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The Model: 37 Years Investing in Asian Equities
Richard H. Lawrence, Jr. founded Overlook Investments in Hong Kong in 1991. Since inception, Overlook has grown at 14.3% per year for three decades―a remarkable record of growth that is testament to a consistent ability to find and invest in Asia’s best companies.
This raises two important How did Overlook achieve its success; and how can Overlook best ensure future success?
Now, in a level of detail never before disclosed, Richard and the Overlook executive team turn the lens inward to analyse The Overlook Model. They describe the philosophies, practices and people that drive Overlook’s outperformance. Welcome to The Model .
The Model is composed primarily of stories―of the people, companies, executives and events that have punctuated three decades at Overlook. There are stories of success, but also stories of problems and failure. This is how Overlook learned and grew. The two principal stories are a pulsating case study of the voracious 1997/98 Asian Crisis; and an extended review of TSMC, Asia’s finest public company.
A sharp focus is also placed on the constituent elements of The Overlook Overlook’s Investment Philosophy and Business Practices, which add up to Overlook’s Margin of Safety. This analysis of investment theory–how an investment management company should be run–illustrates how Overlook is able to say with confidence that it can nearly guarantee delivery of outperformance to its investors.
And where would Overlook be without China? Overlook’s experiences in Asia reflect the ways that Overlook’s methods of investing have succeeded while Asia grew and matured over the past three decades. For this reason, The Model contains a series of chapters charting Overlook’s path in China.
Finally, the Overlook executives provide a series of delightful chapters including The Art of Selling; an interview with Jeffrey Lu Minfang; a panel discussion on Overlook’s home city of Hong Kong; and thoughts on ESG.
The Model is a celebration of three decades of success in investing in Asia. It gives Richard Lawrence, along with James Squire, Leonie Foong and William Leung, the opportunity to Just how did Overlook do it; and can Overlook keep doing it in the future?
All proceeds from the sale of the book will go to support Proyecto Mirador, a non-profit that builds fuel-efficient cookstoves in rural communities across Central America.
This raises two important How did Overlook achieve its success; and how can Overlook best ensure future success?
Now, in a level of detail never before disclosed, Richard and the Overlook executive team turn the lens inward to analyse The Overlook Model. They describe the philosophies, practices and people that drive Overlook’s outperformance. Welcome to The Model .
The Model is composed primarily of stories―of the people, companies, executives and events that have punctuated three decades at Overlook. There are stories of success, but also stories of problems and failure. This is how Overlook learned and grew. The two principal stories are a pulsating case study of the voracious 1997/98 Asian Crisis; and an extended review of TSMC, Asia’s finest public company.
A sharp focus is also placed on the constituent elements of The Overlook Overlook’s Investment Philosophy and Business Practices, which add up to Overlook’s Margin of Safety. This analysis of investment theory–how an investment management company should be run–illustrates how Overlook is able to say with confidence that it can nearly guarantee delivery of outperformance to its investors.
And where would Overlook be without China? Overlook’s experiences in Asia reflect the ways that Overlook’s methods of investing have succeeded while Asia grew and matured over the past three decades. For this reason, The Model contains a series of chapters charting Overlook’s path in China.
Finally, the Overlook executives provide a series of delightful chapters including The Art of Selling; an interview with Jeffrey Lu Minfang; a panel discussion on Overlook’s home city of Hong Kong; and thoughts on ESG.
The Model is a celebration of three decades of success in investing in Asia. It gives Richard Lawrence, along with James Squire, Leonie Foong and William Leung, the opportunity to Just how did Overlook do it; and can Overlook keep doing it in the future?
All proceeds from the sale of the book will go to support Proyecto Mirador, a non-profit that builds fuel-efficient cookstoves in rural communities across Central America.
296 pages, Hardcover
Published February 8, 2022
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203 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 5, 2022
As suggested by description of the book, it is one that focuses more on the historical events, learnings and their implications on Overlook's future instead of walking readers through the "how to invest" journey. While there general principals / reasonable discussion of Overlook's investment philosophy, I personally felt that the gem lies in Richard's recount of his good & bad times with real examples i.e. the investments made or passed, be it successful ones or not so successful ones. One cannot walk through history, but through someone's lens, we can seek to appreciate history better, which is why "Part 1 - Bear Markets" was a great start to the book. Personally, "Part 4 the voices of overlook" was my favorite, especially "Art of Selling", which discussed the concept of duration on different buckets of investment categories. Naturally if we have different investment categories, there will be different "timing" to sell for the respective categories.
Two other portions I enjoyed:
- Discussion on MFT gave me interesting perspectives though it might more applicable for aspiring fund managers (some of the discussions also reminded me of Guy Spier's book).
