'Baby Berkshire' CEO says it's all right to be a 'boring' investor

Markel Group's Thomas Gayner believes successful investing isn't so much a sprint as a cross-country race

- Ravi Velloor

For Mr Thomas Gayner, chief executive officer of the insurance and investment firm Markel Group, successful investing isn't so much a sprint as a long, hard slog.

Think about it this way, he says. If you were in a 100m race with eight-time Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt, all bets would be on the Jamaican sprinter, who would surely win. Same if it were a 200m contest.

"But if you make it a marathon, there is a hint of doubt that Bolt may run himself out. Then, if you make the race cross-country, from Key West, Florida to Seattle, Washington - I have a chance to beat him. It is then about discipline and endurance, and that is a different race."

It is the sort of thinking that has helped Markel, which the 62-year-old Mr Gayner has led since early 2023 and co-led since 2016, gain eminence as a long-term, value investor. Markel has held Berkshire stock for three decades, and chunks of firms such as John Deere and Amazon and Diageo for a little less.

On Oct 30, Markel reported that its total revenues rose 15 per cent to US$12.8 billion (S$17.2 billion) for the first nine months of 2024, and total operating income jumped to US$3.1 billion. Shareholders enjoyed net income of US$2.2 billion in the first nine months, compared with US$1.2 billion in the matching period of 2023.

Forbes magazine in 2024 described Markel as a "Baby Berkshire Hathaway" and Mr Gayner, who has worked at Markel since 1990, makes no secret of his admiration for Berkshire's legendary founder, Mr Warren Buffett, and his long-time vice-chairman, the late Charlie Munger.