Oakmark is the mutual fund family launched in 1991 by Harris Associates, the Chicago deep-value firm founded in 1976 (about $105bn AUM). Bill Nygren runs the flagship Oakmark Fund and David Herro the Oakmark International Fund, buying businesses at large discounts to intrinsic value and holding them like owners — publishing quarterly fund commentaries, market commentaries and insight articles.
This report uses basketball coach Phil Jackson's Zen philosophy to explain that investment success depends on sticking to a good process and teamwork, not short-term wins or losses. For regular investors, this means when choosing a fund, don't just focus on star managers or recent performance. Instead, look at team culture and long-term incentives. For example, at Oakmark fund, new analysts are rewarded for helping colleagues improve, not for personal stock picks. The report also warns that concentrated funds (holding few stocks) are more volatile but may offer higher long-term returns. Worth reading because it uses sports stories to make investing lessons clear and helps you avoid chasing hot stocks.
Oakmark Investment Research: The Intersection of Sports and Value Investing Drawing on Zen wisdom from Phil Jackson's Eleven Rings, this article highlights the parallels between sports and value investing, emphasizing patience and teamwork. The core thesis is that Oakmark adheres to a long-term inve
This chapter uses the commonality between sports and value investing as an entry point, quoting Phil Jackson’s Zen saying from Eleven Rings: “Sit still, do nothing, spring comes and grass grows by itself,” emphasizing the core role of patience and teamwork in investing. The report points out the harsh reality of the sports pyramid—less than 6% of high school athletes make it to college teams, and only one in a thousand becomes a professional athlete—which closely mirrors the tension between individualism and team interests in the investment industry.
The author’s core investment argument is that Oakmark adheres to a long-term investment strategy, seeking growth companies, buying only when their stock prices are significantly below intrinsic value, and patiently waiting for the price gap to narrow. The counterintuitive judgment is that in the investment industry, short-term individual performance should not be the core incentive; teamwork and a culture of “we are great” are more likely to deliver long-term success than individual heroism. The author believes that stars like Michael Jordan passing the ball rather than going solo in critical moments exemplify team success.
For investors, the implication of this chapter is that when selecting fund managers, priority should be given to their team culture and long-term incentive mechanisms, rather than short-term individual star performance. Oakmark’s practice shows that institutions oriented toward teamwork and long-term value are more likely to avoid decision-making errors caused by individualism, thereby generating sustainable returns for investors. Investors should be wary of funds that use short-term stock price performance as the primary metric for analyst bonuses, as such a culture may harm client interests.
This chapter explores the relationship between "process" and "outcome" in investing, using Phil Jackson's Zen-like coaching style as an analogy for the quiet atmosphere of Oakmark's office. The author emphasizes that the key to investment success lies not in the quality of any single outcome, but in adherence to a rigorous process and continuous improvement.