Sven Lorenz Sten runs undervaluedshares.com, a subscription service that provides equity research for $49 per year. He has been investing since his teens, worked as a freelance stock‑market journalist, and now travels worldwide to uncover undervalued public‑company opportunities.
Why on‑the‑ground research still matters
Before the internet, annual reports arrived as paper copies and local newspapers listed daily stock prices. To discover hidden listings, investors often flew to the country, collected newspapers, and manually scanned company lists. Although language barriers and differing accounting standards made this difficult, the physical presence gave a clear information advantage—especially in frontier markets where data is scarce.
Even today, certain sectors (e.g., real‑estate) still require site visits. Sten’s recent trip to Egypt illustrates this:
- Egypt is building a new capital east of Cairo, financed by Egyptian, Gulf, and Chinese money.
- Off‑plan property can be bought for < $500 / m².
- Foreign buyers may obtain 10‑year payment plans in Egyptian pounds.
- Purchases are backed by a government guarantee—if the developer defaults, the state either completes the project or refunds the buyer.
Such details are rarely captured in online databases; they emerge only through conversations with developers, lawyers, and local officials.
Community‑driven idea generation
Sten treats his site as a community. He organizes reader trips (e.g., a 30‑person research tour of Poland) and leverages informal networks to spot opportunities. A notable example:
- A lunch with a New York reader led to an in‑depth analysis of Fiverr, which later surged ≈ 900 %.
He stresses that repeated exposure to diverse viewpoints—ranging from elite tech circles to right‑wing bloggers—helps filter out media echo chambers and uncover contrarian theses (e.g., his recent report on Twitter’s future).
Current investment themes
- Technology across borders – Post‑COVID digital transformation fuels growth in U.S., European, Asian, and emerging‑market tech stocks.
- Tech in emerging markets – Cheap, scalable technologies (mobile data, drones, low‑cost sensors) can multiply productivity in regions like Africa, where large tracts of land are under‑utilized.
- Crisis investing – Periods of political or economic turmoil can create deep discounts on assets that later rebound dramatically.
- Example: A London‑listed Iraqi oil stock bought after the 2003 war rose ≈ 100×.
- Current candidates: Venezuela (market‑based reforms, new sovereign bonds), Argentina (recurrent defaults but active equity market), Ukraine (real‑estate yields 7‑9 % with interest rates falling below 10 %). Specialized funds targeting Ukrainian micro‑niches claim double‑digit yields.
Research workflow
- Local brokerage reports – Most countries have at least one broker publishing company analyses; the challenge is gaining access.
- Original filtering – While Bloomberg terminals can generate cheap‑valuation screens (e.g., lowest price‑to‑book in emerging markets), such lists are widely examined, reducing the chance of undiscovered gems.
- Human validation – Direct interviews with company executives, developers, lawyers, and local analysts provide context that data alone cannot.
- Cross‑checking narratives – By speaking to both pro‑ and anti‑establishment sources, Sten attempts to isolate objective facts from media spin.
Outlook for cities, remote work, and retail
Sten believes the post‑pandemic world will feature a hybrid model:
- Cities retain network effects essential for business development and client acquisition; remote tools (Zoom, video conferences) will supplement but not replace in‑person interaction.
- Countryside living may attract some, but large‑scale migration away from urban centers is unlikely.
- Retail will blend online convenience with experiential physical spaces—high‑touch services (e.g., luxury brand concierges) cannot be fully digitized, and vacant high‑street locations may enable new entrepreneurs to launch brands.
Emerging mobility technologies such as passenger drones could further blur the line between urban and rural accessibility for those who can afford them.
Practical takeaways for individual investors
- Seek on‑the‑ground insights in sectors where local regulation, guarantees, or infrastructure projects are pivotal (e.g., real estate, utilities).
- Diversify across themes: combine high‑growth tech exposure with crisis‑play assets that offer deep discounts.
- Leverage community networks to surface ideas that mainstream data screens miss.
- Assess risk vs. upside: crisis assets can deliver outsized returns (e.g., 100×) but may also take longer to materialize or fail entirely.
- Monitor macro trends (interest rates, political reforms) that can unlock value in distressed markets like Ukraine or Venezuela.
By blending data‑driven screening with field research and diverse human perspectives, investors can uncover undervalued opportunities that remain hidden from purely digital analysis.
