Investment idea model basket

Quality Compounders at a Discount

Wide-moat businesses trading below their 5-year average multiple.

What is the thesis for Quality Compounders at a Discount?

Franchise businesses with durable ROIC and reinvestment runway, acquired at multiples that imply zero expansion. Low turnover, long holding period.

This is a curated QuantLink model basket. It is not a filed portfolio, not a fund, and not investment advice.

Published Sep 22, 2025. Updated Mar 18, 2026. Source: QuantLink curated model basket and FastAPI ideas endpoint.

Holdings
7
Benchmark
SPY
Status
Updated
1Y model return
+10.6%

Performance as of Aug 26, 2026.

Thesis narrative

Compounders at a discount — an overused phrase we still believe in

The framing of "quality at a reasonable price" has been abused to justify every richly-valued growth stock of the last cycle. We hold ourselves to a stricter bar: multiple < 5-year average, ROIC > 15%, organic growth > inflation + 3%.

Why now

Multiple compression across the quality cohort over the last eighteen months has created entry points that only appear every 4–6 years. The set is small — seven names made our screen.

Holding period

We model this book on a 7-year horizon. Annual turnover target: <15%. Most positions will never be trimmed; they will be allowed to compound.

What's explicitly not here

  • No "mega-cap growth at any price" names
  • No businesses where ROIC relies on leverage
  • No cyclicals at peak earnings

Model basket holdings

Model basket: curated equal or target weighting, not a filed portfolio. Weights are the target basket weights returned by the live ideas endpoint.

NameSymbolModel weight
MicrosoftMSFT18.00%
VisaV16.00%
Moody'sMCO14.00%
Canadian Pacific Kansas CityCP12.00%
Canadian National RailCNI12.00%
Church & DwightCHD14.00%
CintasCTAS14.00%

Backtested performance vs SPY

Performance is backtested from the returned tearsheet series. It reflects the model basket methodology and benchmark series, not live fund returns or a filed portfolio track record. Performance as of Aug 26, 2026.

Total Return

+10.6%

↓ SPY +18.3%

Ann. Return

+10.8%

↓ SPY +18.7%

Ann. Vol

13.5%

↑ SPY 12.9%

Sharpe

0.80

↓ SPY 1.45

Max Drawdown

-12.2%

↓ SPY -9.1%

Alpha vs SPY

+4.0%

↓ hit rate 46.4%

Performance as of Aug 26, 2026.

Rolling Performance vs Benchmark

Portfolio Holdings

Holding
Weight
Country
Exchange
Sector
Industry
Mkt Cap
Price
1Y
1Y Trend
MSFT
MSFTMicrosoft
18.0%
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
V
VVisa
16.0%
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
CHD
CHDChurch & Dwight
14.0%
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
CTAS
CTASCintas
14.0%
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
MCO
MCOMoody's
14.0%
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
CNI
CNICanadian National Rail
12.0%
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
CP
CPCanadian Pacific Kansas City
12.0%
—
—
—
—
—
—
—

SSR performance series fallback

The table below is the server-rendered reference series behind the interactive chart. Values show the wealth index level from a 1.00 starting value, not a second 1Y return figure. Series as of Aug 26, 2026.

