Listen to this EXCLUSIVE & RARE interview from 2015. Francis Chou (founder, Chou Associates) is Canada’s VALUE INVESTOR! An actual early investor (and past colleague) with Francis Chou, a former Bell repairmen, saw his $80,000 grow to $5 million and at the age of 80, will be worth close to $60 million if compounding returns stay consistent. Now, Chou, the deep-value portfolio manager who likes to pay 50 cents on the dollar runs over $1 billion for his loyal investors.
Francis Chou’s Value Investing Lessons:
Relating shopping in India to investing: “It was my job to make sure I was paying the lowest price for the best”
“When you read about great men and women of the past, it is like having a conversation about world affairs in your living It is not only educational but it builds perspective about life and business in general.”
“My first job is to check whether the company in question meets my investment criteria. It could be a good company, a bad company, or it could be a CRAP [cannot realize a profit].”
“I do screens, read a lot, and talk to other talented portfolio managers to see where they are seeing bargains. . . . [And] before you make a purchase, you should look for investors who are negative.”
“Whenever the majority of investors are purchasing securities at prices that implicitly assume that everything is perfect with the world, an economic dislocation or other shock always seems to appear out of the blue. And when that happens, investors learn, once again, that they ignore risk at their own peril”
“We continue to diligently look for undervalued stocks and will buy them only when they meet our price criteria — in other words, when they are priced for imperfection.”
“I’m trying to buy 80 cents for 40 cents. It does not matter whether they are good companies, bad companies, or distressed”
“You’re a businessman . . . you ask, ‘If I were to buy this company, how much would I pay?’”
“Sustainable earning power, business moats, and competitive advantage relate more closely to intrinsic value and therefore are more important than just increases in book value”
Enjoy the interview! 🍿👇 In this conversation, Robin Speziale interviews Francois Rochon, the founder and CEO of Giverny Capital, who shares insights into his investment philosophy, the importance of art in his life, and the dynamics of the current market. Francois discusses his long-term track record, the significance of being fully invested, and the challenges of navigating market drawdowns. He emphasizes the need for prudent valuation, the role of management quality, and the lessons learned from mistakes. The discussion also touches on the Canadian market, and the importance of continuous learning.
DISCLAIMER: This content is for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as offering of investment advice or stock recommendations. This content is based on the author’s independent analysis and research and does not guarantee the information’s accuracy or completeness. The information contained in this video is subject to change without notice, and the author assumes no responsibility to update the information contained in this video. All information contained herein this video should be independently verified with the sources and companies mentioned. The author is not responsible for errors or omissions. The author does not purport to tell or suggest which investment securities viewers should buy or sell for themselves. Those viewers seeking direct investment advice should consult a qualified, registered, investment professional. The author is not a professional or financial advisor, and does not provide financial advice. Viewers are advised to conduct their own due diligence prior to considering buying or selling any stock. The author will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by a viewer’s reliance on information obtained in any of this content. It’s important to understand that investing involves risk, including loss of principal. The author is not engaged in any investor relations agreements with any of the publicly traded companies mentioned. The author does not receive compensation of any kind from any publicly traded companies that are mentioned in any of this content. The author has acquired and may trade shares of some of the companies mentioned through open market transactions and for investment purposes only. Refer to the “author’s ownership disclosure” where applicable. There may be affiliate links to Amazon, and other companies in which the author is compensated if any of the affiliate products are purchased from Amazon.ca/.com or any other companies.
Disclaimers (Giverny Capital):
Returns Rochon Global Portfolio
The Rochon Global portfolio is a private group of personal and family accounts managed by François Rochon, the president of Giverny Capital Inc. (GCI). The Rochon Global portfolio has existed since 1993, that is seven years before the registration of GCI as portfolio manager with the AMF. Although the Rochon Global portfolio serves as a model for GCI’s clients, clients’ portfolio returns can vary. The Rochon Global portfolio returns indicated include trading commissions and dividends but do not include management fees. Portfolio returns of the Rochon Global portfolio have been generated in a different environment than GCI’s clients and this environment is considered controlled. For example, cash deposits and withdrawals can increase the returns of the Rochon Global portfolio. Thus, the portfolio returns of the Rochon Global portfolio are often higher than the returns realized by clients of GCI. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Forward-looking information
Some information set forth in this interview is forward-looking and involves uncertainties and other known and unknown factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated. The assumptions made and the expectations represented are believed to be reasonable at the time they are made, but there can be no assurance that the forward-looking information will prove to be accurate. Actual results or events may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. The interviewee undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements and information contained in this interview.
We’re so back. Depressed valuations, coupled with declining interest rates and returning ‘animal spirits’ are fueling the next bull run in Canadian small caps. And there’s one hedge fund manager in particular who’s capitalizing bigly. In fact, his fund was just named the #1 Hedge Fund by Performance in Canada for 2024…
Up a whopping +74% (net of fees and expenses) for the 12-month period ended June 30, 2024, Jordan Zinberg’s Bedford Park Opportunities Fund was recently awarded first place at the Canadian Hedge Fund Awards for Best 1 Year Return in the Equity-Focused category.
