Compounders Podcast

Buy What You Can Predict with Joseph Shaposhnik, Portfolio Manager of the TCW New Americas Premier Equities Fund

My guest on the show today is Joseph Shaposhnik, the portfolio manager of the TCW New Americas Premier Equities Fund. Joseph began managing the fund in 2015 and since then has assembled a concentrated portfolio of mostly US mid-to-large-cap stocks. Morningstar currently has a 4-star rating on the fund, which consists of a collection of high quality, recurring revenue businesses. In this conversation, we covered:

• Why predictability of cash flows is so important to Joseph;
• The rationale for having a heavy weighting in Constellation Software;
• What he has learned about assessing management through his relationship with successful CEOs;
• Why all recurring revenue businesses are not created equally; and
• Why a company like Meta doesn’t make the cut to be in his portfolio

For more information about Joseph Shaposhnik and TCW Group, please visit: https://www.tcw.com/

Listen to all Compounders Podcast episodes on either Apple or Spotify

iTunes: https://apple.co/3xlUvPY

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jxkxLl

All opinions expressed by your hosts and the podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of SNN or its affiliates. This podcast is for informational purposes only, it is not investment advice, and should not be relied upon for any investment decisions. We are not recommending the purchase or sale of any securities. The hosts and guests may be beneficial owners of the securities discussed. You should not assume that the securities discussed are or will be profitable.

Unearthing Companies with Uniquely Supportive Cultures with Aaron Wasserman, Partner at Third Period Capital

Today’s episode is another in our series of interviews with emerging investment managers where we discuss how to build an investment firm that can compound. My guest on this show is Aaron Wasserman, a Partner at Third Period Capital. After a long and successful tenure at Baron Capital, in 2019 Aaron started Third Period, a long-only, global growth firm based in Los Angeles. Aaron believes he has cultivated an edge in identifying and owning companies with exceptional cultures—and he has engaged Wharton Professor and best-selling author Adam Grant to help widen his competitive advantage.

In this discussion, we covered:

• How to analyze company cultures and determine if they are additive to growth;
• What Aaron learned from working with Ron Baron for many years;
• What Adam Grant’s involvement brings to Third Period and to Aaron’s process;
• An example of a prototypical “Aaron stock” and
• The sectors that Aaron has chosen to focus on in this strategy

For more information about Third Period Capital, please visit: https://www.thirdperiodcapital.com/ 

Listen to all Compounders Podcast episodes on either Apple or Spotify

iTunes: https://apple.co/3xlUvPY

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jxkxLl

All opinions expressed by your hosts and the podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of SNN or its affiliates. This podcast is for informational purposes only, it is not investment advice, and should not be relied upon for any investment decisions. We are not recommending the purchase or sale of any securities. The hosts and guests may be beneficial owners of the securities discussed. You should not assume that the securities discussed are or will be profitable.

Investing in Businesses that Create and Build Value with Sean Stannard-Stockton, President and CIO of Ensemble Capital

My guest on the show today is Sean Stannard-Stockton, the President and CIO of Ensemble Capital, an investment and wealth management firm that has built up quite a following on social media as a result of its consistent output of thoughtful content. Sean and his team of analysts manage over a billion dollars in equities, consisting of a concentrated portfolio of super high-quality businesses. The team has developed a rigorous competitive advantage assessment process that is designed to identify only those companies with durable moats.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Sean and I discuss:

• How Ensemble employs its competitive advantage framework when construction a portfolio;
• The benefits of having a wealth management arm alongside an investment management business;
• The rationale for creating and sharing so much thoughtful content on Twitter and the firm’s blog;
• His personal definition of a compounder; and
• What harmony and disharmony look like within an investment process

For more information about Ensemble Capital, please visit: https://ensemblecapital.com/

Listen to all Compounders Podcast episodes on either Apple or Spotify

iTunes: https://apple.co/3xlUvPY

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jxkxLl

All opinions expressed by your hosts and the podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of SNN or its affiliates. This podcast is for informational purposes only, it is not investment advice, and should not be relied upon for any investment decisions. We are not recommending the purchase or sale of any securities. The hosts and guests may be beneficial owners of the securities discussed. You should not assume that the securities discussed are or will be profitable.

