John Rotonti: The Ultimate Stockpicking Masterclass

Talking Billions with Bogumil Baranowski

My guest today is John Rotonti — in my mind, John is a very diligent, thoughtful, deliberate stock analyst with a great gift for teaching others the necessary skills to analyze and evaluate businesses. He is kind, generous, and always so much fun to talk to. We recorded our first episode together about a year ago; scroll down to find it. It’s a truly wonderful conversation and an opportunity to get to know my guest. Today is John’s second appearance on the show, and we’ll go deeper with a stock picking masterclass delivered by someone I admire and respect. John graduated from the University of Richmond with a degree in political science. He also holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business, where he graduated in the top cohort of his class. In December 2013, he published a book titled "A Manual on Common Stock Investing." Most recently, he was employed by The Motley Fool for nearly 9 years, voluntarily leaving as a level 3 senior equity analyst and Head of Analyst Training and Development. He identifies as a contrarian value investor by nature and due to life circumstances. He has a very successful, and incredibly well produced podcast that I recommend you explore. In our conversation today, John, emphasizes the importance of focusing on high-quality, growing businesses with strong moats and good management teams. He suggests maintaining a watchlist of thoroughly researched businesses and waiting for their stock prices to sell off before considering them as investment opportunities. John recommends getting ideas from a network of investors, reading investor letters, and conducting constant research. He outlines a quick glance process for evaluating potential investments, which includes assessing the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. John advises investing in adaptable businesses with the potential to grow their intrinsic value over time. Stay tuned until the end, when John clarifies the misinterpretation of Warren Buffett's philosophy and strategy. Chapters: 05:00 Introduction and Focus on Investments 07:50 Building a Watchlist and Idea Generation 13:33 Buying Opportunities in Market Sell-Offs 16:42 Companies' Ability to Change and Adapt 18:31 Dynamic Nature of Corporate Life Cycles 41:06 Directional Correctness and Holding the Right Businesses 46:13 The Importance of Being Slow to Sell 49:42 Building a Successful Track Record with High-Quality, Profitable Growth Businesses 53:29 The Significance of Avoiding Profitless Companies 1:02:17 The Misinterpretation of Warren Buffett's Philosophy and Strategy Podcast Program – Disclosure Statement Blue Infinitas Capital, LLC is a registered investment adviser and the opinions expressed by the Firm’s employees and podcast guests on this show are their own and do not reflect the opinions of Blue Infinitas Capital, LLC. All statements and opinions expressed are based upon information considered reliable although it should not be relied upon as such. Any statements or opinions are subject to change without notice. Information presented is for educational purposes only and does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed. Information expressed does not take into account your specific situation or objectives, and is not intended as recommendations appropriate for any individual. Listeners are encouraged to seek advice from a qualified tax, legal, or investment adviser to determine whether any information presented may be suitable for their specific situation. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.