Over the last two years, the Third Avenue Value Fund (Trades, Portfolio) investment team has found unusually attractive deep value opportunities across the globe. One significant area of activity is within Continental Europe, where we hold investments in six companies, each initiated within the last two years, with a total portfolio weight of 21.9%. Almost universally, our companies are extremely well-capitalized or even over-capitalized.
The one exception is Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB), which is today well-capitalized yet is embarking on an expensive restructuring. We have pursued purchases at prices which are distressed, using almost any measurement one might choose, yet have purchased businesses that are not even remotely in distress and in many cases have unambiguously very healthy profitability and fortress-like balance sheets.
From Third Avenue Value Fund (Trades, Portfolio)'s second-quarter 2019 portfolio manager commentary.
