Will Danoff: ‘Be Very Careful of Unprofitable Companies’

We’re taping this podcast live at the Morningstar Investment Conference, where we’re delighted to be joined by Fidelity’s Will Danoff. Will runs a number of Fidelity equity strategies, the best known of which is Fidelity Contrafund FCNTX, a mutual fund he’s been managing since September 1990. Morningstar named Will its Domestic-Stock Manager of the Year in 2007. Prior to becoming a portfolio manager, Will served as a retail analyst at Fidelity and assistant portfolio manager at Fidelity Magellan FMAGX. He graduated from Harvard University and earned his MBA at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Will, welcome back to The Long View.

Episode Highlights

00:00:00 Introduction

00:00:56 Investing Origins and Early Influences

00:00:53 Retail Analysis and Unit Economics

00:10:29 Reg FD Changes and Adapting Research Processes

00:15:00 Identifying Durable Competitive Advantages

00:19:24 SpaceX and Buying Private Companies

00:22:40 Investing Mistakes and Avoiding Unprofitable Companies

Episoder(391)

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