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Today, we're sharing our interview with our very own Clay Finck, host of the We Study Billionaires podcast.

All this, and more, in just 5 minutes to read.

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Trivia

Clay Finck on Investing, Markets, and Learning

Behind the microphone

“Buy right, sit tight” — that’s how Clay Finck would describe his investment motto.

Finck, the host of We Study Billionaires, has brought the goods for the podcast, analyzing companies like Copart and Constellation Software and interviewing brilliant guests such as Morgan Housel, Dr. Robert Cialdini, Aswath Damodaran, Chris Mayer, and more. Finck, who lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, thrives as a host because he spends hours (sometimes 20-plus) preparing for a single interview.

“There are so many rewarding aspects of hosting We Study Billionaires,” Finck says. “Learning alongside thousands of listeners is very fulfilling to me. The creative side is also rewarding — creating new topics and discussion points. The learning never ends.”

Here’s our full interview with Clay on markets, investing, and lessons learned, edited lightly for brevity and clarity.

Tell readers about your road to being fascinated with the investing world.

When I first learned about the true power of compounding, I thought it was too good to be true. It turns out that it wasn’t! I have been a big fan of The Investor’s Podcast since 2018, and my learning journey went into hyperdrive when I was hired as a host in 2021. When I first joined as a host, I wasn’t quite sure what investing approach fit my skill set and temperament, and over time, I feel that I’ve developed an approach that hopefully enables me to take full advantage of compounding.

What is your favorite part of running WSB?

Malcolm Gladwell believes three things are required to enjoy your work: autonomy, complexity, and a connection between effort and reward. I feel that my role as a host of WSB delivers on all three. Most notably, I believe I have a high level of autonomy in my work. I select the guests I want to chat with, I select the topics, and I also had the opportunity to kickstart our TIP Mastermind Community. When you can find a job with all three qualities Gladwell mentioned, I believe it can lead to truly magical results in the long term.

More specifically, my favorite part of being a host on WSB is connecting one-on-one with so many brilliant people – both guests on the show and members of our community.

What are some of your favorite interviews?

1. All three of my interviews with Chris Mayer (my investing hero)

2. Morgan Housel

3. Dr. Robert Cialdini

What are a few of your favorite books?

1. Favorite investing books: The Joys of Compounding & 100 Baggers

2. Favorite personal development book: The Magic of Thinking Big

3. Favorite macro book: The Price of Tomorrow

How much prep goes into an interview?

It varies by the interview. Some guests are kind enough to send me the questions/topics they would like to cover beforehand, while other interviews require more legwork. This may vary from 4 hours to 15+ hours per interview. Sometimes, I spend 20+ hours reading a book to prepare. My solo episodes (without a guest) tend to take much longer to prepare for than the interviews.

A few of your favorite stories from the show?

Morgan Housel is one of the best storytellers I’ve ever encountered. There are many cool stories from that interview, but one of my favorites was his story from the chapter, Hanging by a Thread. Tesla was weeks (if not days) from bankruptcy in 2018, and they managed to stay alive. In 2023, the Model Y was the bestselling car in the world.

So much of the world is hanging by a thread.

Another of my favorite parts of that interview was Morgan’s explanation of storytelling, which suggested that the person with the right answer doesn’t necessarily get ahead, but the person with the best story does. 

The best product that Elon Musk has ever made is not a Tesla car or a Falcon rocket…it’s Tesla stock. He’s created a story in millions of people’s minds that shows what Tesla could be someday, and that’s why the valuation is what it is today.

Any business lessons that stand out?

Studying Constellation Software, Berkshire Hathaway, and Copart helped me understand the power of a really strong culture. 

In the short run, news headlines and public sentiment drive a stock's value. 

In the long run, it’s largely driven by great people, great management, and a great culture. These qualitative aspects of a business create a tremendous amount of wealth for shareholders.

What’s a high-level overview of how you personally invest (whether specific stocks, or time horizon, or research, or all of the above)?

I take a concentrated approach to investing in individual stocks. I’d rather own <10 businesses I know well than 20+ businesses I don’t fully understand. A small number of businesses drives a lot of the market's overall returns, and I want to ensure that I own businesses that are run by an exceptional management team that can reinvest back into their businesses at high rates of return for a long time. These businesses are difficult to find, making it easy for me to say no to 99% of opportunities I come across. 

This investing approach was inspired by Chris Mayer, Nick Sleep, and Charlie Munger.

What’s the biggest investing mistake you made?

There are many, but one that stands out was getting caught up during the bull market of 2020/2021 and getting attracted to companies that were growing the fastest and had lofty valuations. It turns out that valuations do matter! 

Now that I have read so much about the 1999 tech bubble, I feel that I lived through a very similar experience of FOMO myself. Thankfully, the tech companies I bought into in 2021 were a relatively small portion of my portfolio, and the overall damage was salvageable. Once I realized my mistake, I cut my losses and allocated to stronger, more stable businesses. Thanks to TIP, I’ve learned a lot since then!

At what point do you sell stocks, if ever?

Ideally, the only time I sell a stock is when I realize I’ve made a mistake in assessing the quality of the business or management team. When I realize the business isn’t as good as I thought or the long-term thesis is no longer intact, I want to part ways and sell the position. 

Chris Mayer taught me that much of a great investor’s outperformance comes from letting your winners run. This means not selling a stock when it goes up by 2x, 5x, or even 10x. When you own a great business and the long-term thesis is intact, it’s almost always a mistake to sell. With that said, there may be the rare time when a great business is egregiously overpriced, and it may be wise to trim your position, but I’m reluctant to ever do so.

How much cash do you like to hold?

For my portfolio, usually somewhere between 1-5%.

How often do you check your brokerage account?

I check stock prices every day or two, but I rarely check my brokerage account as I don’t do much buying or selling.

What has the Mastermind Community meant to you?

My favorite part of running the Mastermind Community is meeting amazing new members each week. Because of the community, I now feel like I have friends in all corners of the world. The community has been an invaluable tool in my learning journey and in building out my network of like-minded value investors.

Do you think you’ll ever retire, or just keep studying the best and reading and sharing that information?

I hope to always do work I enjoy and find meaningful. I find it to be a gift and something I don’t take for granted.

What are your favorite hobbies outside of investing?

Weight lifting, basketball, pickleball, and traveling with friends.

What does a typical day look like for you as a podcast host?

Each day looks different. My #1 priority is putting out a high-quality episode each week, so much time goes toward making that happen. I try not to keep my days too structured and allow serendipity to strike. My best guests and stock ideas seem to come to me in some way without forcing it. Reading and scrolling X (Twitter) can be a great source of inspiration.

Outside of that, I message the team, respond to emails, hop on calls with our TIP Mastermind Community, or read.

Is there a dream guest you'd love to have on your podcast?

Bill Ackman.

Can you share a memorable interaction or story with a listener that impacted you?

When I was in Omaha with Trey for the Berkshire meeting in 2021, I ran into a listener of the show in the street and chatted with him. Trey and I were on our way to grab dinner.

He told us how much he loved the show, and we invited him to join us to eat. It made his day and really meant a lot to him. I’ve found that going the extra step and showing others that you care is really important. I always love meeting the listeners in person in Omaha.

Dive deeper

You can follow Clay on X (formerly Twitter) and check out his recent episodes here. You can also check out our Mastermind Community here.

Recommended Reading: Carbon Finance

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