10 Timeless Lessons from 10 Gurus
What I learned so far from studying the world’s long-term investing masters
Welcome back!
I started Guru Gems 5 months ago, mainly to document my research as I started learning about Superinvestors’ investment principles and their portfolios.
While I am still writing mostly for myself, I am very grateful for the 80+ subscribers that have joined me on this journey and I hope you are getting something valuable out of this as well ;)
I have now studied 10 of the world’s most disciplined long-term investors (12 if I also count Peter Lynch and Howard Marks’ book reviews).
Each Guru has their own approach and framework, but what struck me most is how often their ideas overlap.
In this edition of Guru Gems, I’ve distilled 10 timeless lessons that have surfaced across the Gurus I have studied.
1️⃣ Buy good companies, don’t overpay, do nothing
This is Terry Smith’s ‘holy trinity’ — but it’s also echoed by Chuck Akre, Bill Nygren, Peter Keefe, Christopher Tsai, and others.
The best investors aren’t chasing new ideas every quarter; they identify durable compounders, buy them sensibly, and let time and compounding do the heavy lifting.
The power isn't in the complexity of the framework — it's in the discipline to follow it consistently.
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2️⃣ Management quality is non-negotiable
Peter Keefe, Chuck Akre, Chris Davis, François Rochon, … many gurus emphasize that exceptional businesses require exceptional management.
Chuck Akre’s ‘three-legged stool’ framework has ‘talented management’ as one of the 3 legs, Bryan Lawrence looks for management teams that think like shareholders, and Chris Davis looks for businesses with ‘superior management’.
The message is clear: management with capital allocation skills and skin in the game are non-negotiable in long-term winners.
3️⃣ Moats come in many forms
Network effects (Airbnb, CCCS, Meta), global brand power (LVMH, QSR), switching costs (Copart, CCCS), and scale efficiencies (Alphabet, Meta) are all different forms of moats.
Each Guru describes moats differently, but all agree that sustainable competitive advantages are what turn good companies into compounding machines.
4️⃣ Compounding is simple, but not easy
Christopher Tsai wrote a great article on this topic: “The Power and Challenges of Compounding.”
It’s something we also hear from Chuck Akre ("compounding machines"), Peter Keefe (“Copart growing stronger daily”) and Terry Smith (“competitive advantages that strengthen over time”)
And all agree: the math of compounding is straightforward, but the challenge is in holding through volatility and resisting the urge to interrupt the process.
5️⃣ Valuation discipline is universal
Whether it’s Terry Smith’s ‘don’t overpay’, Chris Davis’ concept of ‘owner earnings yield’ or Bill Nygren’s rule to buy at ~60% of intrinsic value, all Gurus remind us that quality doesn’t excuse price.
Even the best business bought too expensive can deliver mediocre returns.
For a value investor, price has to be the starting point. It has been demonstrated time and time again that no asset is so good that it can’t become a bad investment if bought at too high a price. And there are few assets so bad that they can’t be a good investment when bought cheap enough.
— Howard Marks in ‘The Most Important Thing’
6️⃣ A high P/E doesn’t always mean expensive
We learned from Peter Lynch that the Price to Earnings (P/E) ratio is a crucial measure of valuation since stock prices tend to follow earnings over the long term.
However, both Bill Nygren and Christopher Tsai emphasize that accounting treatment can distort valuations, especially for asset-light growth companies investing heavily in R&D.
What looks like a 30–40× earnings multiple today may, on closer inspection, be trading below the market once adjusted for long-term normalized profitability.
Here is a great piece from Bill Nygren explaining this in more detail.
7️⃣ Concentration is a feature, not a bug
Bryan Lawrence runs a portfolio of just 10 stocks. Peter Keefe has 80% in his top 10 positions.
Bill Nygren, Chuck Akre and others also emphasize holding only the few best ideas.
The logic is consistent: if you've identified truly exceptional businesses through rigorous research, concentration amplifies returns while broad diversification dilutes them.
8️⃣ Buying during pessimism creates great opportunities
Multiple gurus have their best track records from buying quality businesses during periods of market pessimism.
Terry Smith for example bought LVMH in 2020 during the covid lows. And François Rochon bought Alphabet in 2011 when Wall Street was worried that Google would not be able to dominate in mobile as it did on desktop.
These contrarian moves during temporary pessimism often generate the best long-term returns.
9️⃣ Patience is the ultimate edge
Chris Davis holds Capital One for over a decade. Chuck Akre’s timeframe is 5–10 years ahead. Bryan Lawrence says he may go a year without a single new idea.
True compounding requires a time horizon much longer than most investors are willing to stomach.
🔟 Learning is cumulative
The Gurus often reference each other. Buffett quotes Graham. Nygren borrows from Buffett and Munger. Tsai draws from Munger and Keefe. Greenblatt inspired Burry.
Great investors don’t reinvent the wheel — they refine it. The compounding of wisdom is as powerful as the compounding of capital.
📌 Final thoughts
If there’s one unifying message across these 10 Gurus, it’s this:
Long-term investing is less about predicting the future and more about identifying the right businesses, paying a fair price, and then staying out of your own way.
After 5 months, I have only invested about 30% of the Guru Gems portfolio (see latest portfolio update here). I believe patience and discipline will pay off if I wait for the right opportunities.
September has been on average the worst performing month for the S&P500 since 1945, so let’s see if I maybe get a good opportunity to buy some of the names on my watchlist…
Until next week!
Awesome Advice
From the Wise
Time to
Act upon