Bill Mann, director of Small Cap Research at The Motley Fool and lead advisor for their Global Partners service, shares his investing insights guided by his travels. He highlights how his adventures inspire his investment philosophy and the importance of curiosity. Bill reveals the hidden value he spotted in Chipotle and emphasizes the need to 'keep turning over rocks' in less crowded markets. He also reflects on investment mistakes to underline the significance of diligent research and continuous learning in uncovering growth opportunities.
Read more
AI Summary
AI Chapters
Episode notes
auto_awesome
Podcast summary created with Snipd AI
Quick takeaways
Investing internationally offers vast opportunities beyond the U.S., as it unveils around 250,000 companies versus just 4,000 domestically.
A strong sense of curiosity and critical thinking is essential for investors, as it leads to deeper insights and better investment outcomes.
Deep dives
The Advantages of Global Investing
Investing internationally provides a significant advantage due to the vast number of companies available outside the United States. With around 4,000 companies listed on U.S. markets compared to approximately 250,000 internationally, focusing solely on U.S. investments limits opportunities to 2% to 3% of the total stock market landscape. This broader perspective opens up a multitude of potential investments, though it can feel overwhelming due to the sheer number of options. By analyzing both risks and opportunities in global markets, investors who are open-minded can enhance their investment strategies and ultimately achieve better results.
Curiosity as a Key to Investment Success
A strong sense of curiosity has been crucial in developing a successful investment career, influencing key decisions and strategies. An example of this is the early investment in Chipotle, where recognizing a pricing discrepancy between different share classes highlighted the importance of thorough research and questioning the status quo. This approach to uncovering insights has led to a deeper understanding of various market dynamics and allowed for strategic investments. Curiosity not only facilitates learning from successes but also from failures, leading to valuable lessons that shape future investment decisions.
Learning from Experiences and Mistakes
Experiences in diverse industries and international travel can profoundly impact one’s perspective as an investor. For instance, the journey through telecoms and involvement with Enron illustrated the importance of skepticism and due diligence in investment analysis. The contrasting outcomes of these two experiences underscored the necessity of critical thinking and vigilance when analyzing companies. By embracing past mistakes as learning opportunities, an investor can cultivate a more robust investment philosophy that prioritizes long-term gains over short-term market fluctuations.
To get outsized returns, it can pay to find a pond where fewer people are fishing.
Bill Mann is the director of Small Cap Research at The Motley Fool, lead advisor for our Global Partners service, and a frequent guest on the show. In today’s episode, Bill talks with Mary Long about:
how travel has informed his investing philosophy.
what initially caught his eye about Chipotle.
why he thinks you should “keep turning over rocks.”
Have an analyst you want us to feature on an upcoming “Meet the Fool” episode? Want to share your own investing journey with us? Send a note (or a voice recording!) to podcasts@fool.com