Inside William Nygren's investing principles

William Nygren is an acclaimed value investor. He is currently a partner and the chief investment officer at the Oakmark Fund, which manages an AUM of around $108 billion. Nygren is easily counted among the best-performing fund managers with a stellar track record. Since its inception in 1991, the fund he manages has generated annual returns of 12.7 per cent (as of December 2023) compared to the benchmark return of 9 per cent. We recently came across one of his old interviews where he spoke about value investing and his stock selection process, among other things. We lay out some of the key takeaways from the chat. Value investing through a consumer lens The investing discipline fascinated Nygren from a very young age. But he found himself particularly drawn to 'value investing', which essentially reflected the mindset of an everyday consumer. He says, "I grew up in a middle-class family, running shopping errands with my mom. If grapes were on sale, we'd buy more than we usually would. And if cherrie

This article was originally published on April 23, 2024.