After a brilliant career working full-time as lawyer, in 2004 Massimo Malvestio established Hermes Linder Fund SICAV, a fund which managed to achieve excellent results during 18 years of activity. In an interview with Italian magazine “Focus Risparmio”, the expert recalled his professional path from the beginnings to his current roles, which includes those of Portfolio Manager and Chairman of the Investment Committee at Praude Asset Management Ltd.
Before entering the world of finance, Massimo Malvestio gained long and relevant experience in the legal field. After graduating in Law in 1985, he enrolled in the Register of Lawyers and qualified to represent clients before the Italian Supreme Court. Soon after, he cofounded the “Studio Legale Barel Malvestio & Ass.” law firm (later known as “BM&A”) and, as Managing Partner, he led its commercial law practice while specializing in banking law, financial markets law, governmental enterprises, and financial crime law. In addition to this, he worked as legal consultant to several listed companies and enterprises, as well as to many Italian and European banks.
As explained in the interview, his passion for financial matters grew long before founding Hermes Linder Fund SICAV. For instance, in 1985 Massimo Malvestio started to collaborate with the legendary asset manager Mario Zarattini: “I was a great friend of him”, he recalled, “and even before he moved to Lugano and founded his own bank, we had talked together about many projects in the financial sector”. This passion was combined with his extensive legal expertise and with financial analysis, leading eventually to the establishment of Hermes Linder Fund SICAV in 2004. In a few years, the fund recorded excellent results, including a track record of performance of over 600% (compared to the fund’s launch value) and an accrued performance for investors (net of fees) of 11.85%. The fund is managed today by Praude Asset Management Ltd., the asset management company Massimo Malvestio launched in 2009.
What is the strength of Hermes Linder Fund SICAV? According to the expert, it resides in “legal arbitration and its in-depth knowledge of the economic, financial and regulatory environment in which the fund operates”. The fund’s “value investing approach” is essentially based “on joint studies of companies’ financial data, business plans and regulatory environments”. These elements drive the fund’s management team, and “not belonging to one sector or another”, he added. The fund’s effective strategy was also recognized by important international awards: the Thomson Reuter Lipper Fund Award for “Best Fund” over 3 years (“Equity Europe 2017” category) and a “five-star rating” by Morningstar.
