Portfolio construction
29 interviews, newest first.
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Spring 2026
Edgar Wachenheim III
Greenhaven Associates
Ed Wachenheim on homebuilders that moved to a land-light model, NVR as the template, and why Greenhaven sits on roughly 48% cash.
HousingPortfolio constructionCareer advice -
Spring 2026
Kevin Salimian
Voxel Capital Partners
A concentrated long-only fund launching in 2026 with AI at the center. Kevin covers position sizing, on-the-ground research and what AI means for software companies.
AITechnologyPortfolio constructionBuilding a firm -
Fall 2025
Hendrik Bessembinder
Arizona State University
The professor behind the finding that a small share of stocks creates most of the market's wealth. He talks about the losers, what diversification really protects against, and his new work on founder CEOs.
Academic researchPortfolio construction -
Spring 2025
Beeneet Kothari
Tekne Capital Management
Tekne holds about 10 technology names outside the US. Beeneet explains how he picks them, whether he hedges, and why the AI debate is the only one that matters to him right now.
TechnologyAIInternationalPortfolio construction -
Spring 2025
Benjamin Beneche & Ramesh Narayanaswamy
Tourbillon Investment Partnership
Tourbillon's three pillars (fulcrum assets, symbiotic loops and outlier management) and a long section on Nintendo and the Switch 2.
InternationalPortfolio constructionBuilding a firm -
Spring 2024
Jennifer Oppold
Alpine Peaks Capital
Jennifer started Alpine Peaks in 2017 after a decade at Select Equity. She runs long/short and long-only books and walks through Inter Parfums, HEICO and Trex.
Quality compoundersShort sellingPortfolio constructionBuilding a firm -
Fall 2023
Yaron Naymark
1 Main Capital
Yaron started 1 Main Capital in 2018. He covers sizing, why he sells purely on valuation, and two ideas: dentalcorp and IWG's move to a 15% management-fee model.
Special situationsPortfolio constructionInternational -
Fall 2022
Christopher Bloomstran
Semper Augustus
Chris on 24 years of running a concentrated book at Semper Augustus, Berkshire's history, his advice to Disney on capital, and why Ross Stores is one of his biggest mistakes.
Quality compoundersJudging managementPortfolio construction -
Fall 2021
Rudi van Niekerk
Desert Lion Capital
Rudi came from private equity and launched Desert Lion in 2019 to invest in South Africa. He covers capital allocation there, Naspers and Prosus, and the country's place in platinum-group metals.
InternationalPortfolio construction -
Spring 2021
Brian Bares
Bares Capital Management
Brian Bares on running a concentrated small-cap book: heavy qualitative research, no screens, and positions that can reach 15%.
Small capsPortfolio constructionBuilding a firm -
Fall 2019
Mohnish Pabrai
Pabrai Funds
Mohnish on the difference between compounding a portfolio and owning compounders, why he avoids borrowed money and shorts, IPSCO and GrafTech, and investing in South Korea.
Deep valueInternationalPortfolio construction -
Fall 2019
Matthew Peterson
Peterson Capital Management
Matthew's three tests for a business, how he builds a portfolio, and why he bought Daily Journal.
Quality compoundersPortfolio construction -
Fall 2018
Scott Miller
Greenhaven Road Capital
Scott ran businesses before starting Greenhaven Road in 2011. He talks about autonomous vehicles, sizing, and Etsy, TripAdvisor, Fiat Chrysler and Scheid Vineyards, a family wine company whose land is worth twice the share price.
Small capsSpecial situationsPortfolio construction -
Winter 2018
David Poppe & John Harris
Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb
The heirs to Bill Ruane's firm on how they grew as investors, running a concentrated portfolio, and two favorite ideas: Google and Credit Acceptance.
Quality compoundersPortfolio construction -
Spring 2017
Clifford Sosin
CAS Investment Partners
Cliff runs a very concentrated, long-term book. He goes deep on two controversial ideas, Herbalife and World Acceptance, and gives some unusual career advice.
Portfolio constructionCareer advice -
Winter 2015
Andrew Wellington
Lyrical Asset Management
Lyrical's founder on how he builds a portfolio, with Avis, Hertz and AerCap among the investments he uses to show how he thinks.
Portfolio constructionDeep value -
Fall 2014
Wally Weitz
Weitz Investment Management
Wally on how his philosophy changed over the years, the discount he needs before he's interested, poking holes in a thesis, and how much cash he's willing to hold.
Judging managementPortfolio construction -
Spring 2014
Arnold Van Den Berg & Jim Brilliant
Century Management
On discipline in money management and building a framework and a mental database from experience to make better decisions.
Portfolio constructionCareer advice -
Winter 2014
Ken Shubin Stein
Ken on the structural and behavioral sides of investing and the methods his firm uses to improve its process, with present and past ideas.
Portfolio construction -
Fall 2013
Guy Spier
Aquamarine Capital
Guy on going from Oxford and investment banking to managing money for friends and family, using checklists, cloning Mohnish Pabrai, his lunch with Buffett, and his position in Fiat.
Career advicePortfolio construction -
Spring 2013
Preston Athey
T. Rowe Price
A T. Rowe Price vice president on the idea in the interview's title: holding winners longer.
Small capsPortfolio construction -
Winter 2013
Frank Martin
Martin Capital Management
Frank picks stocks bottom-up but spends a lot of time on the macro picture. He explains his conservative positioning and the behavioral traps he works to avoid.
Macro and marketsPortfolio construction -
Spring 2012
Alex Roepers
Atlantic Investment Management
Alex went from 'Mr. Divestiture' at an industrial conglomerate to his own firm. He keeps a very concentrated portfolio inside his circle of competence and explains Joy Global and Owens-Illinois.
Portfolio constructionSpecial situations -
Spring 2012
Robert Luciano
VGI Partners
'Concentrate capital in your best ideas.' Robert's approach follows Buffett closely; he explains his theses on Oracle and WD-40.
Quality compoundersPortfolio construction -
Fall 2011
Leon Cooperman
Omega Advisors
Lee looks back on his career from Goldman to Omega, explains how the firm builds its portfolio, and lays out top ideas including Sallie Mae, Transocean and Boston Scientific.
Portfolio constructionCareer advice -
Winter 2011
Artie Williams, Jennifer Wallace & Judd Kahn
Summit Street Capital Management
A disciplined long-only fund that starts from a consistent process built on valuation and business-quality measures.
Quality compoundersPortfolio construction -
Fall 2010
Danilo Santiago & Claudio Skilnik
Rational Asset Management
Two CBS alumni engineers from São Paulo run a long-short fund on a fixed universe of 85 companies that mirror the US economy.
Portfolio constructionBuilding a firm -
Winter 2009
Bruce Berkowitz
Fairholme Capital Management
Bruce runs Fairholme as if his investors had all their money in it. He talks about 'don't lose' as rule number one and what growing up around bookmaking taught him about odds.
Portfolio constructionDeep value -
Summer/Fall 2008
Mohnish Pabrai
Pabrai Funds
'Heads I win, tails I don't lose that much.' Mohnish on discovering value investing at 30 through a Peter Lynch book on a flight, and why most of the fund industry ignored Buffett's laws of investing.
Deep valuePortfolio construction