Shooting for Hall of Fame Returns and World Class Service with Greg Dean, Langdon Equity Partners

Today’s episode is the next in our series of profiles of emerging investment firms. In these interviews, we dive deep into the various components of building an investment firm that can compound. Our guest on the show today is Greg Dean, the Founder and Lead of Investor at Toronto-based Langdon Equity Partners. Greg founded Langdon in 2021 after successful stints at Fidelity and Cambridge Global Asset Management. Langdon describes itself as an “active and engaged owner of world class smaller companies.” The firm has assembled concentrated portfolios of companies with enterprise values between $500 million and $5 billion that are cash generative and are run by long-term-oriented executives.

In this conversation, we discuss:

• Why Greg wants the Langdon office to be more like a library than a train station;
• His definition of a compounder and the unique challenges of managing such companies within small cap strategies;
• How Langdon has tried to position itself differently from other small-cap-focused firms;
• The kinds of mistakes that prevent companies from realizing their full compounder potential; and
• The cultural elements that are most important when building a new investment firm.

Without any further ado, here is my conversation with Greg Dean of Langdon Equity Partners. For more information about Langdon Equity Partners, please visit: https://www.langdonpartners.com/

Listen to all Compounders Podcast episodes on either Apple or Spotify

iTunes: https://apple.co/3xlUvPY

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jxkxLl

All opinions expressed by your hosts and the podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of SNN or its affiliates. This podcast is for informational purposes only, it is not investment advice, and should not be relied upon for any investment decisions. We are not recommending the purchase or sale of any securities. The hosts and guests may be beneficial owners of the securities discussed. You should not assume that the securities discussed are or will be profitable.

Climate Impact Investing in Public Markets with Heather Beatty & Robin Kollannur, ScopeFour Capital

My guests on the show to today are Heather Beatty and Robin Kollannur, the respective founder and Portfolio Manager of ScopeFour Capital. After a number of years working in business development at large investment firms, Heather started ScopeFour, a climate impact-focused firm, to take advantage of the investment opportunities associated with companies that are building impactful climate solutions. Robin has 30 years of experience in money management and has recently joined the firm to implement the ScopeFour process and vision.

In this extensive conversation, we discussed:

• The founding of ScopeFour and the investing opportunity set;
• The difference between investing for impact versus what has come to be known ESG;
• The intersection between a company that compounds over time and one that is making a positive impact on the climate;
• How Robin and Heather narrow down the universe of companies; and
• How to avoid paying too high a price for the companies that are likely to have the most positive impact.

Without any further ado, here is my conversation with Heather Beatty and Robin Kollannur of ScopeFour Capital. For more information about ScopeFour Capital, please visit: https://www.scopefourcapital.com/

Listen to all Compounders Podcast episodes on either Apple or Spotify

iTunes: https://apple.co/3xlUvPY

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jxkxLl

All opinions expressed by your hosts and the podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of SNN or its affiliates. This podcast is for informational purposes only, it is not investment advice, and should not be relied upon for any investment decisions. We are not recommending the purchase or sale of any securities. The hosts and guests may be beneficial owners of the securities discussed. You should not assume that the securities discussed are or will be profitable.

The Underappreciated Power of Data Companies with Thomas Li, Co-Founder and CEO of Daloopa

My guest on the show today is Thomas Li, the co-founder and CEO of financial data company Daloopa. Daloopa is a private company that was founded by a group of former buy-side investment analysts who saw the opportunity to use technology to upgrade the research process at just about any type of investment firm; but with a specific focus on saving analysts and portfolio managers time. Just a few years into its journey, the company already has over 200 employees and has multiple offices around the world.

In this wide-ranging interview, Thomas and I discussed:

• Where the original idea for Daloopa came from;
• How he views the legacy data providers such as CapitalIQ and Bloomberg;
• What Daloopa is doing to make the product a must-have versus a nice-to-have;
• What AI means within the context of Daloopa; and
• The importance of building a company that naturally generates a lot of cash

As a disclaimer, Daloopa is a sponsor of the Compounders podcast. Cove Street nor Ben Claremon are shareholders of Daloopa.

Without any further ado, here is my conversation with Daloopa CEO Thomas Li. For more information about Daloopa, please visit: https://daloopa.com/

This episode of Compounders: The Anatomy of a Multibagger is sponsored by Daloopa. Daloopa was founded by a former hedge fund analyst to bring simplicity to the investment process. Daloopa offers an AI-driven, single source for all company reported data, and allows for investment teams to make the most informed decisions in the shortest amount of time. For more information, please visit: https://daloopa.com/

To get all the latest updates about the podcast, see who we’ll have on next, as well as watch the video version of the pod, please follow us on twitter at @BenClaremon and subscribe to the SNN Network YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/snnwire.

