By Scott Ronalds

I recently got back from a holiday in Europe. My wife and I crammed a lot into three weeks: Rome, the Amalfi coast, Tuscany, the Adriatic coast, Verona, Venice and Paris. #Yolo, as my niece says. It was our first time to Italy and France, and we took away many great memories, impressions, and carbs.

One thing that stuck out was the uniqueness and authenticity of each area we visited. In investment terms, every city or region had its own competitive advantage that couldn’t be replicated anywhere else.

Rome had its monuments, architecture and colossal fleet of Vespas. Amalfi was the mecca of anything lemon-related (pastries, limoncello, candles, etc.). The pizza in and around Naples was museum worthy. The wine, gelato, pasta and cypress trees in Tuscany made you sit down to catch your breath. Verona had the most storied balcony in Europe (courtesy of Romeo and Juliet). Venice’s gondoliers were the epitome of charm (at least in my wife’s view). And Paris … pain au chocolat, croissants and palaces that were unrivaled.

Each place we visited was the best at something, be it culinary, cultural, architectural or other. This is a key criteria our managers use in their assessment of companies. They look for best-in-class businesses that have a unique advantage over their competitors, whether it be intellectual property, manufacturing and scale, scientific patents, privileged access to natural resources, or some other leg up.

Another key investment consideration is price. A company may have a clear advantage over its competition, but if it trades at a high valuation, it may not represent a good investment. Our managers focus intently on paying what they believe to be a reasonable price for a business. This is a skill that comes largely with experience. I’ve determined that it can also be applied to travel. Venice, for example, trades at a high multiple in relation to Florence, Siena and other cities. In my opinion, the premium multiple isn’t warranted. Paris, on the other hand, is an expensive city that’s worthy of its high price.

In my view, investing and travel have a lot in common: you want to find competitive advantages at good prices. Elaine (our CFO) still won’t budge, however, on letting me write off the trip.

It’s always nice to come home to Vancouver, which has its own competitive advantages and is the best at other things (sadly, hockey wasn’t one of them this year). But I’m dearly missing the pasta, brunellos, cappuccinos and croissants. Did I mention the pasta?