From the Engine Room

When our investment team is deep in analysis, even our usually busy open-plan office takes on the feel of a reading room. Not quite as magnificent as the 300-year-old ceremonial hall of the Austrian National Library, but just as quiet. And for good reason. This is where knowledge is built.

Things only start moving when reading and research demand action. A new position clearly belongs in the portfolio. Or an existing one no longer does and is sold with discipline.

Activity, in itself, is not the goal

Anyone who entrusts their wealth to a professional portfolio manager rightly expects value in return. But what ultimately matters is not how busy we look, it is the outcome over time. In fact, excessive trading can be counterproductive. Every trade comes at a cost, whether through bid-ask spreads or transaction fees.

People and machines

The Gutmann equity team understands this well and focuses consistently on the right levers. Portfolio adjustments are made with careful judgment, supported by sophisticated analytical tools. Always with a clear objective: to keep costs for our clients as low as possible.

The same principle applies in fixed income. The best costs are those that never arise in the first place. For many years, the Gutmann bond team has been firmly anchored in the primary market, where new bonds are issued. In 2025 alone, we participated in around 470 new issues for our bond funds. That is not only notable, it is also beneficial for returns. New issues often come with a premium, as issuers aim to place their bonds successfully. As a result, yields are frequently higher than those available in the secondary market.

Portfolio management is driven by many small adjustments made by the Chief Investment Office. Not all of them are visible from the outside. That is precisely why, with the Gutmann Viewpoint, I regularly offer you a look into the engine room of our bank. The better you understand our decisions, the stronger your confidence in our expertise becomes.

P.S. The first Gutmann Viewpoint was published in June 2020. Thank you for your loyalty across more than 230 editions. For those who enjoy numbers: taken together, they amount to roughly 360 pages in Word. The next edition will arrive in your inbox on January 16, 2026.

The entire Gutmann team wishes you restful holidays. Stay healthy, and let us begin the new year together with confidence and success.