GuruFocus is excited to welcome gurus Don Yacktman, Steve Yacktman and Jason Subotky of Yacktman Asset Management Co. for a Q&A session with our readers.
Don Yacktman and his son, Brian Yacktman, had very interesting things to say when they participated in a similar Q&A with GuruFocus readers about 18 months ago. You can read the full transcript of that session here.
The Donald Yacktman Fund has had outstanding performance. It had the highest returns of all mutual funds that we follow, with a three-year cumulative return of 32% from 2008-2010. Donald Yacktman had a smaller loss in 2008, but he seized the opportunity in the market and bought into beaten down small caps to make an impressive gain of almost 60% in 2009.
The size of Donald Yacktman’s equity portfolio has more than tripled since 2009 due to his attractive rate of returns. He now manages over $3 billion.
Performance of The Yacktman Fund
Yacktman’s investing philosophy is to combine the best features of “growth” and “value” by maintaining a disciplined investment strategy and buying growth companies at what he believes to be low prices. When he purchases stocks, he looks for companies that display the following three attributes: good business, shareholder-oriented management and low purchase price.
Each of Yacktman’s funds contains fewer stocks than most mutual funds—usually fewer than 25. They tend to invest more in their top choices than in other investments they find less attractive.
According to the Yacktman Fund website, Mr. Donald Yacktman is the President and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Yacktman Asset Management Co. He is also a Co-Manager for The Yacktman Funds. Prior to founding the firm in April, 1992, Mr. Yacktman served for ten years as the Senior Portfolio Manager of Selected Financial Services, Inc. During that time, he also served for nine years as the Portfolio Manager of the Selected American Shares mutual fund and was named Portfolio Manager of The Year by Morningstar in 1991. He joined Selected Financial Services, Inc. in 1982 from Stein Roe & Farnham where he had been a portfolio manager since 1968. Mr. Yacktman holds a B.S. Magna Cum Laude in economics from The University of Utah and an MBA with distinction from Harvard University.
Steve Yacktman is Vice President, Portfolio Manager and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Yacktman Asset Management Co. He is also Co-Manager of The Yacktman Funds. Jason Subotky is a Vice President, Portfolio Manager and Co-Manager of The Yacktman Funds. He joined the firm in August, 2001, having previously worked as a general partner at Peterschmidt Ventures and as a vice president at Goldman Sachs.
Read these articles to find out more about how they invest:
Donald Yacktman Buys CSCO, PEP, PG, NWSA, XOM, MSFT, SYY, APOL, Sells WLP, ANF, PBH
Donald Yacktman Expands to Europe
Donald Yacktman Top 5 Holdings: NWS, PEP, KO, MSFT, PG
You can ask questions to these accomplished investors by posting your questions in the User Comments area below. We will collect and send to Don, Steve and Jason.
Don Yacktman and his son, Brian Yacktman, had very interesting things to say when they participated in a similar Q&A with GuruFocus readers about 18 months ago. You can read the full transcript of that session here.
The Donald Yacktman Fund has had outstanding performance. It had the highest returns of all mutual funds that we follow, with a three-year cumulative return of 32% from 2008-2010. Donald Yacktman had a smaller loss in 2008, but he seized the opportunity in the market and bought into beaten down small caps to make an impressive gain of almost 60% in 2009.
The size of Donald Yacktman’s equity portfolio has more than tripled since 2009 due to his attractive rate of returns. He now manages over $3 billion.
Performance of The Yacktman Fund
| Year | Return (%) | S&P500 (%) | Excess Gain (%) |
| 2010 | 12.64 | 15.1 | -2.5 |
| 2009 | 59.31 | 26.5 | 32.8 |
| 2008 | -26.05 | -37 | 11.0 |
| 2007 | 3.39 | 5.61 | -2.2 |
| 2006 | 15.95 | 15.79 | 0.2 |
| 5-Year Cumulative | 59.1 | 12.2 | 46.9 |
| 2005 | -1.3 | 4.91 | -6.2 |
| 2004 | 9.93 | 12 | -2.1 |
| 2003 | 33.03 | 28.7 | 4.3 |
| 2002 | 11.41 | -22.1 | 33.5 |
| 2001 | 19.47 | -11.9 | 31.4 |
| 10-Year Cumulative | 205.6 | 16.4 | 189.2 |
| 2000 | 13.46 | -9.1 | 22.6 |
| 1999 | -16.9 | 21 | -37.9 |
Yacktman’s investing philosophy is to combine the best features of “growth” and “value” by maintaining a disciplined investment strategy and buying growth companies at what he believes to be low prices. When he purchases stocks, he looks for companies that display the following three attributes: good business, shareholder-oriented management and low purchase price.
Each of Yacktman’s funds contains fewer stocks than most mutual funds—usually fewer than 25. They tend to invest more in their top choices than in other investments they find less attractive.
According to the Yacktman Fund website, Mr. Donald Yacktman is the President and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Yacktman Asset Management Co. He is also a Co-Manager for The Yacktman Funds. Prior to founding the firm in April, 1992, Mr. Yacktman served for ten years as the Senior Portfolio Manager of Selected Financial Services, Inc. During that time, he also served for nine years as the Portfolio Manager of the Selected American Shares mutual fund and was named Portfolio Manager of The Year by Morningstar in 1991. He joined Selected Financial Services, Inc. in 1982 from Stein Roe & Farnham where he had been a portfolio manager since 1968. Mr. Yacktman holds a B.S. Magna Cum Laude in economics from The University of Utah and an MBA with distinction from Harvard University.
Steve Yacktman is Vice President, Portfolio Manager and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Yacktman Asset Management Co. He is also Co-Manager of The Yacktman Funds. Jason Subotky is a Vice President, Portfolio Manager and Co-Manager of The Yacktman Funds. He joined the firm in August, 2001, having previously worked as a general partner at Peterschmidt Ventures and as a vice president at Goldman Sachs.
Read these articles to find out more about how they invest:
Donald Yacktman Buys CSCO, PEP, PG, NWSA, XOM, MSFT, SYY, APOL, Sells WLP, ANF, PBH
Donald Yacktman Expands to Europe
Donald Yacktman Top 5 Holdings: NWS, PEP, KO, MSFT, PG
You can ask questions to these accomplished investors by posting your questions in the User Comments area below. We will collect and send to Don, Steve and Jason.
