Tom Russo
Managing Member and Chairman, Gardner Russo & Quinn. On 1 show, 3 appearances. The Shows tab opens the full record on each.
investor
Thomas Russo is a value investor who specializes in international equities and family-controlled businesses with enduring global brands. He serves as Managing Member of Gardner Russo & Quinn and General Partner of Semper Vic Partners.
1shows
3appearances
66statements
18resolved
9supported
3contradicted
50%fully supported
5said about them ↓ Everything Tom Russo said on any show that made the record, most notable first. Each card names its show and opens the statement there.
Russo: Refusing Defense AI projects threatens Google's science-driven leadership
“Well, the moment you say that you're not going to have an AI business that has an involvement with some aspect of the Defense Department, particularly if it's defense-oriented, and you say that we just won't touch it because of our values, the moment you stop …”
Russo: Alphabet CEO Larry Page no longer shows up to work
“At a time when, by the way, Larry Page no longer shows up. To work.”
Russo: Firm avoided Facebook because its engagement relies on unsustainable conduct
“And I haven't involved capital with Facebook, because within Facebook, though they are probably even more indispensable than Google in terms of programmatic advertising, part of the appeal has been the length of time and the height of passion that people exert…”
Russo: The ideal cash flow conversion ratio for compounding businesses is zero
“You can imagine from my perspective, my ideal cash flow conversion ratio is zero. That means that we have a button. And at some level, Google stands out on that. They have zero because they have the ability to plow all that money back into moonshots. Unfortuna…”
Russo: Philip Morris CEO expects $1 billion in savings from big data
“Even Philip Morris, when I met with the CEO in Switzerland in September, suggested that they'd have a billion dollar savings potential over the next several years. And when I asked him what it sourced from, he said, big data.”
Russo: Berkshire's Acquisition Advantage Will Endure if Operating Autonomy Persists
“And so long as all of the infrastructure that I described within the Berkshire model as they operate, Remains. I think Berkshire will have the ability to drop people from similar businesses down the road over time. The moment that they break from that process …”
Russo: Open-Ended Wildfire Liability Is 'Game Over' for Electric Utilities
“You also have the prospects of PG&E where there's a generalized belief that it'd be a nice thing if there's a forest fire to have the utility take on all of the liability of consequential damages after a fire. So long as their power station was responsible for…”
Russo: Berkshire stock already prices in a Warren Buffett departure discount
“I think there's already still a departure discount, so I think the markets already carries with it the secret that Warren is 88 years old.”
Russo: Interfering with subsidiary autonomy would vastly diminish Berkshire's value
“If you get a sense That there's a wholesale rejiggering of the lines of reporting, or that people have to fire 10% of all their staff, or any kind of change that impinges upon that promise, it'll vastly diminish the value of Berkshire going forward.”
Russo's firm prefers holding quality businesses over moving to cash
“We don't rush to cash when we feel like something's been fully realized in its recognition for its value. We believe that our investors hire us to invest the money, and we're comfortable with the businesses more so than cash.”
Commitment bias helps long-term investors ignore short-term Wall Street noise
“All of the pitfalls of behavioral finance and the study about why people make predictable but irrational decisions when it comes to equities, so much has to do with equities in a relatively near term. And then over a relatively longer term, if you're right on …”
Russo trimmed Wells Fargo stake on rallies to fund other investments
“And for that reason, as it's moved up, we've been using it as a source of cash to make other investments. As it pops up, we have been selling it. We have cash to go off and do other things. Just recognizing that it's probably doesn't have the reinvestment rate…”
Russo: Gardner, Russo & Gardner adds Google as new portfolio position
“Well, it's Google and it's Googled now.”
Russo: Amazon possesses a winner-take-all advantage in per-unit distribution costs
“Now, Amazon has kind of first mover advantage and probably a winner take all advantage in terms of the distribution cost per unit. That's something I completely missed. I mean, that, that notion that they are actually delivering more packages now, faster and w…”
Russo: Juul's rise has increased business risk for Philip Morris
“I now know that with Juul's ascendancy, there is more risk to the business than there was when it was at a 120, and the product that they tried to launch was delayed, has consequences.”
Russo: Business superiority is driven by people first, incentives second, brands third
“We're actually buying long-term stakes in businesses that are or are not superior based on people first, incentive second, products and brands third. And it's nothing to do with names and spaces.”
Russo: Dedicating excessive time to final 20% of research is just procrastination
“In the search, very quickly in an investment, you get 80% of the weight of the outcome. And how much you dedicate for the remaining 20% can often be an excuse for inactivity rather than the requirement for the last piece.”
Russo: The Only Investor Advantage Is Non-Taxation of Unrealized Gains
“The government only gives you one advantage As an investor, and that's the non-taxation of unrealized gains, and so you better do something about that”
Russo: Compounding Growth Requires Owner-Minded Managers Over Self-Interested Agents
“Anybody who reinvests on your behalf is your agent, and it's really hard to succeed in business if your agent is self-interested rather than has your interest at heart. And so that was a really important insight is that you need something that can grow, and th…”
Russo: Ceremonially gifted luxury products command massive price-inelastic demand
“It was a ceremonially given, so it had massive price inelastic demand, and it was global.”
Russo: Family-controlled firms fail when leadership goes to sleep at switch
“It was family controlled, and so the ability to invest for the very longest term, and in their case, they sort of let the ball drop, and of course, that's the risk with moving from Warren's early comments about making sure you have a Interested agent managing …”
Russo: Berkshire's IBM Failure Paved the Way for $40B Apple Position
“And sure enough, IBM was a complete dud. However, it allowed for them to begin the journey to technology, and sometime later, instead of a six billion dollar position in the dud, IBM, they have a forty billion dollar position in Apple, and they were willing to…”
The other half of the tape: Tom Russo's own voice is left out of every number here. Other people bring the name up 5 times in 4 episodes across the shows. every mention, with the transcript →
Who brings them up most Ted Seides 5
Every mention by year
tap a year for its mentions
Capital Allocators 5
2019 2 mentions in 2 episodes 1 per episode
2017 3 mentions in 2 episodes 2 per episode
One line per show, most statements first. The link opens Tom's full record on that show: the calibration, argument clarity, speaking style and every statement made there.
| Show | Role there | Eps | Statements | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAPITAL ALLOCATORSLEDGER | Managing Member and Chairman, Gardner Russo & Quinn | 3 | 66 | 50% 9/18 | full record on Capital Allocators → |