Make sure you do your own research before investing in any company mentioned in this newsletter.

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Family influenced businesses are an interesting and niche part of the public equity markets.

If you’re a coffee-can type investor this area is a great place to look for long term compounders. There have been many studies done that highlight the longer term positive performance of family operated, or influenced, public companies.

Everyone is familiar with companies such as LVMH and Heineken who have family members controlling the company or have an influential seat on the board.

However, we wanted to find smaller less well known companies. Perhaps it’s a small cap yogurt manufacturer from Greece or an Australian auto-parts distributor.

After much searching we have compiled a list of 181 family influenced public companies from the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia, who are less well known to the general investing public.

Included in the list is the company name, ticker, country of listing, industry, and brief notes on what the company does.

We hope you enjoy going through it 👇

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Welcome to another edition of ROE The Boat.

Thanks to all those who have recently become paid subscribers.

📢 The annual subscription is just $70 USD for the first 100 people who join (you will be locked-in at this rate for as long as you remain a paid subscriber).

WE HAVE 34 PLACES LEFT AT THIS PRICE.

After the first 100 subscribers have joined, the annual subscription will be increasing to $100 USD.

Subscribe now

For this issue of ROE The Boat we’re sailing to France.

When constructing a portfolio I always think it’s wise to dedicate a portion to cash cows. They might not be cool and sexy, but they are reliable.

I’m talking about the types of businesses with moats, high insider ownership, irreplaceable ‘hard-to-replicate’ physical assets, and hopefully large/growing dividend payments. Most important of all the company must be able to keep pace with inflation/currency debasement.

Over the years I have created a list of these types of businesses. For this issue I want to share one of them with you.

This company has no analyst coverage, no mentions on X, or write-ups on Substack.

There’s probably a good reason for this - the shares are extremely illiquid - even microcap funds managing a small amount of capital might struggle to buy shares. The shares can be bought via Interactive Brokers.

Let’s dive in…

(Please note: this article should act as an introduction to the company and is not a complete deep dive. Make sure you do your own research before investing in any company mentioned in this newsletter).

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For the September issue we’re sailing to the Far East.

While the large and mid cap listed companies in Japan look fully valued there are plenty of cheap companies to be found at the smaller end of the spectrum.

We’re going to present to you four Japanese microcaps that are flying under the radar.

Three are deep value, while the other is a higher quality business with 25% operating margins and 45% returns on capital employed - and it’s trading on a forward single digit P/E multiple.

Let’s start with the companies trading at a deep discount to their net asset value.

Please note: this article should act as an introduction to the companies and is not a complete deep dive. Make sure you do your own research before investing in any company mentioned in this newsletter.

Read more

One of my favorite sayings is…

‘The early bird catches the worm.’

It’s pretty self explanatory what this saying means. You’ll often hear parents saying this to their kids who sleep in too late. You will find a version of this saying in many different languages and cultures around the world.

The Spanish version is ‘A quien madruga, Dios le ayuda’ which translates to ‘To whom gets up early, God helps them.’

The saying is not just applicable to lazy teenagers who are still in bed after 10am but also to investors. If you can find a great stock before anyone else you can make some excellent returns.

This is what ROE The Boat is all about. Finding profitable growing small/microcaps trading at decent prices that are yet to be discovered by the masses.

As you can see in the table below many of the companies featured in the newsletter have gone onto achieve decent returns.

Take Huationg Global for example, an ignored microcap trading on the Singapore Stock Exchange. We wrote about this in March, when it was trading on an absurdly cheap P/E of 2.5. There was no mention of it on X or Substack. Since posting the share price has doubled.

Another example is Dream International Ltd that we also highlighted in March. A small cap in Hong Kong that at the time was trading on a P/E of 4 with a dividend yield of 12%. The shares have since gone up by 251%.

These are just two examples of the what can be found if you turn over enough rocks, and look where others aren’t.

