What makes companies valuable? It’s their fighting spirit in the face of adversity. They have a track record of best-business-practices, can prove they are constantly working to provide customers with more value, their operational systems work to boost productivity and overall efficiency and their brands are well regarded by customers.

How do we know? Regular pools on the Mediazone websites, interviews with passerby, press reports, public information sources, libraries and a whole host of sources contribute to the decision-making process. It’s a rigourous process but well worth it because the recession has shown that big isn’t best and small isn’t weak. Investors have learnt this the hard way and today as the giants of the investment world are being led to prison, Hong Kong’s boutique investment advice providers are gaining more customer confidence. As the well regarded boss (and now good friend) of AMG, Arnold Yeung said to me lately, “Reputation takes forever to be earned but it can be lost in a second.” I agree. History agrees.