DateModel basket wealth indexSPY
Aug 27, 20251.0000x1.0000x
Aug 28, 20250.9937x1.0035x
Aug 29, 20250.9971x0.9976x
Sep 2, 20250.9900x0.9902x
Sep 3, 20250.9903x0.9955x
Sep 4, 20250.9962x1.0039x
Sep 5, 20250.9868x1.0009x
Sep 8, 20250.9846x1.0034x
Sep 9, 20250.9808x1.0057x
Sep 10, 20250.9737x1.0086x
Sep 11, 20250.9878x1.0170x
Sep 12, 20250.9822x1.0167x
Sep 15, 20250.9824x1.0221x
Sep 16, 20250.9812x1.0207x
Sep 17, 20250.9842x1.0194x
Sep 18, 20250.9709x1.0242x
Sep 19, 20250.9729x1.0264x
Sep 22, 20250.9681x1.0313x
Sep 23, 20250.9596x1.0256x
Sep 24, 20250.9582x1.0224x
Sep 25, 20250.9552x1.0177x
Sep 26, 20250.9613x1.0235x
Sep 29, 20250.9649x1.0264x
Sep 30, 20250.9707x1.0302x
Oct 1, 20250.9753x1.0337x
Oct 2, 20250.9756x1.0349x
Oct 3, 20250.9828x1.0349x
Oct 6, 20250.9850x1.0386x
Oct 7, 20250.9891x1.0348x
Oct 8, 20250.9866x1.0410x
Oct 9, 20250.9736x1.0379x
Oct 10, 20250.9608x1.0099x
Oct 13, 20250.9608x1.0254x
Oct 14, 20250.9658x1.0241x
Oct 15, 20250.9647x1.0287x
Oct 16, 20250.9510x1.0217x
Oct 17, 20250.9627x1.0275x
Oct 20, 20250.9679x1.0382x
Oct 21, 20250.9735x1.0381x
Oct 22, 20250.9711x1.0327x
Oct 23, 20250.9692x1.0389x
Oct 24, 20250.9703x1.0474x
Oct 27, 20250.9701x1.0597x
Oct 28, 20250.9705x1.0625x
Oct 29, 20250.9505x1.0630x
Oct 30, 20250.9485x1.0513x
Oct 31, 20250.9556x1.0548x
Nov 3, 20250.9498x1.0568x
Nov 4, 20250.9529x1.0442x
Nov 5, 20250.9514x1.0479x
Nov 6, 20250.9399x1.0366x
Nov 7, 20250.9460x1.0376x
Nov 10, 20250.9441x1.0538x
Nov 11, 20250.9531x1.0562x
Nov 12, 20250.9567x1.0568x
Nov 13, 20250.9505x1.0393x
Nov 14, 20250.9436x1.0391x
Nov 17, 20250.9335x1.0294x
Nov 18, 20250.9232x1.0208x
Nov 19, 20250.9214x1.0247x
Nov 20, 20250.9173x1.0091x
Nov 21, 20250.9242x1.0192x
Nov 24, 20250.9182x1.0342x
Nov 25, 20250.9313x1.0439x
Nov 26, 20250.9381x1.0511x
Nov 28, 20250.9466x1.0568x
Dec 1, 20250.9399x1.0520x
Dec 2, 20250.9382x1.0540x
Dec 3, 20250.9423x1.0576x
Dec 4, 20250.9411x1.0584x
Dec 5, 20250.9478x1.0604x
Dec 8, 20250.9394x1.0572x
Dec 9, 20250.9390x1.0563x
Dec 10, 20250.9386x1.0633x
Dec 11, 20250.9539x1.0658x
Dec 12, 20250.9539x1.0543x
Dec 15, 20250.9531x1.0527x
Dec 16, 20250.9498x1.0499x
Dec 17, 20250.9547x1.0383x
Dec 18, 20250.9612x1.0461x
Dec 19, 20250.9615x1.0525x
Dec 22, 20250.9664x1.0591x
Dec 23, 20250.9705x1.0639x
Dec 24, 20250.9730x1.0677x
Dec 26, 20250.9737x1.0676x
Dec 29, 20250.9738x1.0637x
Dec 30, 20250.9698x1.0624x
Dec 31, 20250.9617x1.0546x
Jan 2, 20260.9517x1.0565x
Jan 5, 20260.9613x1.0635x
Jan 6, 20260.9729x1.0699x
Jan 7, 20260.9612x1.0664x
Jan 8, 20260.9696x1.0663x
Jan 9, 20260.9693x1.0734x
Jan 12, 20260.9679x1.0751x
Jan 13, 20260.9570x1.0729x
Jan 14, 20260.9607x1.0676x
Jan 15, 20260.9637x1.0705x
Jan 16, 20260.9664x1.0696x
Jan 20, 20260.9518x1.0479x
