Philosophy
What eight years teaches you about a business
Our average holding period is over eight years. Here is what that actually buys.
Hold a business for eight years and you see it through at least one downturn, one change of management, and one stretch where everyone told you to sell. None of that is for sale in a single quarter.
You find out whether the moat is real or just recent. You find out whether management tells you the truth when the news is bad, which is the only time it counts. You find out whether the culture outlasts the people who built it.
Short holding periods hide all of this. You can own something for six months and know nothing about it except its price. Real ownership is a slow education, and you pay the tuition in patience.
Staying is not always rewarded. But we have never regretted knowing a business deeply, and we have often regretted selling one we knew for one we did not.
The views above are the firm's own and are provided for information only. They are not investment advice, nor an offer or solicitation to invest. Capital at risk; the value of investments can go down as well as up, and past performance is not a guide to future results.
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