RWH060: What Buffett, Munger & Bill Miller Taught Me w/ Robert Hagstrom

We Study Billionaires - The Investor’s Podcast Network

Stig Brodersen

Education, Investing, Business

4.6 • 3.6K Ratings

🗓️ 17 August 2025

⏱️ 133 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, William Green chats with Robert Hagstrom, Chief Investment Officer & Senior Portfolio Manager at Equity Compass. Robert is the author of a classic book, “The Warren Buffett Way,” which lays out the principles that made Buffett the greatest investor of all. Here, Robert shares life-changing lessons he learned from Buffett & two other icons: Charlie Munger & Bill Miller. He also explains why a focused, low-turnover portfolio is a brilliant but difficult strategy. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 04:39 - How Robert Hagstrom became a multidisciplinary thinker. 08:09 - How to think better & invest better by tuning out the noise. 26:01 - What mistake Warren Buffett made most frequently. 35:30 - Why AI falls short when it comes to investment decisions. 35:30 - Why Nvidia is Robert’s biggest holding. 01:04:49 - How Miller endured & recovered from a devastating mistake. 01:14:43 - What insights led Bill Miller to make billions in Amazon & Bitcoin. 01:32:04 - Why it’s smart but really hard to own a concentrated portfolio. 01:34:29 - Why Robert views Modern Portfolio Theory with disdain. 01:42:23 - What advice Robert received from investing giant Bill Ruane. 01:48:06 - Why you should be deeply wary of investing in private equity. 02:04:04 - What life lesson Robert has learned from Buffett. Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences. BOOKS AND RESOURCES Join Clay and a select group of passionate value investors for a retreat in Big Sky, Montana. Learn more ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠. Join the exclusive ⁠⁠⁠⁠TIP Mastermind Community⁠⁠⁠⁠ to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Stig, Clay, Kyle, and the other community members. Robert Hagstrom’s investment firm, Equity Compass Investment Management. Robert Hagstrom's books: The Warren Buffett Way, The Warren Buffett Portfolio, Investing: The Last Liberal Art. Mortimer Adler's How to Read a Book. Louis Menand's The Metaphysical Club. William Green’s podcast interview with Bill Miller. William Green’s podcast interview with Bill Nygren. William Green’s book, “Richer, Wiser, Happier” – ⁠⁠read the reviews of this book⁠⁠. Follow William Green on ⁠⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠⁠. Check out all the books mentioned and discussed in our podcast episodes ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠. Enjoy ad-free episodes when you subscribe to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠Premium Feed⁠⁠⁠⁠. NEW TO THE SHOW? Get smarter about valuing businesses in just a few minutes each week through our newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠The Intrinsic Value Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠. Check out our ⁠⁠⁠⁠We Study Billionaires Starter Packs⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow our official social media accounts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠. Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠. Try our tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: ⁠⁠⁠⁠TIP Finance Tool⁠⁠⁠⁠. Enjoy exclusive perks from our ⁠⁠⁠⁠favorite Apps and Services⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn how to better start, manage, and grow your business with the ⁠⁠⁠⁠best business podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠. SPONSORSSupport our free podcast by supporting our sponsors: SimpleMining Hardblock AnchorWatch Human Rights Foundation Cape Unchained Vanta Shopify Onramp Abundant Mines HELP US OUT! Help us reach new listeners by leaving us a ⁠⁠⁠⁠rating and review⁠⁠⁠⁠ on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠! It takes less than 30 seconds, and really helps our show grow, which allows us to bring on even better guests for you all! Thank you – we really appreciate it! 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.
0:02.7	Hi there, it's great to be back with you on the richer, wiser, happier podcast.
0:07.5	I guess today is Robert Hagstrom, who's one of the most thoughtful writers and thinkers in the world of investing.
0:13.8	Robert is the chief investment officer at Equity Compass, where he manages a concentrated portfolio of dominant global stocks like Nvidia, Amazon, Microsoft,
0:23.6	ASML, Meta, and Richemont.
0:26.5	But he's best known as the author of an iconic bestseller, the Warren Buffett Way, which
0:31.4	laid out with tremendous clarity the principles that have made Buffett the most successful
0:36.0	investor of our time.
0:37.4	We'll also discuss
0:38.4	another of Robert's most famous role models, Bill Miller, who is the leading mutual fund manager
0:43.3	of his generation. Robert offers unique insight into Bill, having worked alongside him for many years.
0:50.5	As you'll hear, he witnessed up close what led Bill to make incredibly bold and prescient
0:55.4	bets, like buying a 15% stake in Amazon at a time when nobody else understood its competitive
1:01.6	advantages, and most of Bill's peers frankly expected it to go bankrupt.
1:06.8	This is a subject close to my heart, as Bill is one of my absolute favorite people in the
1:11.3	investment world, and I've interviewed him at great length over the last 25 years or so.
1:17.7	But before we get started, I also wanted to mention very briefly a new venture that I'm
1:22.5	extremely excited about. Applications are now open for the second intake of the richer, wiser, happier
1:29.5	masterclass. This is a rare chance to study with me directly over the course of a year in an
1:35.9	exceptionally small, intimate group of just 10 to 20 people. Starting in November, we'll meet once a
1:42.8	month on Zoom for two hours per session and will also gather in person at two unique events.
1:48.7	The masterclass is designed for serious investors and passionate learners who want to explore in-depth how to build a truly richer, wiser, happier life.
	...

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