RWH072: The Making of A Money Master w/ Rob Vinall
The Investor's Podcast (We Study Billionaires) - The Investor’s Podcast Network
Why Narrowing Moats Can Beat Wide Moats
Vinall argues that a moat can create complacency and prefers businesses whose competitive advantages are expanding and forcing continual adaptation.
In this episode, William Green speaks with Rob Vinall, an English hedge fund manager with a terrific track record. Since launching his Business Owner Fund in 2008, he’s racked up stellar annualized returns of 15.5%. Rob almost never gives interviews but speaks in depth here about the principles & practices that have driven his success in the 20 years since he founded his firm, RV Capital—not least, his habit of betting on CEOs who view their business as their life’s work.
IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:
(00:00:00) Intro
(00:03:54) How Rob Vinall vaulted himself out of humble circumstances
(00:14:26) Why he disliked working at Goldman Sachs
(00:17:12) How he taught himself to invest during the dotcom crash
(00:24:20) How Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting changed his life
(00:27:39) How he launched a fund with no staff, no office & no track record
(00:41:22) What he learned from Warren Buffett’s relationship with Ajit Jain
(00:50:19) What qualities Rob looks for in outlier CEOs
(01:01:03) Why he admires Mark Zuckerberg & disagrees with Meta’s critics
(01:03:21) How Rob’s thinking about business moats has evolved
(01:04:47) Why he’s betting a third of his assets on out-of-favor Chinese stocks
(01:20:41) Why today’s momentum-driven market is ideal for long-term investors
(01:32:12) How he survived the most traumatic year of his life
(01:42:07) What drives him after 20 years of investment success
(01:48:54) How to handle being rich without wrecking your kids
Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences.
BOOKS AND RESOURCES
- Inquire about William Green’s Richer, Wiser, Happier Masterclass.
- Benjamin Graham’s book, The Intelligent Investor.
- Alice Schroeder’s book, The Snowball.
- William Green’s podcast episode with Chris Begg.
- William Green’s podcast episode with Terry Smith.
- William Green’s book, “Richer, Wiser, Happier” – read the reviews of this book.
- Follow William Green on X.
- Related books mentioned in the podcast.
- Ad-free episodes on our Premium Feed.
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