Charlie Aitken has a simple investment philosophy: Build a concentrated portfolio of the world's best companies in structural growth sectors. And for this week’s Rules of Investing podcast, I had the rare opportunity to sit down with Charlie for 46 minutes to hear how this philosophy translates into practice.
While the market grows anxious about the rapidly metastasising trade war, Charlie explained in our discussion how he sees it as a ‘tremendous opportunity’ to grow exposure to the companies that meet his criteria, nominating four such stocks right in the firing line right now.
I really enjoyed recording this podcast in which we covered a great deal of other ground, including his transition into funds management, advice to his younger self, his topical thoughts on Boeing, and why he believes that when it comes to investing, it’s ‘Australia for income - and global for growth’.
Tune in for a thought-provoking listen this long weekend from one of the market greats.
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro & welcome
1:56 - Lessons in communication
2:56 - Best companies in the world
3:50 - A difficult transition to a long game
5:57 - The best days: when you're doing nothing
7:46 - Australia for income, ROW for growth
10:15 - Tremendous opportunities in the Trade Wars
13:05 - A rethinking around the dark art of shorting
17:42 - Why Charlie is considering buying Boeing back
22:49 - A portfolio that is not complacent about change
25:22 - To reflect the future you don't need enormous risk
27:34 - Why high conviction means good risk management
30:07 - 4 top stocks in the Trade War firing line
32:22 - Inspiration from Uncle Walt and Peter Lynch
37:03 - Advice to Charlie's younger self
42:43 - Alibaba: a better business than Amazon
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Ngaire Groves
Thank you Patrick. Excellent podcast, and best of luck to you Charlie. Nice to get more ‘conviction’ from people like you in the industry. We’ll have to check back in around 5 years time and see how Alibaba is performing. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if you are correct.
Julie Christianson
Thank you Patrick. Love these podcasts. What was the book he recommended and what is the best way to invest in the Chinese stocks he was recommending, eg Alibaba, Tencent etc.
Adrian Cachia
Thanks Patrick, another enjoyable podcast and some great insights offered here by Charlie Aitken. The points made about the myths and challenges with high-conviction investing are very important. It doesn't mean you're swinging for the fences. There is a great deal of skill and discipline required to know when to get out of a position...and to get back in...