Behind the Balance Sheet #55 The Pugilist
Terry Smith, founder of Fundsmith and a seasoned fund manager, shares his unique investment philosophy of focusing on quality companies and not overpaying. He discusses his journey from a humble East London upbringing to building one of the UK's largest funds, all while dealing with the pressures of underperformance. Terry emphasizes the importance of training for young professionals, dives into the effects of passive investing on the market, and reveals personal interests like his car collection and plans for a museum in Mauritius.
01:24:52
Drive, Luck And Obliquity
- Terry Smith attributes success to hard work, desire to succeed, and luck.
- He prizes 'obliquity': achieving great results by not obsessing over the money alone.
Prioritise Reading And Shared Systems
- Spend most of your time reading, thinking and analysing rather than commuting to an office.
- Use cloud tools so the team can access the same research anywhere and meet physically only periodically.
Returns = Yield Plus Growth
- Lower portfolio free cash flow yields today mean expected returns are likely lower than Fundsmith's early years.
- Terry models expected return as starting yield plus medium-term growth rate.
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Intro
00:00 • 5min
Early career, drive and obliquity
05:14 • 37sec
Why training and apprenticeship matter
05:51 • 5min
Daily routine and working across time zones
10:32 • 2min
Team communication and cloud-based research
12:19 • 2min
Valuations, free cash flow yield and expected returns
14:12 • 3min
Why Fundsmith sold some consumer stocks
16:44 • 3min
Dealing with underperformance and sticking to strategy
20:01 • 6min
Causes of recent underperformance
25:34 • 3min
Passive investing's market impact
28:21 • 12min
Ad break
40:19 • 2min
Fund size, liquidity and position limits
42:17 • 2min
How Fundsmith sizes and manages positions
44:15 • 5min
Why reading accounts matters
48:46 • 4min
Share-based comp, governance and proxy voting
52:31 • 3min
Frauds, private credit and financial standards
55:26 • 3min
Considering buying a bank and leadership courage
58:09 • 2min
Approach to AI: caution and focus on predictability
59:56 • 3min
Using AI tools and judging server economics
01:03:26 • 5min
Selling discipline and management red flags
01:08:33 • 5min
Cars, museum project and personal passions
01:13:30 • 8min
Recommended reading and parting advice
01:21:10 • 2min
Outro
01:23:15 • 1min
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Accounting for Growth
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Terry Smith is the fund manager the professionals love tohate. A billionaire, he is in the third and most successful phase of a varied career. He trounced the index for years with a simple mantra of buy good companies, don’t overpay, do nothing. He thus built one of the largest funds inthe UK, made himself a fortune and moved to Mauritius. None of this made him popular with his peers and after 5 years of underperforming the S&P500 (his global fund has been mainly invested in the US) and underperforming the world index in 2025, there is quite a bit of schadenfreude around.
Smith used to box for fun and you wouldn’t want to be on thewrong side of him, but in this interview, he reveals a side less often seen. He confesses to being unable to sleep at night, worrying about stocks and expresses an extreme desire to do the best for his clients. Smith has been incredibly successful as an analyst, as a public company CEO and now as a fundmanager. He attributes it to hard work and a strong desire to succeed, driven by his background – Smith comes from a poor family and grew up in a house with an outside toilet. He is frustrated with his recent performance but is resolutethat he has the right approach and will prevail eventually.