IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:

• How Rob Vinall vaulted himself out of humble circumstances.
• Why he disliked working at Goldman Sachs.
• How he taught himself to invest during the dotcom crash.
• How Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting changed his life.
• How he launched a fund with no staff, no office & no track record.
• What he learned from Warren Buffett’s relationship with Ajit Jain.
• What qualities Rob looks for in outlier CEOs.
• Why he admires Mark Zuckerberg & disagrees with Meta’s critics.
• How Rob’s thinking about business moats has evolved.
• Why he’s betting a third of his assets on out-of-favor Chinese stocks.
• Why today’s momentum-driven market is ideal for long-term investors.
• How he survived the most traumatic year of his life.
• What drives him after 20 years of investment success.
• How to handle being rich without wrecking your kids.

Disclosure: This episode and the resources on this page are for informational and educational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. For full disclosures, see link.

TRANSCRIPT

Disclaimer: The transcript that follows has been generated using artificial intelligence. We strive to be as accurate as possible, but minor errors and slightly off timestamps may be present due to platform differences.

[00:00:00] William Green: Hi there. It’s wonderful to see you again here on the Richer, Wiser, Happier podcast. I have a very special treat for you today, a really rare interview with a superb investor named Rob Vinall. As you’ll hear, I embarrassingly mispronounce his surname at the very beginning of our conversation.

[00:00:16] William Green: In any case, it’s well worth listening to Rob’s hard-earned insights on investing and business, and studying how he’s crushed the market in the twenty years since he founded his investment firm. But before we get to that conversation, I also wanted to let you know about an exciting opportunity that I hope will be of interest to you. Later this year, I’m going to be launching a new, Richer, Wiser, Happier Masterclass. If you’re interested in studying with me over the course of a year in a very small, intimate group, that’s likely to be somewhere between ten and twenty people, please contact my friend and fellow podcast host Kyle Grieve to find out more about dates and prices and all that good stuff.

[00:00:56] William Green: His email address is Kyle, which is k kyle@theinvestorspodcast.com. Who’s the masterclass intended for? Well, based on the first two masterclass groups, I would say this is ideal if you’re a fund manager, an asset allocator, a wealth manager, a manager of a single family office, a CEO, an entrepreneur, or simply a serious investor managing your own family’s money. Essentially, the masterclass is designed for keen investors and passionate learners who like the idea of studying with me and an amazingly accomplished and diverse group of people over Zoom each month, and also in person at a couple of very special private events that will host in Omaha and New York.

[00:01:43] William Green: My current plan is to make this my third and final Richer, Wiser, Happier Masterclass. So if you’re interested in this year long exploration of how to build a life that’s truly richer, wiser and happier, then please don’t wait. It would be really great to spend some time with you. In any case, I hope the stars align and that I’ll see you later this year. And now, as my friend Stig Brodersen would say, on with the show.

[00:02:13] Intro: You’re listening to the Richer, Wiser, Happier Podcast, where your host, William Green, interviews the world’s greatest investors and explores how to win in markets and life. This show is not investment advice; it’s intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. All opinions expressed by hosts and guests are solely their own, and they may have investments in the securities discussed. Now for your host, William Green.

[00:02:48] William Green: Hi folks. I’m absolutely delighted to welcome today’s guest, Rob. Rob is the managing director of RV Capital, an investment firm that he founded almost exactly twenty years ago. He has a superb investment record as the manager of the Business Owner Fund.

[00:03:04] William Green: Since launching the fund in 2008, he’s racked up an annualized return of around 15 and a half percent, net of all fees, which is a cumulative return of more than 1,200 percent over the last eighteen years. He’s an exceptional investor and a delightful person, as I’m sure you’ll see, and it’s extremely rare for him to do an in-depth interview like this. So I’m particularly excited on multiple fronts to be chatting with him today. And Rob is joining us from Switzerland, where he lives with his wife and three children in a village near Zurich Lake that I gather is about 100 yards away from the famed Lindt Chocolate Factory. So welcome, Rob. It’s really lovely to see you.

[00:03:42] Rob Vinall: Yeah. Thank you so much for doing this with me. William. It’s been a few years since I did a podcast. So the downside of that is I’m maybe a little bit rusty, but the upside is that hopefully there’s lots of stuff which is new for people, so.

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BOOKS AND RESOURCES

• Inquire about William Green’s ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Richer, Wiser, Happier Masterclass⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
• Benjamin Graham’s book, The Intelligent Investor.
• Alice Schroeder’s book, The Snowball.
• William Green’s podcast episode with Chris Begg. 
• William Green’s podcast episode with Terry Smith.
• William Green’s book, “Richer, Wiser, Happier” – read the reviews of this book.
• Related ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠books⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ mentioned in the podcast.
• Ad-free episodes on our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Premium Feed⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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