This is the firm founded by William Ruane, who died in Oct. 2005. We continue to track its stock picks. The current investment committee is directed by Richard T. Cunniff. William Ruane is a Graham-and-Doddsville superinvestor recognized by Warren Buffett. William Ruane was founder and Chairman of Sequoia Fund, Inc. (SEQUX). Since inception in 1970 through September 30, 2007, the Fund has returned 15.57% average annually. During the same period the S&P 500 returned an average 11.86% annually. He is a student of Benjamin Graham, and attended his class at the same time as Warren Buffett.
Investing Philosophy:
Ruane Cunniff are value investors focused on the intrinsic value of business. They are long-term investors, and will buy a stock and hold it for a long time, even if sometimes the stocks seem to be overvalued. They look at common stocks as units of ownership in a business, and purchase them when the price appears low in relation to the value of the total enterprise. The Firm shuns technical stock market studies, and looks at the balance sheet, earnings history, and prospects of each investment when determining its value.
When Warren Buffett dissolved his partnership, he asked Bill Ruane to take care of his partners. Bill Ruane and his partners started Sequoia Fund for that purpose. Bill Ruane passed away a few years ago. his partners are managing the fund. This is the excerpt of from the shareholder meeting transcript. The fund managers discussed a few companies they own. More...
This is the transcript of the question-and-answer session that followed Bob Goldfarb's prepared remarks at Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb Investor Day on May 15, 2009. Bob Goldfarb and other analysts answered questions about their holdings. More...
Ruane & Cunniff & Goldfarb Inc. was founded by the late William Ruane, who worked together with Buffett at Ben Graham's firm. They employ a long term value approach, and like to buy high quality companies. This is the Q2 portfolio buys and sells. Ruane Cunniff owns 145 stocks with a total value of $6.9 billion. More...
Two Gurufocus Gurus, the Ruane Cunniff team and Jean-Marie Eveillard are named as the Morningstar Manager of the Year Runners-Up for 2008. The following is from Morningstar. More...
After closed to new investors for more than 25 years, Sequoia Fund is reopen: "Effective May 1, 2008, the Fund will begin accepting orders for the purchase of Fund shares from new investors." More...
When Warren Buffett disolved his limited partnership in 1960s, he directed his clients to Bill Ruane. That was when value firm Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb Inc was founded. This is the updates of their buys and sells during the second quarter of 2007. More...
This is the transcript of 2006 shareholder meeting of Sequoia Fund. The managers discussed Wal-Mart, Harley-Davidson, Walgreen, the valuation of Berkshire Hathaway etc. It is a little old, but a lot of the discussions still apply today. More...
TJX reported a fine year that highlighted the inherent strength of its off-price business model. The company saw its earnings per share, absent one-time charges, grow by more than 20%. In recent years, TJX had committed a succession of gaffes, including the failed launch of a dot com business and the rapid expansion of several unproven start-up concepts. Finally, in late 2005 the board of directors tapped chairman of the board and founder Ben Cammarata to return as interim CEO. Cammarata achieved almost immediate results by re-focusing TJX on its core businesses, TJ Maxx, Marshall's and Winners, the TJ Maxx of Canada. He replaced a number of senior managers and closed stores that had little potential for earning a satisfactory return. Perhaps most importantly he lured long-time executive Carol Meyrowitz, who had left the business earlier in 2005, back to the company. More...
Berkshire Hathaway enjoyed a terrific year, though it received more than a little help from Mother Nature. After two years which saw multiple hurricanes wreak havoc on the Gulf Coast, writers of "supercat" reinsurance raised premiums significantly, then saw no major storms hit the U.S. mainland in 2006. This fortuitous circumstance helped Berkshire more than double its reported earnings per share through the first nine months of the year. As a major writer of "supercat" reinsurance, there will be years when Berkshire gets lucky, like 2006, and years when it pays out billions of dollars in claims, like 2004 and 2005. A prudent forecast for 2007 would include a more normalized level of catastrophe claims, and thus a lower level of earnings in the reinsurance business. More...
Mohawk Industries' stock price fell 14% in 2006. Reported earnings rose 17% for the year, reflecting earnings accretion from the purchase of Unilin, a large European-based laminate flooring manufacturer, in late 2005. Absent the acquisition of Unilin, net income would have been flattish as lower interest expense from debt pay-down would have offset a modest decline in operating profits at Mohawk's business units. The decline in operating income reflected high oil prices, which increased the cost of the raw materials used to make flooring products, and a slump in both new home construction and home remodeling, which reduced demand for residential flooring. In this difficult environment, Mohawk successfully managed operating costs and the acquisition of Unilin. It also dramatically reduced the debt taken on to make the acquisition. More...
For most of its history, Progressive's aim has been to earn at least a 4% operating margin and grow as fast as possible. In 2006, it earned a 14% margin. This windfall occurred largely because of a number of structural changes that cumulatively have significantly reduced the frequency of automobile accidents. More...
When Warren Buffett disolved his limited partnership is 1960s, he directed his clients to Bill Ruane. That was when value firm Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb Inc was founded. This is the updates of their buys and sells during the 4th quarter of 2006. More...
Fact: Between 1984 and 1999, a great bull market in America, 90 percent of mutual fund managers underperformed the Wilshire 5000 Index, a relatively low bar to beat. More...
Ruane Cunniff managers buy Knight Transportation Inc., Aracruz Celulose S.A., SCP Pool Corp., etc. sell Chaparral Steel Company, Toyota Motor Corp., USI Holdings Corp., etc during the 3-months ended 09/30/2006, according to the most recent filings of their investment company, RUANE & CUNNIFF & GOLDFARB INC. They own 244 stocks with a total value of $13.7 billion. These are the details of the buys and sells. More...
Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb Inc., who manages the Sequoia Fund, buys Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., MasterCard Incorporated Class A Common Stock, Guitar Center Inc., Lowe's Companies Inc., Ryland Group Inc., HDFC Bank Ltd., ECollege.com, Apache Corp., CSK Auto Corp., Dow Chemical Co., El Paso Corp., Hugoton Royalty Trust, Tribune Co., WRIGLEY WILLIAM CL-B, sells Millicom International Cellula, Ultra Petroleum Corp., Priceline.com Inc., EnCana Corporation Common Shares, SLM Corp., Education Management Corporati, HomeStore Inc. - Common Stock, Overstock.com Inc., Alberto-Culver Co., Diagnostic Products Corp., Leap Wireless International In, Whiting Petroleum Corp., Mercantile Bankshares Corp., National Medical Health Card S, Nelnet Inc., Unitedhealth Group Inc., Interactive Data Corp., Pixar, SEI Investments Co., Sysco Corp., Valley Forge Scientific Corp., Zimmer Holdings Inc. during the 3-months ended 06/30/2006, according to the most recent filings of their investment company. During the first half of this year, the Sequoia Fund gained 0.78%, while the S&P500 gained 2.7%. These are the details. More...
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