Obviously not every company has these outstanding returns in such a short period of time. However, it only takes one or two to help generate a great overall return for your portfolio.

OFFERING A PAID SUBSCRIPTON FOR THE HARDCORE ——>

We will still be publishing the occasional free content. However, for those who want even more investment ideas we are launching a paid option.

We’re keeping the price super cheap with the annual subscription just $70 USD for the first 100 people who sign-up (you will be locked-in at this rate for as long as you remain a paid subscriber).

After the first 100 subscribers have joined, the annual subscription will be increased to $150 USD.

You can expect 12 issues per year sent direct to your inbox.

The September issue of ROE The Boat will be published next week.

Subscribe now

LATEST RESEARCH >

• Is This UK Microcap a Golden Opportunity? - Pawn broker, gold dealer, FX.

• A Quality Growing Swedish Microcap - Literally watching paint dry.

• Undervalued Sportwear Company - P/E 7, PEG 0.56, Dividend Yield 5%, Family Led.

We have just over 9,600 subscribers who receive ROE The Boat. Thank you for supporting our endeavors.

Have a great weekend,

Jon Kingston

Welcome to another edition of ROE The Boat.

For this issue I want to share with you my research on a British microcap.

(Please note: this article should act as an introduction to the company and is not a complete deep dive. Make sure you do your own research before investing in any company mentioned in this newsletter).

Read more

Welcome to another edition of ROE The Boat.

Every three months I enjoy reading the quarterly letters from some of the best and brightest emerging public equity fund managers.

These fund letters are a great place to look for potential ideas, insights, and inspiration too.

Most of the letters start like this…

‘Dear Partner, our year-to-date performance to the end of June was 9%.’

This of course sounds great, 9% - not a bad start to the year.

However, there is a problem - it’s not real. Measuring a portfolio in USD or your local currency doesn’t reveal the truth about whether you're increasing your wealth in actual purchasing power.

We all invest for one reason - we are building savings for the future. At some point in the future, whether by collecting dividends or by drawing down the capital, we have to cash in our portfolio to buy real goods and services.

You might see your portfolio moving higher on the chart and increasing in nominal value but that's an illusion.

Below is a chart of the S&P 500 measured in USD.

Looks impressive.

You think the S&P 500 is crushing it. Think again.

Below is the same chart of the S&P 500 but this time measured in gold. For the past ten years the index has gone nowhere - it buys the same amount of gold as it did in 2015.

The Inflation Numbers Are Fake

So how should we measure in purchasing power terms?

Well we could minus the current inflation rate from our year-to-date performance to reveal an ‘inflation adjusted’ performance.

However, doing this we end up encountering another problem - the inflation data is fake and can be manipulated. A consumer price index rarely includes things such as rent rises, tax increases etc. It also doesn’t make allowances for shrinkflation (where the chocolate bar you buy is the same price but 5% smaller in size).

We need a better measuring stick.

The Golden Constant

Alternatively we could measure in ounces of gold as we have done with the S&P 500. As documented by Professor W. Jastram in his book The Golden Constant - gold's purchasing power has remained consistent over the centuries.

However, gold is not a perfect measuring stick as there’s always new gold discoveries. The World Gold Council states the supply of gold expands at about 1.5 to 2% annually.

What about Bitcoin? The supply of Bitcoin is capped at 21 million units, it’s written in the protocol. This makes it a good measuring stick.

Admittedly Bitcoin is volatile, that’s because in the grand scheme of things it’s still young, and has a small market cap when compared to gold which is 10 times larger. However, the longer Bitcoin stays around and the bigger the market cap the volatility should decrease.

Guinness is Getting Cheaper for Gold Bugs and Bitcoiners

We could also measure in a consumer good. As long as this good is consistent over time in terms of weights and inputs such as a kilo of rice, a barrel of crude oil etc.

For a bit of fun lets use a pint of Guinness as an example.

