The value in being contrarian

Guest: Tim Hillier, Allan Gray Contrarians can be a lot like teenagers: they think they’re all different but end up looking the same. This however, is not true of this week’s guest, Tim Hillier from Allan Gray. Case in point: when asked what stock he’d own if the market were to close for five years, Tim spent longer explaining the issues with his stock of choice than the positives. At Allan Gray, their contrarian streak even extends beyond their investment decisions to their hiring policies; as a rule, most of their hires come from outside the funds management industry. In this week’s episode of The Rules of Investing podcast, he tells us how financial statements tell a story, he explains the dynamics of a changing Australian media landscape, and he shares his thesis on two truly contrarian stock ideas among Australian large caps.