Lee Ainslie - Hedge Fund Maverick - [Invest Like the Best, EP. 341]

My guest today is Lee Ainslie, the founder of Maverick Capital. Lee started his investing career at Tiger Management where he worked for Julian Robertson. In 1993, he left to start Maverick and has built the firm into one of the top-performing hedge funds of the last 30 years. Lee doesn’t speak in public often so this is a fascinating insight into what it takes to build an enduring investment business - both psychologically and operationally. Throughout the conversation, we flick between his lessons building Maverick, his perspective on the market, and what he’s learned about the craft of investing. I hope you enjoy this great conversation with Lee Ainslie.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. 

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

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Show Notes

(00:03:00) - (First question) - Lee tells us about his relationship with Steve Mandel

(00:04:29) - Why he thinks Steve gave him a hand into the role he excelled at

(00:07:22) - The concept behind investment talent

(00:13:08) - Steps he takes to hire the right individuals for his team

(00:16:14) - Why he stepped out on his own to start Maverick Capital

(00:18:77) - The hardest parts about launching the business itself

(00:20:48) - What he thinks makes for a great investment or stock purchase

(00:25:16) - How Maverick maintains its edge over other comparable firms

(00:28:31) - Features of a business that get his attention in a unique way

(00:32:03) - What he learned from Sol Price

(00:33:50) - He explains portfolio construction and risk

(00:38:21) - The difficult aspects of portfolio construction

(00:42:04) - How zero interest rates affected the long short style of investing

(00:47:22) - Positioning his team for success against other competitors 

(00:50:32) - How private market activity can affect public market activity 

(00:54:27) - Software companies and their strengths and weaknesses in the investment market

(00:59:33) - Things he tells his team to watch for

(01:04:10) - What Lee's learned about money

(01:07:02) - The most important conversation he’s had in Mavericks history 

(01:12:38) - Advice for senior executives trying to pass on responsibilities to others

(01:17:54) - What the next ten years for Maverick Capital look like 

(01:20:42) - Things Lee and Warren Buffett disagree on

(01:20:04) - Three active managers he would study 

(01:24:11) - The components of a great investment pitch

(01:25:08) - The hardest question anyone could ask him

(01:28:48) - What he thinks is important having started Maverick Ventures 

(01:31:32) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for Lee