- CWR vs TWR. I did not know about this previously, so it was good learning for me.
One area I felt was lacking (though do keep in mind this is a ~260 page book + such information might be sensitive + context of the book as mentioned above was more on historical events & learnings) was discussion of recent holdings other than TSMC. It would be nice if there were more more sharing of investments made in the last few years across Asia.
breadth ~4/5
depth ~3/5
applicability ~4/5
Two other portions I enjoyed:
- Discussion on MFT gave me interesting perspectives though it might more applicable for aspiring fund managers (some of the discussions also reminded me of Guy Spier's book).
- CWR vs TWR. I did not know about this previously, so it was good learning for me.
One area I felt was lacking (though do keep in mind this is a ~260 page book + such information might be sensitive + context of the book as mentioned above was more on historical events & learnings) was discussion of recent holdings other than TSMC. It would be nice if there were more more sharing of investments made in the last few years across Asia.
breadth ~4/5
depth ~3/5
applicability ~4/5
January 22, 2023
One of the better investing books I have read in recent years.
Overlook specializes in investing in Asia for the past 37 years, with great trade record. The core philosophy is to buy quality growth companies with good valuation, and hold them for long time horizon. This is nothing special - most PMs aim to achieve something similar.
What I find unique about Overlook is:
1. Relatively concentrated - 20-24 holdings, with turnover about 20-30% a year.
2. Holding period - many example stocks were held for 4-6 years, some held for 10-20 years.
3. Deep engagement with management - even able to influence management decisions on strategies.
4. Categorize investments into four buckets, with different intended holding duration. (Tier 1-3, cyclicals, defensive and financial).
5. Emphasize capital weighted return for investors - control inflows at the peak.
The book is also quite fun to read, because Laurence described many examples of both successful and failed investments. What's particularly interesting was his experience during the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis.
A few quotes that I find particularly interesting:
1. You can't swing and miss in a bear market.
2. Prepare for bear markets, don't predict.
3. Bear markets eventually recover, and bull markets eventually die. The cyclicality is built-in.
4. We won't see another bull market until we have forgotten about this one.
5. you make most of your money in a bear market, you just don't realize it at the time.
Overlook specializes in investing in Asia for the past 37 years, with great trade record. The core philosophy is to buy quality growth companies with good valuation, and hold them for long time horizon. This is nothing special - most PMs aim to achieve something similar.
What I find unique about Overlook is:
1. Relatively concentrated - 20-24 holdings, with turnover about 20-30% a year.
2. Holding period - many example stocks were held for 4-6 years, some held for 10-20 years.
3. Deep engagement with management - even able to influence management decisions on strategies.
4. Categorize investments into four buckets, with different intended holding duration. (Tier 1-3, cyclicals, defensive and financial).
5. Emphasize capital weighted return for investors - control inflows at the peak.
The book is also quite fun to read, because Laurence described many examples of both successful and failed investments. What's particularly interesting was his experience during the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis.
A few quotes that I find particularly interesting:
1. You can't swing and miss in a bear market.
2. Prepare for bear markets, don't predict.
3. Bear markets eventually recover, and bull markets eventually die. The cyclicality is built-in.
4. We won't see another bull market until we have forgotten about this one.
5. you make most of your money in a bear market, you just don't realize it at the time.
May 23, 2025
Overlook Investments' record is undeniably impressive, but I came away with more questions than answers after reading "The Model". The root cause is the typical dilemma for any investment book: go into proper detail and you lose the intended retail audience, not enough and you bore the professionals. Perhaps it serves as an example that the best strategies or models are the simplest, but I came away feeling as if there was lots that went unwritten: how they properly diligenced business owners in countries with less emphasis on minority shareholder rights, more on business types and models they liked rather than a precis of each. Maybe it was as simple as buying high ROE, high growth names but that is hardly a secret worth writing a book about.
The two parts where I extracted most value were probably the reports on their time in the Asian Financial Crisis and the importance of closing the fund. On the former, Lawrence writes vividly about the brutal pressures it put on people and the extent of the declines. Memorably, in one letter to investors he describes his fears for the leveraged institutions of the West, having seen its impact in the East. How right he was. On fund closures, it resonated with me because of the dollar destruction of some ETF managers like ARK - take in money after a hot streak and just incinerate capital, so I appreciated someone calling out how objectionable that way of acting is.
The two parts where I extracted most value were probably the reports on their time in the Asian Financial Crisis and the importance of closing the fund. On the former, Lawrence writes vividly about the brutal pressures it put on people and the extent of the declines. Memorably, in one letter to investors he describes his fears for the leveraged institutions of the West, having seen its impact in the East. How right he was. On fund closures, it resonated with me because of the dollar destruction of some ETF managers like ARK - take in money after a hot streak and just incinerate capital, so I appreciated someone calling out how objectionable that way of acting is.