Jan 21, 20260.9556x1.0600x
Jan 22, 20260.9618x1.0655x
Jan 23, 20260.9654x1.0659x
Jan 26, 20260.9680x1.0713x
Jan 27, 20260.9684x1.0756x
Jan 28, 20260.9625x1.0755x
Jan 30, 20260.9513x1.0701x
Feb 2, 20260.9563x1.0754x
Feb 3, 20260.9424x1.0663x
Feb 4, 20260.9523x1.0612x
Feb 5, 20260.9439x1.0479x
Feb 6, 20260.9514x1.0680x
Feb 9, 20260.9528x1.0732x
Feb 10, 20260.9543x1.0703x
Feb 11, 20260.9530x1.0701x
Feb 12, 20260.9480x1.0536x
Feb 13, 20260.9472x1.0543x
Feb 17, 20260.9470x1.0560x
Feb 18, 20260.9610x1.0613x
Feb 19, 20260.9643x1.0585x
Feb 20, 20260.9671x1.0662x
Feb 23, 20260.9521x1.0553x
Feb 24, 20260.9625x1.0630x
Feb 25, 20260.9676x1.0719x
Feb 26, 20260.9789x1.0660x
Feb 27, 20260.9823x1.0609x
Mar 2, 20260.9842x1.0615x
Mar 3, 20260.9810x1.0521x
Mar 4, 20260.9799x1.0595x
Mar 5, 20260.9779x1.0536x
Mar 6, 20260.9708x1.0398x
Mar 9, 20260.9705x1.0489x
Mar 10, 20260.9589x1.0472x
Mar 11, 20260.9521x1.0459x
Mar 12, 20260.9345x1.0300x
Mar 13, 20260.9336x1.0242x
Mar 16, 20260.9395x1.0346x
Mar 17, 20260.9335x1.0374x
Mar 18, 20260.9151x1.0229x
Mar 19, 20260.9060x1.0204x
Mar 20, 20260.9011x1.0030x
Mar 23, 20260.9102x1.0135x
Mar 24, 20260.8985x1.0101x
Mar 25, 20260.9001x1.0158x
Mar 26, 20260.8905x0.9976x
Mar 27, 20260.8780x0.9806x
Mar 30, 20260.8831x0.9773x
Mar 31, 20260.8932x1.0057x
Apr 1, 20260.8930x1.0133x
Apr 2, 20260.9003x1.0142x
Apr 6, 20260.9024x1.0190x
Apr 7, 20260.8998x1.0195x
Apr 8, 20260.9159x1.0454x
Apr 9, 20260.9166x1.0515x
Apr 10, 20260.9094x1.0508x
Apr 13, 20260.9233x1.0610x
Apr 14, 20260.9306x1.0740x
Apr 15, 20260.9385x1.0824x
Apr 16, 20260.9408x1.0851x
Apr 17, 20260.9525x1.0982x
Apr 20, 20260.9509x1.0960x
Apr 21, 20260.9449x1.0888x
Apr 22, 20260.9485x1.0999x
Apr 23, 20260.9513x1.0956x
Apr 24, 20260.9571x1.1041x
Apr 27, 20260.9588x1.1060x
Apr 28, 20260.9613x1.1006x
Apr 29, 20260.9611x1.1004x
Apr 30, 20260.9623x1.1114x
May 1, 20260.9560x1.1145x
May 4, 20260.9400x1.1104x
May 5, 20260.9422x1.1193x
May 6, 20260.9478x1.1349x
May 7, 20260.9509x1.1314x
May 8, 20260.9446x1.1407x
May 11, 20260.9368x1.1433x
May 12, 20260.9443x1.1416x
May 13, 20260.9369x1.1480x
May 14, 20260.9416x1.1570x
May 15, 20260.9451x1.1431x
May 18, 20260.9646x1.1423x
May 19, 20260.9553x1.1347x
May 20, 20260.9620x1.1463x
May 21, 20260.9616x1.1486x
May 22, 20260.9623x1.1531x
May 26, 20260.9659x1.1608x
May 27, 20260.9710x1.1606x
May 28, 20260.9769x1.1670x
May 29, 20260.9819x1.1699x
Jun 1, 20260.9883x1.1731x
Jun 2, 20260.9804x1.1747x
Jun 3, 20260.9642x1.1664x
Jun 4, 20260.9750x1.1708x
Jun 5, 20260.9777x1.1406x
Jun 8, 20260.9654x1.1432x
Jun 9, 20260.9733x1.1398x
Jun 10, 20260.9700x1.1219x
Jun 11, 20260.9607x1.1409x
Jun 12, 20260.9625x1.1471x
Jun 15, 20260.9665x1.1673x
Jun 16, 20260.9743x1.1604x
