Mark Slater interview - we want your questions!

Have I missed the published interview? Or do we need a faster transcriber :-)

The interview has been conducted. Mark graciously gave Ben about 90 minutes of his time and by all accounts the write up will be a real gem. It's a lot to transcribe, so it will be published likely next Monday or Tuesday.

Lots of good questions thus far, will be a good interview!!

With the winners he has picked - when does he sell these? I assume its based on when they become over-valued but how would he determine this?

Does he employ stop losses and how would he set these a) initially and b) once the investment is established?

Does he have any doubts about the quality of Chinese medical research? 

Lancet Article

His opinion on Brexit, and how it will affect the earning growth of companies if britain leave the eu ?

does he think there is more companies like "globo" listed in the uk market ?


frank

How does Mark's share selection criteria differ from Jim's and has Mark added additional criteria? Ian

Does he think that advances in technology attached to the buying and selling of shares have now gone too far and needlessly contribute to the wild gyrations so often seen with sometimes quite modest transfers and does he think anything can or should be done to help stabilise the market so that it becomes a more accurate reflection of the global economy?

Would be interesting to know:

1) How does he find his investment ideas?

2) Does he ever rely on third-party data sites for accounts and ratios, or does he compile/calculate them all in his own spreadsheets for himself?

3) Many quality/growth shares have been trading on rich multiples for the last few years, but that has not stopped them from delivering handsome returns of late (e.g. Rightmove). How does he judge when to 'pay up for growth', and does he use long-term DCF projections or similar to justify 'paying up'.

4) Where does he think most private investors go wrong with their portfolios?

5) How does he evaluate management? How often does he speak to directors of each holding -- if at all? What questions does he ask? Does he ever buy before speaking to the board?

6) How does he successfully compartmentalise three different investing strategies -- income, growth and recovery? It is hard enough to be successful at one strategy, let alone three, as the approaches and mindset for each can differ markedly.

7) What in particular does he look at in the accounts -- any unusual ratios that can prompt a 'red flag'?

8) Does he ever consider director pay, options etc, in his decision making -- and has he ruled out firms purely because of apparent boardroom greed.

9) How much does he rely on his staff to evaluate companies -- does he delve into accounts himself to double-check their work? Or does he simply buy the best ideas that he is presented with by his team?

10) What does he think about the diversification rules of managed funds? Most of his top-10 positions are only c3% of the fund, and there are limits as to how large such holdings can go (I believe). Must be frustrating when he sees great buying opportunities.

11) How does he define how much of a portfolio goes into a new stock? Save for regulatory rules on maximum portfolio weightings, does he have any weighting-based rules for trimming shares when they become too large a proportion of the fund?

12) Why did he get Lakehouse wrong and what is he doing now with the shares?

13) How does he think he can become an even better investor?

14) How can us potential clients know that he has not been lucky over the years, and that his outperformance can continue over the long term (albeit with the occasional temporary underperformance)?

15) Looking back at the Zulu books, they are littered with examples of 'dynamic growth shares' that could only sustain their dynamism and growth for just a few years -- and some became truly awful businesses (e.g. JJB Sports). So does he think the Zulu principles are really that useful for true long-term buy and hold investors -- or should the strategy appeal only to those wanting to hold for a 1-2-3 year re-rating? 

15b) Oh, and does the Zulu system still work -- or was it just the right approach at the right time? (small-caps were thumped after the early 90s recession, and the wider economic recovery provided wonderful re-ratings -- in hindsight)

I'm not sure if it's a very polite question, but what I would like to ask him is whether he gets fed up with always being described as "Mark Slater, son of....."