When volatility strikes, investors invariably become more reflexive and less disciplined. But investing with reckless abandon is almost certainly going to lead to bad outcomes.

Experienced investors stick to the game plan - a game plan borne of experience and a process that's been tried and tested through the full business cycle.

On today’s episode of The Rules of Investing, David Thornton sits down with Matt Williams from Airlie Funds Management.

Matt cut his teeth in 1993 when he joined Perpetual Investments as an equities dealer. That was followed by 17 years at Perpetual, working alongside heavy hitters including Anton Tagliaferro, Peter Morgan, and John Sevior. There he held the role of head of equities from 2011 to 2015. He joined Airlie in 2016, with a remit that includes Australian share strategies for institutional clients and the Airlie Australian Share Fund for retail clients.

This year, Matt was recognised as one of the best in the business and inducted into the Hall of Fame, joining a small and distinguished list of Australia’s best fundies (including the three Perpetual alumni mentioned above).

Matt explains why the Aussie market has fared better than its global peers, where valuations are and where they're going, and the one Aussie company Matt reckons is made for Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio.

Note: this episode was recorded on Thursday December 13, 2022.

Timestamps

1:40 - Leaning from mentors, past and present
3:15 - It's not only what you own, it's what you avoid
5:00 - Why the Aussie market has outperformed global peers
8:00 - Cash is king
14:00 - Stress testing companies
18:30 - Defensive anchors
20:00 - Getting in early with Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN)
22:00 - Upgrade the quality when the market falls
23:00 - Buying blips
28:04 - A business made for Buffett

This Hall of Famer has uncovered a stock worthy of Warren Buffett’s portfolio