Alex Waislitz is the founder and Chairman of Thorney Investment Group, one of Australia’s most successful private investment groups. After being lent $1.15 million, he went on to invest in micro and small caps and ultimately gathered a fortune of $1.39 billion. In this interview, Daniel Grioli takes Waislitz back to the start and dissects how he went about creating his wealth. Waislitz discusses the trappings faced by investors and also has some advice for startups looking for capital.
Overview:
3:00 Receiving my first dividend cheque
6:00 Keep your alternative options alive
9:00 Lessons learned from Richard Pratt
14:00 I like the business of business
16:00 If you dream big, you achieve big.
18:00 Turning $1 million into $4 million
21:45 Constructivism; being activist in a non-hostile way
26:30 What is your investment philosophy?
34:30 Determining position sizes.
37:30 Many fund managers cut their profits too early
46:00 Not all small cap companies are inherently risky
48:00 Capacity in a micro cap strategy
50:30 Fairfax and activist investing
54:15 Future of traditional media
57:00 Tailor-made newspapers
1:00:30 Investing in the future is not for everyone
1:02:00 Disruption has never been easier
1:06:00 Facebook and privacy on the internet
1:07:30 What advice would you give startups looking for capital?
1:10:00 Best and worst investments
1:16:30 The luck factor
About the [i3] Podcast
The [i3] Podcast is a conversation with some of the leading institutional investors around the world, discussing their philosophy towards investing, in particular towards portfolio construction and investment strategy. The [i3] podcast is available on iTunes, Google Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher or your favourite podcast platform.