Behind the Balance Sheet

If you have listened to this months podcast with Jonathan Tepper, then you must have heard a thing or two about about his book...

This month’s podcast is a bit special. Steve's friend Jonathan Tepper fascinated his children when he came to dinner. His parents were missionaries and had started a drug rehabilitation centre and wanted to help more addicts...

Read on here: https://behindthebalancesheet.substack.com/p/the-hyperscaler-capex-illusion-375

The title “The Sculptor” is a play on a quote “every man can be the sculptor of his own mind”, as Jonathan Tpper is uniquely self-educated.

🗽 Brought up in the slums of San Blas in Madrid, partly home-schooled, he made it to Oxford as a Rhodes scholar.

Tepper is a relentless learner, endlessly curious and in love with investing – as he sees it, you never stop learning and every day is an opportunity to learn.

In this episode we discuss his childhood, as recounted in his new book Shooting Up;
how curiosity and a desire to learn can transform your opportunity set.

We trace his investment journey, from a start as a junior analyst at Steve Cohen’s firm, through setting up a highly successful sellside research company to setting up his investment firm Prevatt Capital where he explains why he holds just 16 idiosyncratic stocks and what he looks for in a successful investment.

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/56-the-sculptor-jonathan-tepper-on-16-stock/id1581153925?i=1000750433835

Terry Smith is the fund manager the professionals love to hate. 🔥

A billionaire, he is in the third and most successful phase of a varied career.

He trounced the index for years with a simple mantra of buy good companies, don’t overpay, do nothing. He thus built one of the largest funds in the UK, made himself a fortune and moved to Mauritius. None of this made him popular with his peers and after 5 years of underperforming the S&P500 (his global fund has been mainly invested in the US) and underperforming the world index in 2025, there is quite a bit of schadenfreude around.

#55 - The Pugilist - Behind The Balance Sheet He has been called Britain’s answer to Buffett, and the Financial Times described him as "Britain's most popular stockpicker". Terry Smith is the fund manager the professionals love to hate.

Did you hear the latest podcast episode?

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?

James Anderson, former Senior Partner of Baillie Gifford and early backer of Elon Musk, now runs the Lingotto Innovation Strategy with Morgan Samet.

Steve interviewed them in front of a live audience at Italian Tech Week, hence this shorter than usual episode.

They have discussed AI of course, China’s role in a portfolio as a leader in many areas of tech but with associated geopolitical risk, the future of autonomous driving, what it means to be a long term investor in innovation, investing in everything from start-ups to Nvidia, and anything in between, including Space X, flying cars and much more. I

We hope you will enjoy this conversation (and let me know if the shorter format is a better option for busy commuters.)

#54 - The Innovation Fans - Behind The Balance Sheet Tom Gayner is the CEO of Markel Group and has run its investment portfolio for 35 years, beating the index by an astonishing 1.5% pa. This makes him one of the most successful capital allocators in the US stockmarket.

Tom Gayner is the CEO of Markel Group and has run its investment portfolio for 35 years, beating the index by an astonishing 1.5% pa.

This makes him one of the most successful capital allocators in the US stockmarket, yet he is under the radar.

He explains why he holds 140 stocks, although the top 40 represent 80% of the value;
why there are so few imitators of the insurance/equity and business investment strategy so successfully deployed by Berkshire and Markel;
the simple way to analyse an insurance business;
what he has learned from being on the boards of Graham Holdings with Warren Buffett and on the Coca Cola Company;
and one secret of Warren Buffett’s success which you likely will not have heard before.

Tom Gayner is anything but a plodder, but his thoughtful, modest and cautious approach to investing and life makes him a fantastic role model.

#53 - The Plodder - Behind The Balance Sheet Dave Iben is the founder and CIO of Kopernik Global Investors, a $6bn global value investment shop which prides itself on independent thought and is comfortable with contrarian positions.

In this article, Steve shares his valuable experience of using AI in research, admin, and investing.

This is definitely a hot topic 🔥 right now, and there are many opinions on using AI in the field of finance. What is yours?

https://behindthebalancesheet.substack.com/p/the-ai-trap-for-analysts-productivity-335

Well worth diving in! Listen to the latest podcast here: https://behindthebalancesheet.com/podcasts-singles/49-the-50bn-man/

or catch up on Sundays Substack https://behindthebalancesheet.substack.com/p/balance-sheet-first-the-rules-behind

'I don’t often highlight the podcast in this newsletter — I assume most readers who like investing podcasts already tune in. But this month’s episode with David Samra is worth making an exception. His approach to value investing has crushed his benchmark for over two decades, and his insights are a masterclass in discipline, patience and competitive advantage.'

Catch up on the latest Substack here:
https://behindthebalancesheet.substack.com/p/balance-sheet-first-the-rules-behind

This week’s piece is a little different – and perhaps a little controversial. I dive into the finances of OnlyFans, a hugely profitable, largely overlooked social media business that quietly raked in $1.3bn in revenue last year and paid its owner a $472m dividend.

https://behindthebalancesheet.substack.com/p/the-worlds-most-profitable-business

I asked Gary on the podcast because he is really thoughtful about his process – he only buys stocks selling for

#47 - The Relentless Improver - Behind The Balance Sheet Gary Channon is the CIO of Phoenix Asset Management which has a concentrated value portfolio, and one of the most detailed research processes around.