Sanjay Ayer (WCM) - Think Different, Get Better
Far From The Finishing Post - A podcast by Troy Asset Management
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Sanjay Ayer is a portfolio manager at WCM Investment Management, a California-based asset manager investing in good quality companies with strong cultures and improving competitive moats. Sanjay talks about his evolution as an investor, how a good culture can reinforce a company's competitive advantage, and why it is so important for investors to learn from mistakes and compound knowledge to sustain success.Show notes:[1:15] Sanjay talks about his early career and moving from Morningstar to WCM[4:10] Why one should focus on companies that are expanding their competitive moat[6:46] Testing the trajectory of a moat[9:11] Amazon and Shopify[10:55] Compounding knowledge to sustain success[14:27] Learning from mistakes[16:26] Niche industrial and influencer typologies[20:00] The importance of culture[21:13] Cultural optionality and culture as a durable competitive advantage[25:23] Balancing centralisation and decentralisation in regulated industries[27:21] Cultural trajectory[29:12] Portfolio construction as a foundation for rational decision-making[32:19] The role of valuation[34:42] R&D to sustain an investors' competitive advantages[38:41] Persistent inefficiencies in the investment profession[42:30] Using growth and scale to advance culture[44:51] Embrace cognitive dissonance and consider return on time
