Sean Emory, Avery & Company

Sean Emory founded Avory and Company in 2016 after working across hedge funds, research, wealth management, private real estate, and investment banking. The firm spent years refining a concentrated equity process in SMA form before bringing it into the ETF wrapper with the Avory Foundational ETF, AVRY. On this episode of Behind the Ticker, Emory lays out the philosophy behind the fund, why he thinks thematic investing usually gets done poorly, and why cash still matters when valuations get stretched.

About Sean Emory and Avory and Company

Avory is a Miami-based investment firm built around one internal phrase: investing forward. Emory's view is that good thematic investing starts by stepping back and asking where the world is going, what friction points that creates, and which businesses are positioned to solve them. The firm is not trying to chase the latest headline theme. It is trying to identify durable categories early, then own the companies with the balance sheet, management, and market position to matter when those categories scale.

Why AVRY Is Called Foundational

The name of the fund is doing real work. Avory looks for industries that are foundational to the future in areas like automation, mobility, identity, health, and education. Inside those industries, the team wants companies that are foundational to the category itself, usually leaders, dominant incumbents, or founder-led operators with deep category knowledge. Emory is not building a hot theme basket. He is trying to own businesses that should still matter after the first wave of excitement passes.

A 20 to 30 Stock Portfolio, Built for a Core Slot

AVRY typically holds 20 to 30 names. Emory thinks that is the right balance between concentration and usability. It is focused enough for stock selection to matter, but not so narrow that advisors have to treat it like a speculative sleeve. He repeatedly comes back to the same positioning point: this is meant to sit alongside large-cap core equity exposure, not off to the side as a novelty trade.

That framing matters because a lot of thematic ETFs are really marketing packages around a narrow idea. Emory is aiming at something broader. He wants exposure to future-facing businesses, but he wants it wrapped in a portfolio construction discipline that can survive outside a perfect narrative tape.

The Six M's and Valuation Discipline

Stock selection runs through what Avory calls the six M's. Emory spends a lot of time on management quality and alignment, but the process does not stop there. Valuation still drives weightings at rebalance, and balance-sheet strength is one of the main tests for whether a company belongs in the portfolio at all. That matters most in categories where the story is easy to sell but the economics are not.

He also makes a clean point on cash. AVRY can carry meaningful cash when the team cannot find enough names that clear the bar at the right price. That is not a trading gimmick. It is a byproduct of refusing to force capital into ideas that look attractive thematically but do not yet make sense fundamentally.

Two Buckets: Secular Winners and Real Transformations

Avory splits the opportunity set into two broad groups. The first is structural secular winners, companies operating in categories where the adoption curve is still early and the direction of travel is clear. The second is established businesses going through real transformation. For those names, Emory looks for three things: balance-sheet strength, management willing to act, and enough ecosystem entrenchment to buy time while the pivot plays out.

That second bucket is where the conversation gets interesting. Emory is not looking for turnarounds built on hope. He is looking for incumbents with the resources and position to change before the ground fully moves under them. That is a much narrower group than the market usually assumes.

Where AVRY Fits in an Advisor Portfolio

Emory's portfolio use case is straightforward. AVRY belongs in the core equity bucket for advisors who want future-oriented exposure without handing the whole allocation to mega-cap benchmarks or story stocks. He argues that some of the smaller companies in the portfolio, especially businesses in the $2 billion to $6 billion range with no debt, strong cash positions, and category leadership, can hold a more durable competitive position inside their niche than much larger companies do in theirs.

That is the real pitch in this episode. AVRY is not about owning the loudest theme. It is about owning the businesses that can compound through it.

Key Takeaways

• Avory's investing forward process starts with where the world is headed, then works backward to the companies positioned to benefit.
• AVRY usually holds 20 to 30 stocks and is designed for a core equity allocation rather than a narrow satellite sleeve.
• The six M's framework emphasizes management quality, valuation discipline, and balance-sheet strength before a position earns weight.
• The portfolio mixes structural secular winners with incumbent businesses going through credible transformation.
• Cash is a live option when valuations get stretched, because Emory would rather wait than force mediocre ideas into the fund.

Listen to the Full Episode

This article is based on an episode of Behind the Ticker, hosted by Brad Roth, Founder and CIO of THOR Financial Technologies. For the full conversation with Sean Emory, including the logic behind AVRY, the six M's process, and how Avory thinks about concentration, cash, and category leadership, listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or watch on YouTube.