RWH027: High-Quality Investing w/ Christopher Begg

The Investor's Podcast (We Study Billionaires) - The Investor’s Podcast Network

Stig Brodersen

Business, Education, Investing

4.6 • 3.6K Ratings

🗓️ 28 May 2023

⏱️ 131 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, William Green chats with hedge fund manager Christopher Begg, who is the CEO, Chief Investment Officer, & co-founder of East Coast Asset Management. Chris is also a revered professor at Columbia Business School, where he teaches the Security Analysis class that was originally taught by Warren Buffett’s mentor, Ben Graham. Here, Chris shares powerful lessons on how to identify high-quality businesses & build a life that’s defined by a commitment to quality. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 03:54- How Chris Begg came to teach an investing class originally taught by Ben Graham. 10:29 - What Chris learned from his ten fireside chats with Berkshire Hathaway’s Todd Combs. 13:17 - What Buffett & Munger taught Chris about focusing on a few great businesses. 17:58 - How he finds undervalued stocks by asking, “Where are the clouds today?” 26:55 - Why he’s bullish on Meta & Google, despite an array of perceived threats. 36:09 - How he identifies great businesses by seeking 8 layers of competitive advantage. 47:13 - How to succeed through “persistent incremental progress eternally repeated.” 1:00:01 - Why investors can’t afford to ignore a company’s impact on the environment. 1:06:40 - Why consistent kindness is a potent ingredient of success, helping to build trust. 1:15:22 - How Chris gains an edge by continuously compounding his interdisciplinary knowledge. 1:32:17 - What he’s learned about the pursuit of excellence from surfing with Josh Waitzkin. 1:40:48 - Why Chris structures his workday to include meditation & contemplation. 1:50:46 - What studying Andrew Carnegie—once the world’s richest person—has taught him. 1:53:40 - Why Chris believes that the world is headed in a better direction. Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences. BOOKS AND RESOURCES Join the exclusive TIP Mastermind Community to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Stig, Clay, and the other community members. Chris Begg’s investment firm, East Coast Asset Management. One from Many by Dee Hock. Nick Sleep’s list of long-term vs short-term characteristics. Robert Pirsig’s Zen & the Art of Motorcyle Maintenance, Lila, & On Quality. Finite & Infinite Games by James Carse. William Green’s book, “Richer, Wiser, Happier” – read the reviews of this book. William Green’s Twitter. SPONSORS Support our free podcast by supporting our sponsors: River Toyota Sun Life The Bitcoin Way Range Rover Sound Advisory BAM Capital Fidelity SimpleMining Briggs & Riley Public Shopify Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to TIP.
0:03.0	Hi there, I'm really excited about today's episode of the podcast.
0:07.4	This is a very rare in-depth conversation with one of the most thoughtful people in the
0:12.5	investing world.
0:13.9	His name is Christopher Begg and he's the co-founder and chief investment officer of a firm
0:19.7	called East Coast Asset Management, which is based in the suburbs of Boston.
0:24.8	This manages a hedge fund that owns a highly concentrated portfolio of about seven great
0:30.4	businesses.
0:31.4	He tries to buy them at attractive prices when they're out of favor because there's
0:35.8	some kind of temporary cloud hanging over them that he believes will ultimately disperse.
0:41.9	This is the type of ultra selective stockpicking strategy that's also practiced by famous investors
0:48.0	like Charlie Munger, Nick Sleep and Monish Pabri.
0:52.0	As I wrote in my book, Richard Weiserhappier, Munger says that an investor should be like
0:57.2	a spear fisherman standing with a spear beside a stream.
1:01.6	Most of the time the spear fisherman does nothing at all.
1:05.0	Then when a fat juicy salmon swims by, he leaps into action and spears it.
1:11.3	Then he goes back to doing nothing at all and it might be six months or more before the
1:15.6	next fat juicy salmon swims by.
1:18.7	This beggar's thought very deeply about how to play this game of identifying truly exceptional
1:24.5	businesses and waiting patiently for the right moment to spear them.
1:29.0	But the truth is Chris is much more than a great stockpicker with a discerning eye for high
1:33.9	quality businesses.
	...

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