Great Investors Never Heard Of - Stephen A. Jarislowsky

The Canadian Investor Stephen A. Jarislowsky is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Jarislowsky Fraser Limited. With over  C$40 billion in assets under management it is one of the largest and most successful investment management firms in Canada.

The estimated wealth of $1.2 billion in March 2016, makes him the 30th richest person in Canada.

Key Points Made:

• Doesn't consider himself an entrepreneur, but rather a professional like a lawyer offering a service based on strict ethics

• Although himself open to investments in every kind of company he recommends to the public to invest in prominent, non- cyclical companies

• He's investing for the long-run. Only sells holdings when they get overvalued

• The idea is to buy cheap and sell dear. Behave like a good christian on the stockmaret. Take when everyone is giving and give when everyone is taking

• The human being uses reason to justify emotion rather than emotion to justify reason. Humans are animals. Gread and fear is and will be always out in the business

• Looks for dividend paying stocks. Every corporation has a life just like a human. If you buy and keep a company from beginning to end, just like in human life, you start from zero and end at zero. If you haven't got anything at the end what is the journey all about? If he puts money out he wants to get income back

• Companies that can afford to pay dividends, and at the same time are thrieving, are the superior businesses

• Doesn't like mutual funds because cost is too high

• Debt is too high and eventually will get inflated away

• Inflationary times are when to buy companies. Especially companies having debt on the balance sheet will eventually overcome high inflation

• Inflation somewhat better than deflation because people will invest

• You don't need a broad universe of investible stocks. 500 is enough, because one only needs 20-30 stocks to be widely diversified

• Believes in investing internationally. Only invests in countries with good shareholder rights.Not interested investing in China or Russia, though

• He himself is frugile. It's a rational state being frugile as an investor. You can't spend too much time on looking after estate and posessions

• Likes a simple life

• Thinks that knowing the management is essential in order to know the human ingredient of investments