Francisco Parames Likes Schindler While Whitney Tilson Likes Microsoft

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Oct 12, 2010
The sixth annual New York Value Invesing Congress kicks off later this morning with a line-up of hedge fund heavyweights. Two speakers of the event, Whitney Tilson and Francisco Parames were interviewed by CNBC this morning:



For those of us who do not know who Francisco Parames is, here is a bio from his firm Bestinver International’s website:
Francisco Garcà­a Paramés

Born in 1963, after obtaining his MBA at IESE (in 1989), he joined Bestinver, where after 2 years as ananalyst of Spanish stocks, he began to manage portfolios and funds. His career as an investment manager can be summarized quickly given the yield obtained by his Spanish equity funds: 17.9% per annum in the period January 1993 - June 2009, equivalent to an accumulated increase of 1.538%, compared to 464% obtained by the reference index (IGBM, Madrid Stock Market General Index).

In 1997 he also began to manage Bestinver Internacional taking it to the leading positions in the market of foreign funds sold in Spain, with an accumulated yield from January 1998 to June 2009 of 196% (9.5% Annual Average Return) versus -3.1% obtained by the reference index, the MSCI World Index.

Self-taught, his management style is based on the strict application of the principles of value management (Graham, Buffet, Peter Lynch, etc.), within a framework of a profound knowledge of the Austrian theory of economic cycles.

He has an Economics degree from the Universidad Complutense and a Master’s from IESE. He speaks Spanish, English and French and reads German and Italian.

In the interview, Parames stated that it is easier to practice value investing in Europe due to less competition. He liked Swiss elevator maker Schindler, whose business is booming in China and it is traded at 10 times earning.

Tilson talked about why he likes Microsoft: price of the stock has been flat for the past 10 years; valuation was too high 10 years ago, but too low today; if stripped off the cash, the company is traded at less than 10 times of the cash earning; the truth is, the company is no Barnes & Noble; all segments of its businesses are growing; in conclusion, it is cheap, safe, and fast growing.

GuruFocus tracks Whitney Tilson’s stock portfolio. Click on his name to check out.