Discover Capital

What Discover Capital does

Discover Capital GmbH is a privately held German investment boutique headquartered in Augsburg, founded in 2004 by Stephan Hornung and Christian Struck, who previously worked at DJE Kapital AG and CMW GmbH Family Office. The firm specializes in fundamental analysis of undervalued European equities and securities, operating under a value-investing philosophy articulated across three themes: Value (attractive businesses at good prices), Deep Value (below intrinsic value), and Events (arbitrage, squeeze-outs, takeovers). The company advises four public funds (SQUAD Value, SQUAD Growth, SQUAD Point Five, and SQUAD Green Balance) and operates the SQUAD Fonds platform, which aggregates eight boutique funds. Regulatory activity is conducted as a contractually tied agent (vertraglich gebundener Vermittler) under PEH Wertpapier AG, a BaFin-supervised bank that provides the liability umbrella and EdW membership.

The core product portfolio is a mix of mixed, equity, and ESG funds: SQUAD Value (pan-European mixed fund), SQUAD Growth (European growth-value equities), SQUAD Point Five (international small-cap deep value), and SQUAD Green Balance (ESG-screened European equities). The SQUAD Fonds platform extends the business model beyond proprietary funds by offering external fund advisors seed money, marketing, and Vertrieb (distribution) services, enabling them to focus on stock-picking. Revenue is generated through recurring advisory fees on AUM across the four funds plus platform economics from the eight-fund boutique aggregation.

The go-to-market is sales-led, targeting retail and institutional investors seeking value-oriented European equity exposure, plus external fund advisors seeking infrastructure to launch independent funds. Distribution is primarily through PEH Wertpapier AG as the regulatory Haftungsdach within Germany and Europe, supplemented by a multi-channel marketing stack including HubSpot (CRM/email/landing pages), LinkedIn Ads and Insight Tag, Instagram, YouTube, StreamYard, and webinars organized via CSN Communication Service Network. The firm has no external funding rounds, no subsidiaries, and operates with a small team (1–10 employees), indicating an organic, founder-led boutique model.

Name

Discover Capital

Legal name

Discover Capital GmbH

Website

https://discover-capital.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Discover Capital GmbH is a German investment boutique founded in 2004 that advises four public equity funds (SQUAD Value, Growth, Point Five, Green Balance) and operates the SQUAD Fonds platform connecting eight boutique funds. The firm specializes in value-oriented European equity analysis under PEH Wertpapier AG as a tied agent.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investment Management (Value Investing Boutiques)

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Emerging Manager / Seeding Platforms (Multi-Manager) (FSANAGAF)

Keywords

• Value investing funds
• European equity funds
• Fund advisory services
• ESG investment funds
• Fund boutique platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Augsburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Fund Advisory Services: Discover Capital GmbH advises investment funds and generates revenue through advisory fees for managing four public funds (SQUAD Value, SQUAD Growth, SQUAD Point Five, SQUAD Green Balance). They also support external fund advisors through the SQUAD Fonds platform.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Discover Capital GmbH is an investment boutique that advises four public European equity/mixed funds (SQUAD Value, SQUAD Growth, SQUAD Point Five, SQUAD Green Balance) and operates the SQUAD Fonds platform providing seed capital, marketing, and distribution support to external independent fund advisors. The firm specializes in value investing analysis of undervalued European stocks and securities, operating as a contractually tied agent under PEH Wertpapier AG's regulatory umbrella.

Product overview

Discover Capital GmbH is an investment boutique founded in 2004 that specializes in analyzing undervalued, value-oriented stocks and securities from Europe. The company advises four public retail funds under the SQUAD brand and operates the SQUAD Fonds platform for external fund advisors. The core product portfolio includes SQUAD Value (value/deep value/event-driven mixed fund), SQUAD Growth (European growth equity fund), SQUAD Point Five (international undervalued equities with momentum), and SQUAD Green Balance (ESG/sustainable European equities). The SQUAD Fonds platform serves as an umbrella connecting multiple fund boutiques with seed capital, marketing, and distribution support, allowing fund advisors to focus on stock-picking.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SQUAD Value: Mixed fund (Mischfonds) focusing on Value Investing, Deep Value, and Events investment themes across Europe
• SQUAD Growth
• SQUAD Point Five
• SQUAD Green Balance

Products and services

• SQUAD Value Mixed fund (Mischfonds) concentrating on three investment themes: Value Investing (attractive business models at favorable prices), Deep Value (valuation below intrinsic value), and Events (arbitrage, squeeze-outs, and takeovers). Geographically focused on Europe.
• SQUAD Growth Equity fund investing in European growth stocks, particularly small and mid caps. Actively allocates cash and bonds alongside equities. Focuses on growth companies that are attractively valued according to value criteria ('Growth-Value'), with speculative turnaround situations as supplementary holdings.
• SQUAD Point Five
• SQUAD Green Balance
• SQUAD Fonds Platform

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• DJE Kapital AG: German independent value-investing house where Discover Capital's founders (Hornung, Struck) previously worked. Operates value-tilted Publikumsfonds and institutional mandates — directly comparable strategy, geography, and distribution channels.
• Squirrel Investment: Independent value boutique running an international small/mid-cap fund ('Buy $1 for 50 cents' philosophy) — directly comparable strategy and retail pitch to Discover Capital's SQUAD Point Five fund.
• GANÉ Aktiengesellschaft: German value boutique founded by a former DJE alumnus, running value-oriented Publikumsfonds. Highly comparable on philosophy (value, quality at reasonable price), German retail focus, and boutique scale.
• Greiff Capital Management: Augsburg-area German boutique running value and special-situations funds; geographic and thematic overlap with Discover Capital, both serving German retail and intermediary channels with value-tilted mandates.
• Acatis Investment GmbH: German independent value manager offering multiple Publikumsfonds with value, deep-value, and special-situations mandates — overlaps with SQUAD Value's strategy and competes for the same German retail/intermediated channel.
• Shareholder Value Management AG: Frankfurt-based value boutique running Publikumsfonds with deep-value and event-driven themes; comparable in strategy, German distribution focus, and boutique scale to Discover Capital's SQUAD Value offering.
• Value Intelligence Advisors GmbH: Bonn-based German value boutique running Publikumsfonds focused on European equities — comparable in strategy and distribution model to Discover Capital's core SQUAD Value proposition.

Regional players

• PRIMA Fonds Union Investment: Austrian/German-speaking value fund range offering; comparable in DACH value-investing retail distribution though operating under a broader union network rather than as an independent boutique.

Broad incumbents

• Flossbach von Storch: Established German multi-boutique asset manager offering a broad fund range including value strategies; overlaps with Discover Capital's SQUAD funds but at much greater scale and brand recognition within German retail.
• EQT (Motherbrain / fund-of-funds platform): Large multi-manager / seeding platform with institutional scale; comparable to Discover Capital's SQUAD Fonds platform in the structural sense of aggregating emerging managers under a distribution umbrella, though at vastly larger scale and breadth.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Discover Capital