Ian Cassel on small and micro cap investing and the traits of good and great investors | S07 E03

13 snips

Jan 27, 2025

Ian Cassel, a micro-cap investing expert, shares his insights on navigating the complexities of small and micro-cap investing, especially in the Canadian market. He emphasizes the skills that distinguish good stock pickers from the greatest, comparing it to Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Cassel also discusses the importance of valuing management and cultivating a watch list to enhance investment strategies. With anecdotes about mole rats, he humorously highlights resilience in investing and promotes a buy-and-hold approach, gearing up for an exciting microcap event in Las Vegas.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Defining Great and GOAT Investors

Ian Cassel defines "great" stock pickers as active managers beating the market for 15 years.
"GOAT" (Greatest Of All Time) pickers exceed the market by 5% annually over 15 years.

INSIGHT

Core Skills of Stock Picking

Stock picking involves six core skills: identifying ideas, valuation, buying, holding, selling, and survival.
Great stock pickers are proficient in all six, dominating in at least one or two.

ANECDOTE

Melby's Management Focus

Michael Melby, a deep value investor, achieved a 22.4% CAGR over 13 years.
His "secret" is focusing on quality management, visiting companies, and interviewing teams.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Value: After Hours is a podcast about value investing, Fintwit, and all things finance and investment by investors Tobias Carlisle, and Jake Taylor. See our latest episodes at https://acquirersmultiple.com/podcast We are live every Tuesday at 1.30pm E / 10.30am P. About Jake Jake's Twitter: https://twitter.com/farnamjake1 Jake's book: The Rebel Allocator https://amzn.to/2sgip3l ABOUT THE PODCAST Hi, I'm Tobias Carlisle. I launched The Acquirers Podcast to discuss the process of finding undervalued stocks, deep value investing, hedge funds, activism, buyouts, and special situations. We uncover the tactics and strategies for finding good investments, managing risk, dealing with bad luck, and maximizing success. SEE LATEST EPISODES https://acquirersmultiple.com/podcast/ SEE OUR FREE DEEP VALUE STOCK SCREENER https://acquirersmultiple.com/screener/ FOLLOW TOBIAS Website: https://acquirersmultiple.com/ Firm: https://acquirersfunds.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Greenbackd LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tobycarlisle Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tobiascarlisle Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tobias_carlisle ABOUT TOBIAS CARLISLE Tobias Carlisle is the founder of The Acquirer’s Multiple®, and Acquirers Funds®. He is best known as the author of the #1 new release in Amazon’s Business and Finance The Acquirer’s Multiple: How the Billionaire Contrarians of Deep Value Beat the Market, the Amazon best-sellers Deep Value: Why Activists Investors and Other Contrarians Battle for Control of Losing Corporations (2014) (https://amzn.to/2VwvAGF), Quantitative Value: A Practitioner’s Guide to Automating Intelligent Investment and Eliminating Behavioral Errors (2012) (https://amzn.to/2SDDxrN), and Concentrated Investing: Strategies of the World’s Greatest Concentrated Value Investors (2016) (https://amzn.to/2SEEjVn). He has extensive experience in investment management, business valuation, public company corporate governance, and corporate law. Prior to founding the forerunner to Acquirers Funds in 2010, Tobias was an analyst at an activist hedge fund, general counsel of a company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, and a corporate advisory lawyer. As a lawyer specializing in mergers and acquisitions he has advised on transactions across a variety of industries in the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Australia, Singapore, Bermuda, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, and Guam. He is a graduate of the University of Queensland in Australia with degrees in Law (2001) and Business (Management) (1999).