Lessons from Pop Culture in Investing

This chapter explores how insights from song lyrics and movie quotes can inform investment decisions and understanding of investor psychology. It highlights the value of collaboration between investment partners, illustrating how diverse perspectives lead to better decision-making. Additionally, the chapter discusses the dominance of the US market, the challenges faced by European businesses, and a critical look at the British economy's culture towards success.

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In this episode, William Green chats with British investing legend Terry Smith. Terry, a member of Bloomberg’s index of billionaires, manages the Fundsmith Equity Fund, which is the UK’s largest stock fund. Since 2010, it’s returned more than 600%, beating the MSCI World Index by over 200 percentage points. Here, Terry talks in depth about the skills, personality traits, & principles that catapulted him from poverty to the pinnacle of the investing world.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

00:00 - Intro

04:01 - How Terry Smith was shaped by poverty & violence.

35:17 - How he achieved fame by exposing financial deception.

39:26 - What he looks for when identifying great businesses.

46:54 - Why many of his favorite companies are 100 years old.

51:56 - Which sectors he shuns & which he likes.

58:42 - How Microsoft embodies what he loves in a business.

1:00:29 - Why it’s worth paying up for the best companies.

1:20:15 - Why the US is his favorite place to invest.

1:21:44 - How being a CEO made him a better investor.

1:32:07 - What he learned from Sir John Templeton.

1:35:46 - Why he refuses to speak with brokers or read their research.

1:40:30 - Why it’s hard to be successful professionally & personally.

1:52:46 - Why he’s deeply skeptical about Tesla.

Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences.

BOOKS AND RESOURCES

Terry Smith’s investment firm, Fundsmith.
Terry Smith’s book, Investing for Growth.
Terry Smith’s book, Accounting for Growth.
William Green’s book, “Richer, Wiser, Happier” – read the reviews of this book.
Follow William Green on X.
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