Key Takeaways
- • Eduardo Marques, founder and CIO of Pertento Partners, pitched a paired trade at Sohn Tokyo 2026: long a Korean holding company trading at 36% of its asset value that holds a fast-growing howitzer maker, and short a holding company trading at 177% of its assets whose main holding, a battery cathode maker, loses money on an economic basis.
- • Marques argues Korean chaebol holding company discounts are close to random, even with the government's Value-Up program in place, based on his chart of 13 Korean-listed holding companies.
- • In his sample, twelve of the thirteen holding companies averaged 0.50 times NAV, with one at 0.36 times and one outlier at 1.77 times.
- • Pertento Partners was set up in February 2021 by Marques, who previously ran the single stock short book as a Managing Partner at Valiant Capital Management, and manages around $5 billion AUM according to SEC filings, per Hedge Fund Alpha.
Summary
Eduardo Marques, founder and CIO of Pertento Partners, presented a paired trade at Sohn Tokyo 2026 that combined a long position in one Korean holding company with a short position in another, according to Hedge Fund Alpha. The long leg trades at 36% of its assets and holds a fast-growing howitzer maker. The short leg trades at 177% of its assets, and its main holding, a battery cathode maker, is loss-making on an economic basis.
Marques framed the opportunity around the persistent discount at Korean chaebol holding companies. He cited familiar causes: minority shareholders rarely receive cash, corporate actions tend to dilute them, they lack board representation, and activists struggle to force change. He said the government's Value-Up program aims to address these issues, but that discounts remain large and, in his view, close to random. Marques shifted attention from Japan to Korea, which he described as earlier in its governance reforms, and cautioned that Korean stocks are not for the faint of heart.
His analysis rests on a chart of thirteen Korean-listed holding companies. Twelve averaged 0.50 times NAV, one traded at 0.36 times, and one stood apart at 1.77 times, according to the presentation as reported by Hedge Fund Alpha.
Marques began his career in 2004 as an analyst at 3G Capital in New York and spent 13 years at Valiant Capital Management in San Francisco, where he was a Managing Partner running the firm's single stock short book. He founded Pertento Partners in February 2021. The firm works with a team of five research analysts and has around $5 billion AUM according to SEC filings.
Marques framed the opportunity around the persistent discount at Korean chaebol holding companies. He cited familiar causes: minority shareholders rarely receive cash, corporate actions tend to dilute them, they lack board representation, and activists struggle to force change. He said the government's Value-Up program aims to address these issues, but that discounts remain large and, in his view, close to random. Marques shifted attention from Japan to Korea, which he described as earlier in its governance reforms, and cautioned that Korean stocks are not for the faint of heart.
His analysis rests on a chart of thirteen Korean-listed holding companies. Twelve averaged 0.50 times NAV, one traded at 0.36 times, and one stood apart at 1.77 times, according to the presentation as reported by Hedge Fund Alpha.
Marques began his career in 2004 as an analyst at 3G Capital in New York and spent 13 years at Valiant Capital Management in San Francisco, where he was a Managing Partner running the firm's single stock short book. He founded Pertento Partners in February 2021. The firm works with a team of five research analysts and has around $5 billion AUM according to SEC filings.
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