Brandes seeks to be a disciplined, bottom-up, value-focused investor that undertakes meticulous fundamental research and analysis before we make an investment decision. The mandate we have given our analysts is clear and compelling. They are responsible for seeking out attractive opportunities that others may overlook or dismiss—in fact, that is the focus of our entire investment team. At Brandes, our valuation process aims to identify the intrinsic merit of a specific business and searches for a margin of safety (the discount of market price to our estimate of intrinsic value) using durable standards such as price/earnings, price/cash flow and price/book value. Our analysts are not retained to serve as advocates whose role is to recommend securities they favor. Rather, they are charged with the essential task of helping us find businesses that truly deserve our clients’ resources.
Brent Woods is a limited partner of the firm’s parent company. He is a member of the International Large-Cap Investment Committee, a member of the Investment Oversight Committee, which monitors the processes and activities of the firm’s investment committees, and an officer of the firm’s general partner. Previously, he was the firm’s Chief Executive Officer and prior to that he was a Managing Director, Investments Group, which is responsible for Brandes’ securities research efforts and oversight of the product investment committees. He earned his AB (Phi Beta Kappa) from Princeton University, his Master’s in international studies from St. John’s College at Cambridge University, England, and his JD (cum laude) from Harvard Law School. His relevant experience began in 1995 when he joined Brandes Investment Partners.