Tom Russo Barron's Interview

Found via Canadian Value Investing.

When it comes to industries like tobacco, beer, and spirits, few investors are better versed than Thomas Russo.

A partner at Gardner Russo & Gardner in Lancaster, Pa., Russo manages $5 billion, including the $500 million Semper Vic partnership that has generated a compound annual return of 12.3% since 1992, versus 8.3% for the S&P 500 index.

Russo is a believer in companies like Nestlé, Brown-Forman, Heineken Holding, Philip Morris International, Richemont, and Unilever, many of which he has owned for more than two decades.

Also a longtime holder of Berkshire Hathaway, Russo shares Warren Buffett's fondness for companies with great brands and international opportunities that can generate steady growth over long periods. Russo runs a concentrated portfolio with low turnover, and passionately follows his investments. Want to know about the Chinese liquor market, or the sub-Saharan beer business? Russo is your man. Barron's recently asked him what global brands have cachet and staying power, and why he favors some European companies over their American counterparts.