For more information about Cove Street Capital, please visit: https://covestreetcapital.com/

iTunes: https://apple.co/3xlUvPY

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jxkxLl

Each new episode will be available every Tuesday morning on Apple, Spotify and all podcast streaming platforms.

All opinions expressed by your hosts and the podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of Cove Street Capital or any affiliates. This podcast is for informational purposes only, it is not investment advice, and should not be relied upon for any investment decisions. We are not recommending the purchase or sale of any securities. The hosts and guests may be beneficial owners of the securities discussed. You should not assume that the securities discussed are or will be profitable.

Building the Modern Payments Network for Truckers with Aaron Graft, Founder & CEO of Triumph Financial (NASDAQ: TFIN)

Our guest on the show this week was Aaron Graft, the Founder, Vice Chairman and CEO of Triumph Financial. Just as the impacts of the Great Financial Crisis were waning, Aaron led a team of people who took over a failed bank to create Triumph. Aaron has been CEO since the beginning and has been instrumental in transforming the bank into a transportation-focused industry leader. Specifically, Aaron has helped turn what was a small factoring business into a high margin one that buys $1 billion in invoices from truckers every month. In recent years, Aaron has turned his focus to building a payments company that caters to all of the constituents in the trucking industry. In this fascinating discussion, we covered:

• The benefits of having a bank structure despite Triumph not being a typical community bank;
• How the company has built the factoring business over time and why it is so profitable;
• The vision for Triumph Pay and the path to building it into something much larger; and
• Why the company has been so aggressive in repurchasing its own shares

For full disclosure, Cove Street is NOT a Triumph Financial shareholder.

And without any further ado, here is my conversation with Triumph’s Founder, Vice Chairman and CEO, Aaron Graft. For more information about Triumph Financial, please visit: https://www.tfin.com/

This episode of Compounders: The Anatomy of a Multibagger is sponsored by Daloopa. Daloopa was founded by a former hedge fund analyst to bring simplicity to the investment process. Daloopa offers an AI-driven, single source for all company reported data, and allows for investment teams to make the most informed decisions in the shortest amount of time. For more information, please visit: https://daloopa.com/

To get all the latest updates about the podcast, see who we’ll have on next, as well as watch the video version of the pod, please follow us on twitter at @BenClaremon and subscribe to the SNN Network YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/snnwire.

For more information about Cove Street Capital, please visit: https://covestreetcapital.com/

iTunes: https://apple.co/3xlUvPY

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jxkxLl

Each new episode will be available every Tuesday morning on Apple, Spotify and all podcast streaming platforms.

All opinions expressed by your hosts and the podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of Cove Street Capital or any affiliates. This podcast is for informational purposes only, it is not investment advice, and should not be relied upon for any investment decisions. We are not recommending the purchase or sale of any securities. The hosts and guests may be beneficial owners of the securities discussed. You should not assume that the securities discussed are or will be profitable.

The Enduring Benefit of Running Permanent Capital Vehicles with Craig Packer, CEO of Owl Rock Capital Corporation (NYSE: ORCC)

Our guest on the show today is Craig Packer, the CEO of Owl Rock Capital Corp, a 5.4 billion dollar market cap business development company that invests in middle market companies in the US. Craig is also the Chief Investment Officer of Owl Rock Capital, a New York-based direct lending platform with over 50 billion dollars of assets under management. This is the first business development company—or BDC for short—we have had on the podcast, so we wanted to make sure that we spent some time talking about BDCs in general and why Craig thinks they are an attractive niche within public markets. Additionally, in the discussion with Craig, we covered:

• What metrics investors should focus on when they are considering investing in a BDC;
• Owl Rock Capital’s investment philosophy and risk management strategies;
• How Craig would expect the BDC’s portfolio to perform in an economic downturn;
• What kind of investment opportunities Craig and his team are seeing at the moment; and
• The proper use of leverage within a BDC structure

This episode of Compounders: The Anatomy of a Multibagger is sponsored by Tegus, an innovative and disruptive company that is changing the way professional investors work. For more information, please visit: https://www.tegus.co/ 

To get all the latest updates about the podcast, see who we’ll have on next, as well as watch the video version of the pod, please follow us on twitter at @BenClaremon and subscribe to the SNN Network YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/snnwire.

For more information about Cove Street Capital, please visit: https://covestreetcapital.com/

iTunes: https://apple.co/3xlUvPY

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jxkxLl

Each new episode will be available every Tuesday morning on Apple, Spotify and all podcast streaming platforms.