We can all agree a British imperial pint* is a British imperial pint - the size and weight is consistent over time. A pint of Guinness has the same material inputs as it did 10, 20, 40 years ago - water, hops, the same manufacturing process etc. Diageo, the owner of Guinness, would not change the ingredients or process for fear of upsetting Guinness lovers.

Guinness is also available in nearly every country, so you can see how much an imperial pint costs in your local currency.

Below is a table and chart of an average pint of Guinness in the UK measured in pounds sterling, gold ounces, and bitcoin.

Since 2022 the price has increased by roughly 6% per year in pounds sterling. It’s getting cheaper by roughly 6% per year when measured in gold, and 30% cheaper per year in Bitcoin.

While everybody else in the pub is complaining about rising prices, the gold bugs and bitcoiners sit there happily drinking the black stuff.

If you save in or have your salary paid in gold or bitcoin everything is getting cheaper, not just a pint of Guinness.

In Summary

By all means keep measuring in fiat, it’s easier to do and less volatile.

However, it’s purchasing power that tells the truth. Just including the consumer price index is imperfect. The best way to measure in my opinion is using sound money such as gold and increasingly bitcoin.

Next time you look at your portfolio ask yourself this question…

At the end of every year, is my stock portfolio buying me more ounces of gold, bitcoin, or even pints of Guinness?

You can also ask the same question of your personal net worth, your own business, or a company you invest in.

You would be surprised at how many public companies, despite their share price moving higher on a chart, are actually shrinking in real value.

Something to ponder on.

Cheers 🍻

Please note the information in this report is for informational purposes only and should not be seen as investment advice. Please do your own due diligence before investing in any asset mentioned in this article. 

*A British imperial pint is 20 fluid ounces - 568 ml.

Sources:

S&P 500 to Gold Ratio chart - macrotrends.net/1437/sp500-to-gold-ratio-chart

Data on the average pint of Guinness in the UK taken from Perplexity AI.

Welcome to another edition of ROE The Boat.

For this issue I want to share with you my research on a Swedish microcap.

(Please note: this article should act as an introduction to the company and is not a complete deep dive. Make sure you do your own research before investing in any company mentioned in this newsletter).

Read more

Dear Readers,

Welcome to another edition of ROE The Boat.

For this issue I thought I would share you with my research notes on a Hong Kong listed small cap.

The share price has increased by around 20% since I started researching. Despite this increase the shares still look undervalued.

(Please note: this article should act as an introduction to the company and is not a complete deep dive. Make sure you do your own research before investing in any company mentioned in this newsletter).

Read more

Dear Readers,

Welcome to another edition of ROE The Boat.

For this issue I thought I would share with you my research notes on an Italian microcap recently listed on the Milan Stock Exchange.

Please note: this article should act as an introduction to the company and is not a complete deep dive. Make sure you do your own research before investing in any company mentioned in this newsletter.

Read more

Dear Readers,

Welcome to another issue of ROE The Boat.

For this issue I would like to once again highlight a selection of four ‘under-the-radar’ companies that could be worthy of further investigation.

(Please note: this article should act as an introduction to the companies featured and is not a complete deep dive. Make sure you do your own research before investing in any company mentioned in this newsletter).

Read more

Dear Readers,

Welcome to another issue of ROE The Boat.

For this issue I am highlighting three cheap stocks listed in Hong Kong that all have solid balance sheets, decent returns on capital, and big chunky dividend yields.

(Please note: this article should act as an introduction the companies featured and is not a complete deep dive. Make sure you do your own research before investing in any company mentioned in this newsletter).

Read more

Dear Readers,

Welcome to another edition of ROE The Boat.

For this issue I would like to once again highlight a small selection of ‘under-the-radar’ companies that could be worthy of further investigation.

(Please note: this article should act as an introduction the companies and is not a complete deep dive. Make sure you do your own research before investing in any company mentioned in this newsletter).

Read more