Chuck Akre – The Three-Legged Stool - [Invest Like the Best, EP.135]

My guest today is Chuck Akre, a now widely famous investor who founded Akre Capital Management in 1989, which now manages approximately $10B dollars. We discuss his investing style and his “three-legged stool” for evaluating companies. Please enjoy this great conversation. 

For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.

Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub.

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Show Notes

1:06 - (First Question) – Advantage of being in Middleburg, Virginia

2:11 – What a day looks like for Chuck

3:06 – Why imagination is more important than knowledge

3:38 – Difference between curiosity and imagination

4:38 – The origins of the Nirvana Three-Legged Stool concept

10:14 – First leg of the stool, Extraordinary business and ROE’s with a focus on Bandag.

14:36 – How his evaluations of value has changed over the last 10-15 years

16:10 – A look at recent businesses that he’s bought and why they are interesting

19:56 – Why they keep things simple

21:35 – Second leg of the stool, the people involved and characteristics of managers he has invested in

23:20 – Role of capital allocation in the people he focuses on

28:03 – Favorite biographies

            28:22 – 100 to 1 in the Stock Market: A Distinguished Security Analyst Tells How to Make More of Your Investment Opportunities

29:34 – Third leg of the stool, reinvestment

21:09 – How does he think about diversifying across an investment area

33:32 – Great businesses wrapped in a bad balance sheet

37:35 – What would cause him to sell

38:52 – What does he look for in people

43:27 – How curiosity has impacted his interest in land conservation

43:51 – Advice for investors, especially younger ones

46:14 – Kindest thing anyone has done for him

Learn More

For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. 

Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub

Follow Patrick on twitter at @patrick_oshag