Jun 17, 20260.9476x1.1459x
Jun 18, 20260.9434x1.1548x
Jun 22, 20260.9333x1.1512x
Jun 23, 20260.9397x1.1345x
Jun 24, 20260.9442x1.1339x
Jun 25, 20260.9396x1.1356x
Jun 26, 20260.9601x1.1274x
Jun 29, 20260.9559x1.1459x
Jun 30, 20260.9567x1.1549x
Jul 1, 20260.9733x1.1533x
Jul 2, 20260.9993x1.1518x
Jul 6, 20260.9941x1.1618x
Jul 7, 20261.0003x1.1563x
Jul 8, 20260.9869x1.1527x
Jul 9, 20260.9885x1.1625x
Jul 10, 20260.9916x1.1675x
Jul 13, 20261.0075x1.1586x
Jul 14, 20261.0010x1.1627x
Jul 15, 20261.0151x1.1673x
Jul 16, 20261.0469x1.1610x
Jul 17, 20261.0372x1.1495x
Jul 20, 20261.0333x1.1476x
Jul 21, 20261.0205x1.1572x
Jul 22, 20261.0195x1.1559x
Jul 23, 20261.0134x1.1416x
Jul 24, 20261.0181x1.1427x
Jul 27, 20261.0323x1.1430x
Jul 28, 20261.0412x1.1457x
Jul 29, 20261.0413x1.1281x
Jul 30, 20261.0523x1.1470x
Jul 31, 20261.0581x1.1553x
Aug 3, 20261.0712x1.1717x
Aug 4, 20261.0809x1.1928x
Aug 5, 20261.0791x1.1905x
Aug 6, 20261.0789x1.1886x
Aug 7, 20261.0793x1.1958x
Aug 10, 20261.0780x1.1955x
Aug 11, 20261.0817x1.1917x
Aug 12, 20261.0737x1.1946x
Aug 13, 20261.0828x1.2030x
Aug 14, 20261.0782x1.2006x
Aug 17, 20261.0614x1.1949x
Aug 18, 20261.0698x1.1868x
Aug 19, 20261.0796x1.1893x
Aug 20, 20261.0780x1.1793x
Aug 21, 20261.0892x1.1842x
Aug 24, 20261.1019x1.1807x

Themes and category

Investment ideaQualityDefensive Income

Methodology and caveats

QuantLink fetches this idea from the live FastAPI ideas endpoints and renders the returned title, thesis, holdings, themes, benchmark, and tearsheet fields directly. Missing fields are left unavailable rather than fabricated.

Holdings are a curated model basket. They are not 13F filings, not insider filings, not adviser holdings, and not a claim that any person or fund owns the basket.

Backtested performance depends on the returned basket weights, benchmark, rebalancing assumptions, available price history, and calculation choices in the tearsheet endpoint. Backtests can differ materially from live results and do not include every cost, tax, capacity, liquidity, or execution constraint an investor may face.

Equal-weight and target-weight baskets can drift between rebalance points. Rebalancing can increase turnover, and concentrated thematic baskets can have higher drawdowns than a broad market benchmark.

Frequently asked questions

Research the stocks behind this idea

Use QuantLink's screener and company pages to inspect fundamentals, valuation, and market data after reviewing the public thesis.

Related links

Discovery

Public research

QuantLink is a research tool, not investment advice. This page shows a curated model basket and backtested performance, not a filed portfolio, fund return, or recommendation to buy or sell securities.