TIP734: MY INVESTMENT PHILOSOPHY

W/ CLAY FINCK

03 July 2025

In this episode, Clay shares the key principles behind his personal investment approach. His approach has been shaped by over a decade of experience and lessons from great investors like Charlie Munger, Nick Sleep, and Chris Mayer. He explains how he builds a portfolio focused on high-quality businesses and long-term compounding. It’s a candid look at how he filters out the noise and plays the game on his own terms.

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IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:

  • How Clay defines and pursues financial independence through investing.
  • Why great businesses often beat cheap stocks over the long run.
  • The lessons Clay learned from Charlie Munger, Nick Sleep, and Chris Mayer.
  • What “sidecar investing” means and how to apply it.
  • Why patience may be the biggest edge in investing.
  • How Clay constructs and thinks about his personal portfolio.
  • The importance of simplicity and ignoring market noise.
  • And so much more!

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] Clay Finck: In 2013, I bought my first stock at the age of 18 and managed to lose all my money. I was quite devastated, but that did not keep me from trying to figure out where I went wrong and how I could do better next time. Luckily, I bought Apple shortly after that first investment, which made me multiple times my investment in the years that followed.

[00:00:19] Clay Finck: Over the past 12 years, I’ve made countless other mistakes and learned many lessons the hard way. In 2021, I managed to get my dream job working with The Investor’s Podcast Network, and that’s when the learning went into hyperdrive. In this episode, I’ll share my overall investment approach, the potential edge I have as an individual retail investor, what asset classes I invest in, some of my portfolio holdings and much more.

[00:00:43] Clay Finck: My investment journey has been quite a wild ride and I feel a great privilege to being able to share it with you all here today. So with that, let’s get right into today’s episode on my investment approach.

[00:00:57] Intro: Since 2014, and through more than 180 million downloads, we’ve studied the financial markets and read the books that influenced self-made billionaires the most. We keep you informed and prepared for the unexpected. Now for your host, Clay Finck.

[00:01:21] Clay Finck: Welcome to The Investor’s Podcast. I’m your host Clay Fink, and today’s episode is a bit of a different one. While most of my episodes on the show are interviews with great investors or a review of some of the best books on value investing today I’m going to talk specifically about my own personal investment approach and some of my portfolio holdings.

[00:01:41] Clay Finck: Since I joined The Investor’s Podcast Network in October of 2021, my investment philosophy has changed drastically. That’s not to say that I found the magic formula or the quote unquote right way to invest. But I’ve discovered an approach that I feel suits my skillset and temperament, even though oftentimes I feel like I have no idea what I’m doing.

[00:02:00] Clay Finck: I don’t analyze equities full-time or manage my portfolio full-time like many of the guests here on the show. So sometimes I feel like I’m in a boxing match with one arm tied behind my back. Let’s kick this episode off by saying that none of this should be taken as investment advice. Please consult an advisor before making investment decisions.

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