Thomas Gayner - Markel

Profile

Company: Markel Corporation || Position: Chief Executive Officer (from 1/1-23)

Date of employment: 1990 || Website: https://www.markel.com/

Thomas Gayner started his career as a Certified Public Accountant at PriceWaterhouseCoopers and was subsequently Vice President at Davenport & Co.

In 1990, Gayner joined Markel to create the subsidiary ‘Markel Gayner Asset Management’, whose purpose was to invest in equities for Markel and external investors.

He then joined the executive board of Markel Corporation, which today is referred to as a “mini-Berkshire” because of the similarities between an insurance business and the use of float (customer premiums) to invest in companies.

He is a graduate of the University of Virginia and The Lawrenceville School.

Investment philosophy

Thomas Gayner has on several occasions, including in his annual ‘Letter to Shareholders’, expressed his four main investment principles:

  • He looks for companies that earn a high rate of return on invested capital (rate of return) combined with limited use of debt.
  • The company’s leadership must have a high degree of talent and integrity
  • The company must have good opportunities to reinvest capital and grow organically or through acquisitions and/or the discipline to buy back shares or pay a dividend.
  • Last but certainly not least, Gayner only buys a company when the price is fair, i.e. when the long-term return is expected to be equal to the growth in the company’s underlying and fundamental value.

Portfolio activity

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