October 6, 2023
I was first introduced to Richard’s investment philosophy at a conference in Hong Kong back in 2017. There wasn't much information available at the time until his book The Model was released.
It did not disappoint.
Richard brings his Overlook Model to life through captivating stories from his own experiences as an investor, like his early investments in Cafe De Coral in the aftermath of the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997.
The tales from his time navigating the volatile Asian Financial Crisis had me on the edge of my seat. His honest thoughts and comments about the situation then are a rare insight into a money manager’s thoughts as he navigates uncharted territory.
As someone born after the crisis, this inside look gave me a whole new appreciation for the massive swings and uncertainty investors faced.
His lessons on bear market investing proved extremely timely. Many of them were applied by me during the sell-off of 2022.
For any investor looking to deepen their understanding of value investing in Asia, I can't recommend this book highly enough. There are few truly insightful books written on the nuances of investing in Asia and this is one of them.
My only wish the book included even more case studies which I hope will be forthcoming when there are future editions (hopefully!) of the book written.
It did not disappoint.
Richard brings his Overlook Model to life through captivating stories from his own experiences as an investor, like his early investments in Cafe De Coral in the aftermath of the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997.
The tales from his time navigating the volatile Asian Financial Crisis had me on the edge of my seat. His honest thoughts and comments about the situation then are a rare insight into a money manager’s thoughts as he navigates uncharted territory.
As someone born after the crisis, this inside look gave me a whole new appreciation for the massive swings and uncertainty investors faced.
His lessons on bear market investing proved extremely timely. Many of them were applied by me during the sell-off of 2022.
For any investor looking to deepen their understanding of value investing in Asia, I can't recommend this book highly enough. There are few truly insightful books written on the nuances of investing in Asia and this is one of them.
My only wish the book included even more case studies which I hope will be forthcoming when there are future editions (hopefully!) of the book written.
April 14, 2022
The author's account of the Asian crises and the lessons an investor can draw from this, make the book a worthwhile purchase just on its own.
In addition Richard candidly shares his experience and incredible 40 year track record investing in Asia. He lays out step by step how he put together the model which his firm uses as its investing framework. The Model covers not just the successful application of value investing in Asia but also the business practices such as a cap on new capital and low fees that have built a sustainable investment firm.
In addition Richard candidly shares his experience and incredible 40 year track record investing in Asia. He lays out step by step how he put together the model which his firm uses as its investing framework. The Model covers not just the successful application of value investing in Asia but also the business practices such as a cap on new capital and low fees that have built a sustainable investment firm.
May 4, 2025
I’m really enjoyed this book. It wasn’t sensational when it talked about the returns. There was also great foundational principles about managing inflows and outflows into a fund. Wen I really enjoyed was all the stories of investing during this unprecedented period of the opening up of China. It makes it even more interesting to me since I was in Thailand over that. And finally since visiting the fund and fund managers there was a regular thing for me as a sell-side analyst. Well done, Richard, James, and the team.
June 6, 2025
I find this book valuable because albeit some self-pampering language that I suspect caters to its LPs, this is a book written by an actual fund manager. And he’s based in Hong Kong. What’s more surprising and interesting is that he shares some examples investing jn China A-share companies. Some of those stock tickers have gone obsolete, but those rules remain intact. The author obviously left some bread and butter out, but that’s understandable.
September 5, 2022
Packed with market wisdom and real-life experiences from investing in Asian equities. Particularly recommend James Squire’s contribution on “The Art of Selling Equities” (pp. 195-209) and Leonie Foong’s interview of Jeffrey Lu (pp. 211-218).
October 6, 2024
Not bad from a micro perspective.
October 5, 2025
Fair book. Not a lot of takeaway, it’s more like a journey of a very successful fund manager.
May 27, 2023
Richard Lawrence has the credibility for writing a book on investing in Asian equities because as far as I know, Overlook is the longest running investment firm based in Hong Kong/Asia and has delivered excellent performance over the period. His investing philosophy resonated with mine and I found the examples from his portfolio, including the chapter devoted on TSMC, very helpful. The segment of the book on bear markets was excellent, so was the ‘art of selling’ chapter from James Squire. What was new to me was Mr Lawrence’s philosophy of managing clients (capping fund size, cutting fees, treating all clients as equal, etc.) and his team (succession planning). While a small handful of managers can deliver good performance, longevity of funds beyond their founders is rare. Mr. Lawrence seems to have figured out the ‘Model’ that ensures just that.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews