Following their fund manager conversation with Ben Peters of Evenlode, George Ladds is joined by David Ridland for a reflective post-meeting discussion, drawing out the deeper themes behind quality investing, judgement, and long-term conviction.

The conversation explores the idea of investing as both an art and a science, touching on vocation, experience, and the role of “gut feel” shaped by years of disciplined analysis. George and David discuss how good investment decisions are rarely about the loudest voice in the room, but about robust process, healthy challenge, and a culture that prioritises sound judgement over short-term noise.

They also reflect on the realities of performance cycles, the behavioural pressures faced by long-term investors, and why clear communication and alignment with like-minded clients matter just as much as returns. Drawing parallels between Castlebay’s own philosophy and Evenlode’s approach, the discussion reinforces the importance of patience, compounding, and holding quality businesses through periods when markets and fundamentals diverge.

A thoughtful, honest conversation on staying the course, building resilient portfolios, and why some of the most compelling opportunities often appear when conviction is hardest to maintain.

In this episode of Castlebay Conversations, host George Ladds sits down with Ben Peters, Co-Founder and Portfolio Manager at Evenlode Investment, for a thoughtful discussion on long-term investing in a world dominated by short-term noise.

Ben shares his unconventional journey into investment management, from physicist and science teacher to fund manager, and explains how this background shapes Evenlode’s calm, disciplined philosophy. The conversation explores the thinking behind the Evenlode Global Income Fund—a strategy built around owning high-quality, cash-generative businesses with resilient returns on capital and management teams focused on the long term.

Together, George and Ben delve into what “quality” really means, why patience is so hard to practise (yet so powerful), and how valuation discipline, behavioural awareness, and stewardship help investors stay grounded through periods of market excitement and relative underperformance. Ben also reflects on income investing, balancing current yield with sustainable dividend growth, and why today’s market environment may present an unusually compelling opportunity for long-term investors willing to think differently.

A wide-ranging and reflective conversation on investing with conviction, clarity, and perspective—well beyond the next quarter.

In this post-meeting discussion, George Ladds is joined by David Ridland, Partner at Castlebay Investments, to reflect on their recent conversation with fund manager Michael Crawford.

George and David unpack some of the key themes from the meeting, including the difference between true long-term sustainability and fashionable ESG labels, and why cultural integrity, capital discipline, and alignment with company management matter more than buzzwords. They explore the idea of company life cycles — growth, maturity, and decline — and how this framework helps investors judge quality, value, and future return potential more clearly.

The discussion also touches on the tensions within global equity income investing, challenging the assumption that every holding must generate income today, and explaining why a blend of growth, compounding businesses, and higher-yielding mature companies can lead to more resilient long-term outcomes.

A thoughtful and practical follow-up conversation that highlights the importance of frameworks, patience, and clear thinking in an increasingly noisy investment world.