Planet MicroCap Podcast | MicroCap Investing Strategies

Finding Asymmetric Opportunities in MicroCaps and Music Royalties with Jerome @UzoCapital

Jun 18, 2025

Discover unique investment strategies with insights from a former Merrill Lynch trader. Jerome shares his barbell approach, balancing stable earnings with riskier bets. Dive into the world of music royalties, where steady cash flow fuels bold investments. Explore the hidden gems within microcaps and learn how personal experiences shape investment choices. Jerome emphasizes due diligence and spotting transformative companies, while discussing the challenges and emotions of navigating market volatility.

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ANECDOTE

Jerome's Music Royalties Journey

Jerome's music royalties business began when he identified growth in streaming despite declines in other music formats.
He transitioned from a weekend hustle to a full-time entrepreneurial venture investing in music IP assets.

ANECDOTE

First Music Deal with Misfits

Jerome's first music deal was buying Misfits publishing rights, blending personal fandom with investment.
The artist shared how the deal helped relaunch his career, showing impact beyond profit.

INSIGHT

Value in Undiscovered Growth

Undiscovered small/micro caps often hide transformational growth within existing businesses.
Looking 2-3 years ahead to where earnings and margins will be is key to identifying value.

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My guest on the show today is Jerome, Portfolio Manager at Uzo Capital. Jerome brings a unique lens to public equity investing—shaped by his experience on the equity trading floor at Merrill Lynch during the financial crisis, his global perspective, and a profitable venture in music royalties.

In this episode, we dive into Jerome’s barbell investment approach: pairing stable, cash-generative compounders with higher-risk, venture-style bets in the public markets. He walks us through how he identifies “asymmetric” opportunities—where the upside far outweighs the downside—particularly in companies that are either undiscovered or undergoing transformational change.

Jerome also shares how his music royalty business, which generates steady, recurring cash flow, provides the emotional and financial runway to take bold swings on high-risk, high-reward ideas. He discusses how this foundation enables him to withstand volatility and dig deeper into ideas that others may overlook.

We cover a lot in this conversation—from PLBY, McCoy Global, and Comstock, to his thesis around durable, capital-light growth businesses and the importance of identifying "free call options" within complex situations. Jerome also lays out a thoughtful framework for due diligence and portfolio sizing that helps manage both risk and conviction. And for full disclosure, we discussed a number of companies during today’s podcast. I am not a shareholder in any of them.

For more information about Uzo Capital, please visit: https://uzocapital.substack.com/

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