DEAL FLOWS & INVESTMENT IDEAS

Ideas

GLOBAL STRATEGIC MOSAIC (GSM)™,  A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO DEVELOPING AN INVESTMENT TRADE PIPELINE.

“When I moved to Asia in 2004, I started giving a considerable portion of my salary to socially responsible organizations. The more I gave, the more I realized just how many people are desperate for help,” says Kim. At the same time, he realized that there was wealth to make opportunities available but that his ability to share in that wealth was severely restricted by the fact that he was an employee and not an employer. Life at that time was comfortable for Kim. He built a good track record and reputation for being able to correctly analyze markets and the impact they would have on local investment markets and for being able to translate that information into consistent returns in profits. Lucrative job offers lay on his desk. Kim was tempted to accept one of the offers, but was haunted by the big white eyes of the hungry kids he would not be able to help. He thought about quitting his corporate life and dedicating his time to those in need. Eventually, he came to the conclusion that his skill set was not suited to life in the field and that he would be more useful continuing to partner financially with organizations already doing good work amongst the poor. “Many of my colleagues said I would be crazy to walk away from what I had, but in the end, striking out on my own was a no-brainer; I knew I had to maximize my core competencies, which are investing and making money, in order to be able to help more people,” Kim explains. 
The year 2007 was a big year for Kim. He recognized that he was in a Kairos moment and although he had already made a decision in his heart to start his own business, he was secretly hoping for confirmation that he was making the right decision. Confirmation came in the form of an investor, who, after hearing Kim share his heart and idea, immediately provided him with the seed money to launch Kairos-Capital, the first hedge fund of its kind in Asia. Kim’s desire is to use his talent to make money to help as many people as possible. Kairos Capital (part of the global US$2.68 trillion hedge fund business) is his wealth-creating vehicle and Kairos Foundation, a separate entity, is the distribution container.
Kairos Capital leverages the symbiotic forces of money as a company to help social organizations in a more meaningful way. “Transparency in one's business operations has become paramount in the current economic climate, so we have endeavored to maintain an open book with regards to our investments in Kairos Capital as well as our philanthropic endeavors in the Kairos Foundation,” says Kim. In line with this, Kim explains how they have set up a database of organizations the Foundation will partner with financially. All these recipients have been and will be chosen by an external board according to rigorous selection criteria. Another unique distinction of Kairos Foundation is the fact that they do not want to just to give donations to organizations but they are interested in partnering with them for their long-term success. “We want to encourage, coach and support recipients of our donations to seek ways of improving their operational efficiency and/or develop extra income streams in order to create financial sustainability,” Kim explains, adding that partnering does not come in the form of one time donations, but financial assistance over 3 year terms. The Kairos Foundation closely evaluates utilization of funds over this time to ensure that donations have as great an impact as possible on the communities. According to Kim, it is a win-win situation for all people involved: Kairos Capital, investors, the organizations who will benefit from partnering with them but most of all, the poor.
To learn more about Kairos Foundation, please download the Concept File (pdf) by clicking the button below.
To learn more about our investment approach, please download our Investment Brief below.

Insight

GATEWAY TO ASIA - SINGAPORE

Singapore recorded a capital and financial account surplus of 22727 SGD Million in the fourth quarter of 2016. Capital Flows in Singapore averaged 5713.03 SGD Million from 1986 until 2016, reaching an all time high of 24455 SGD Million in the first quarter of 2016 and a record low of -5008.50 SGD Million in the first quarter of 2004.

Insights

KAIROS FOUNDATION 
THE GENESIS: IN THE BEGINNING THERE WAS A VISION

“When I arrived in Asia in 2004, I started giving a considerable portion of my salary to socially responsible organizations. The more I gave, the more I realized just how many people are desperate for help,” says Kim. At the same time, he realized that there was wealth to make opportunities available but that his ability to share in that wealth was severely restricted by the fact that he was an employee and not an employer. Life at that time was comfortable for Kim. He had built up a good track record and reputation for being able to correctly analyze markets and the impact they would have on local investment markets and for being able to translate that information into consistent returns in profits. Lucrative job offers lay on his desk. Kim was tempted to take up one of the offers, but he says that he was haunted by the big white eyes of the hungry kids he knew he would not be able to help. The thought to quit his corporate life and to help people in their situation also crossed Kim's mind. On investigation, he came to the conclusion that his skill set was not all that suited to life in the field and that he would be more useful continuing to partner financially with organizations already doing good work amongst the poor. “Many of my colleagues said I would be crazy to walk away from what I had, but in the end, striking out on my own was a no-brainer; I knew I had to maximize my core competencies, which are investing and making money, in order to be able to help more people,” Kim explains. 
The year 2007 was a big year for Kim. He recognized that he was in a Kairos moment and although he had already made a decision in his heart to start his own business, he was secretly hoping for confirmation that he was making the right decision. Confirmation came in the form of an investor, who, after hearing Kim share his heart and idea with him, immediately provided him with the seed money to launch Kairos-Capital, the first hedge fund of its kind in Asia. According to Kim, his heart is to simply use his talent to make money to help as many people as possible. Kairos Capital (part of the global US$2.68 trillion hedge fund business) is his wealth-creating vehicle and Kairos Foundation, a separate entity, is the distribution container.
Kairos Capital leverages the symbiotic forces of money as a company to help social organizations in a more meaningful way. “Transparency in one's business operations has become paramount in the current economic climate, so we have endeavored to maintain an open book with regards to our investments in Kairos Capital as well as our philanthropic endeavors in the Kairos Foundation,” says Kim. In line with this, Kim explains how they have set up a database of organizations the Foundation will partner with financially. All these recipients have been and will be chosen by an external board according to rigorous selection criteria. Another unique distinction of Kairos Foundation is the fact that they do not want to just to give donations to organizations but they are interested in partnering with them for their long-term success. “We want to encourage, coach and support recipients of our donations to seek ways of improving their operational efficiency and/or develop extra income streams in order to create financial sustainability,” Kim explains, adding that partnering does not come in the form of one time donations, but financial assistance over 3 year terms. The Kairos Foundation closely evaluates utilization of funds over this time to ensure that donations have as great an impact as possible on the communities. According to Kim, it is a win-win situation for all people involved: Kairos Capital, investors, the organizations who will benefit from partnering with them but most of all, the poor.
To learn more about Kairos Foundation, please download the Concept File (pdf) by clicking the button below.
To learn more about our investment approach, please download our Investment Brief below.