Zooming out, the fund’s 5-year annualized return as of October 31, 2024 stands at an impressive 18.4% net of fees and expenses.
Zinberg got his start at RBC Dominion Securities, and then joined Donville Kent Asset Management (DKAM) in the early years of Jason Donville’s freshly launched hedge fund – contributing to its explosive growth throughout an almost 10-year stretch as Jason’s right hand-man. Then in 2018, Zinberg ventured out to launch his own hedge fund – Bedford Park Capital.
The Bedford Park Opportunities Fund runs a concentrated portfolio of small, and mid-cap Canadian stocks. Among its top holdings are:
Upon closer examination, the multi-baggers $SHLE, and $PRL did most of the heavy lifting for the fund’s record-breaking +74% year. Looking at my own portfolio, I have some overlap with Bedford Park’s top holdings; $MEQ, and $LMN.v.
Bedford Park’s website reveals their 4-pronged approach to investing in the public markets:
You can tune into BNN where Zinberg is frequently featured as a guest on their market Call segment. For Zinberg’s past opinions from the show, you can visit my friends at Stockchase who document all the stocks mentioned on Market Call.
I will absolutely be continuing to follow Jordan Zinberg’s Bedford Park Opportunities Fund into 2025 and beyond. While for anyone it would be challenging to immediately repeat a blow-out year, I’m confident the best is yet to come. Maybe Jordan will share his best ideas for 2025 that I can broadcast to all of you in a future newsletter (stay tuned…).
In other news:
– I’m planning a major relaunch of my Youtube channel, and will be interviewing some amazing CEO’s from my favourite companies across Canada. Subscribe now so you don’t miss the re-launch, and subsequent interviews
– I recently visited Sheldon Inwentash (founder, ThreeD Capital), and his son Jakson at their 130 Spadina Avenue Toronto office. Sheldon has a big vision for his next venture capital firm – ThreeD Capital (CNSX: IDK) – and so I was curious to hear how everything was going – including their key investments. You can listen to our exclusive conversation here(note: I do not hold any ThreeD Capital shares, nor was I paid for this interview)
– You might not know this, but DKAM / Jason Donville is back onX.com (Twitter). You can follow Donville + team here: @DonvilleKent. Notably, DKAM placed 2nd at the Canadian Hedge Fund Awards for the 2024 year. Their fund was up +52%!!
– It’s hard to believe, but my bestselling book Market Masters was released 8 years ago, time flies!
– I stumbled upon a really great clip of Bill Ackman as he opens up about his divorce and then rebuilding life from a low point. Much respect to Bill Ackman for showing this kind of vulnerability. Life’s not always easy…
– Maclean’s has released their annual list of Canada’s Richest People – “an extensively researched ranking of the country’s wealthiest grocers, tech giants, developers, investors and other mega moguls”
– David Barr (PenderFund) released an update on the Pender Small Cap Opportunities fund. You can watch the full video here
– I can’t help but think, what’s going on at Bell Canada ($BCE)? While the 10% divy yield is tempting, I’m a growth investor at the core. Will pass. But is anyone biting?
– VitalHub ($VHI) recently made their their 20th and largest acquisition to-date of Strata Health! Will be exciting to see if VitalHub can become Canada’s next billion dollar company
– WELL Health ($WELL) recently reached a significant milestone, surpassing a $1 billion annualized revenue run-rate with record Q3-2024 revenue of $251.7 million—a 27% increase over Q3-2023, driven by strong organic growth of 23%. Tremendous progress!
– Stocks & Stones recently revealed some shocking, and encouraging stats from the TSX Venture exchange; volume YoY is up a whopping +50%, and value traded ($) up +59%. Booyah – let’s hope this Canadian micro & small-cap bull run is just getting started 🙂
– Since writing this feature on the ‘Dollar Store Wars‘ shaping up in Mexico, Pesorama ($PESO.v) opened their 24th Joi Dollar Plus store in Mexico City on Oct 26, 2024. Then notably on November 5th, Sumesh Paul Pathak (board member) made a new insider purchase totaling 200,000 shares @ 0.12 cents per share.
My new e-book, Lessons From The Successful Investor, has been published! I wrote my e-book over the course of 4 months during the summer of 2010. It took 20 drafts, but I finished it! I thought about submitting to literary agents and publishing houses but decided to publish Lessons From The Successful Investor as an e-book. The e-book format is advantageous: low cost, mass coverage, easier to promote, and let’s face it, it’s the future of reading.
Lessons From The Successful Investor is about investing, but more importantly, how to invest successfully.
Here’s the introduction to my e-book:
Lessons From The Successful Investor will show you for the first time how to invest like the successful investor. And although his investing lessons are not revolutionary, they endure the test of time. There exist a few core lessons that underlie successful investing, and while these lessons do not change, the common investor does. For the successful investor, investing is like picking cherries.
As a gift to my readers, I will be giving away my e-book, Lessons From The Successful Investor, free for a limited time. Here are instructions to get my e-book free:
Robin R. Speziale 
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