All opinions expressed by your hosts and the podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of Cove Street Capital or any affiliates. This podcast is for informational purposes only, it is not investment advice, and should not be relied upon for any investment decisions. We are not recommending the purchase or sale of any securities. The hosts and guests may be beneficial owners of the securities discussed. You should not assume that the securities discussed are or will be profitable.

Consolidating the Mechanical and Electrical Contracting Industries with Brian Lane, President and CEO of Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (NYSE: FIX)

My guest on the show today is Brian Lane, the President and CEO of Comfort Systems, a 3.6 billion dollar market cap company that provides mechanical and electrical services, including installation, repair and maintenance, to customers in the US. Brian became CEO in 2011 and over the last 11 years, has overseen very impressive revenue growth and stock performance. The company has consistently made acquisitions over the last decade but still has a ton of white space left domestically. Given Comfort Systems’ track record and runway for future growth, it was great to talk with Brian about:

• The company’s acquisition philosophy and what it adds to the companies it acquires;
• How the company is approaching a potential recessionary period in the US;
• The process by which Comfort Systems has built up a recurring revenue base;
• The structure of the industry from a competitive perspective; and
• How the company is overcoming both inflationary and labor availability challenges.

This episode of Compounders: The Anatomy of a Multibagger is sponsored by Tegus, an innovative and disruptive company that is changing the way professional investors work. For more information, please visit: https://www.tegus.co/ 

To get all the latest updates about the podcast, see who we’ll have on next, as well as watch the video version of the pod, please follow us on twitter at @BenClaremon and subscribe to the SNN Network YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/snnwire.

For more information about Cove Street Capital, please visit: https://covestreetcapital.com/

iTunes: https://apple.co/3xlUvPY

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jxkxLl

Each new episode will be available every Tuesday morning on Apple, Spotify and all podcast streaming platforms.

All opinions expressed by your hosts and the podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of Cove Street Capital or any affiliates. This podcast is for informational purposes only, it is not investment advice, and should not be relied upon for any investment decisions. We are not recommending the purchase or sale of any securities. The hosts and guests may be beneficial owners of the securities discussed. You should not assume that the securities discussed are or will be profitable.

Using Canvas to Ensure Access to Education for Everyone with Steve Daly, CEO of Instructure Holdings (NYSE: INST)

Our guest on the show today is Steve Daly, the CEO of Instructure Holdings, a 3.6 billion dollar educational software company. After serving on the Board of the company, Steve became the CEO in late 2020, right in the middle of pivotal time for the company. Instructure’s core products consist of cloud-based learning management systems used by higher education and K through 12 schools all around the world. Listeners may not be familiar with Instructure, but the Canvas brand is likely something many people have heard of or even used.

In 2020, the COVID outbreak presented all kinds of challenges for schools, especially when it came to figuring out how to use technology to continue the education process in a remote environment. Given how well Instructure is positioned to help schools embrace new technologies, I was excited to hear from Steve about:

• How the outbreak of COVID impacted the demand for learning management systems in both higher ed and K through 12;
• Why cloud systems are better than on premise systems and how that leads to very low churn among customers;
• Penetration rates of learning management systems across end markets and the different strategies Instructure employs to grow;
• How the company went from being quite unprofitable to generating very attractive margins in a short period of time; and
• How Thoma Bravo’s Orlando Bravo convinced Steve to join the Board of Instructure and eventually become the CEO.

This episode of Compounders: The Anatomy of a Multibagger is sponsored by Tegus, an innovative and disruptive company that is changing the way professional investors work. For more information, please visit: https://www.tegus.co/ 

To get all the latest updates about the podcast, see who we’ll have on next, as well as watch the video version of the pod, please follow us on twitter at @BenClaremon and subscribe to the SNN Network YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/snnwire.

For more information about Cove Street Capital, please visit: https://covestreetcapital.com/

iTunes: https://apple.co/3xlUvPY

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jxkxLl

Each new episode will be available every Tuesday morning on Apple, Spotify and all podcast streaming platforms.

All opinions expressed by your hosts and the podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of Cove Street Capital or any affiliates. This podcast is for informational purposes only, it is not investment advice, and should not be relied upon for any investment decisions. We are not recommending the purchase or sale of any securities. The hosts and guests may be beneficial owners of the securities discussed. You should not assume that the securities discussed are or will be profitable.