7 Lessons From Ralph Wanger
Track record: 16% over 30 years. Favourite quote "If you want to stand out from the pack, you have to stand outside the pack”
Hi, I am Trung. I deep-dive into market leaders that passed my sleep-well checklist. I follow up on their performance with my Thesis Tracker updates, and when the right price comes, I buy them for the Sleep Well Portfolio, which I am building for my daughters to redeem in 2037. I disclose my reasoning for all BUY and SELL (ideally never). Access all content here.
Hi, fellow sleep well investors,
I hope you are enjoying Sleep Well’s 33% average money-weighted return (61% time-weighted) since October 2023.
Sleep Well Investments was initially built on the ideas of three wise investors:
Anti-fragility borrowed from Nassim Taleb,
Irreplaceability from Anthony Deden,
Mundanity from Matthew McLennan.
Today, I want to bring your attention to Ralph Wanger, who compounded 16% over 30 years (1970 to 2003) at Acorn Fund. He specialized in growth at a reasonable price strategy (GARP) in small caps ($250M-$2B) and beat the S&P 500 by 4% each year.
When portfolio managers in the US some years ago voted on who they would prefer to manage their own money, his name was their top choice. Warren Buffett came second. Ralph Wanger was also the first to receive Morningstar’s Fund Manager’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
He wrote A Zebra Among The Lions, an easy investing book packed with practical tips. Here is my favorite quote:
“If you want to stand out from the pack, you have to stand outside the pack”.
Wanger was a zebra who ventured further out in lion country than most, and what spectacular results the walkabout gave.
In this book, he shares standout lessons that apply to Sleep Well Investments philosophy.