JW, thanks for posting.
Mr. Knoll is betting on AVXL to the tune of 2% of his overall portfolio. One can only assume that he, an his research team, did extensive DD and disccussions with management, specifically Dr. M., before deciding that he belived the science and credibility and capability of the CEO before initiating his position in 2016. Worth notting that he has continued to increase his holding since. IMHO, he knows just a bit more about Anavex and biotech investing than some of the posters constantly spreading FUD on this MB. Easy call.
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Knoll has been betting on Medivation for many years. He has been a major shareholder of Medivation since it was a penny stock in 2005, when Knoll first disclosed owning 15% of the company. To be prudent, Knoll has sold some of his Medivation shares since then, but the stock just kept rising as Medivation developed Xtandi, a $2 billion prostate cancer drug, in partnership with a Japanese company. Medivation’s stock has returned 9,664% since Knoll first disclosed his ownership in the company.
“It’s a very very significant position,” Knoll said in an interview, adding that his family trust invests in private companies and real estate in addition to U.S. stocks. “It has been my experience over the years that the way to make real money is to bet on very few companies that are well managed and have high potential and to stay with them as long as they execute.”
Who is Fred Knoll? Born in the U.S., Knoll, 60, says he was raised in Colombia and returned to the U.S. to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He got into the investment business after receiving an MBA from Columbia University, working as a tech analyst for Capital Group, Robert Fleming and General American Investors. Knoll struck out on his own in 1989, starting Knoll Capital Management, which invested his family trust’s money. For a period between 2001 and 2009, he also ran a fund for institutional clients, mostly in Europe. Knoll has always concentrated on small capitalization stocks. He invested in tech companies in the 1990s and gold and mining stocks in the early 2000s.
