Ben Gordon: The Hunt For Extraordinary Returns

<p>This week I had the privilege to talk with Ben Gordon. He is the founder and head portfolio manager at Blue Grotto Capital. This episode is a deep dive into Ben’s process of researching and finding ideas, why he started Blue Grotto, his prior work at GMT,&nbsp;why he went long on Spectrum Brands and Cedar Fair Entertainment, and why shorting is a dark art.</p> <p>Here is the time-stamp:&nbsp;</p> <ul> <li>[0:00] The Story Behind Blue Grotto</li> <li>[3:00] Who is Ben Gordon?</li> <li>[6:40] From Analyst to PM: Emerging Markets Wireless Carriers&nbsp;</li> <li>[10:00] Reply and Smurfit Kappa</li> <li>[12:05] Using Regressions to Find Ideas&nbsp;</li> <li>[16:30] The IT Business&nbsp;</li> <li>[18:20] Lessons from Bad Investment Ideas: Michael Kors</li> <li>[22:10] Importance of Walking Away from an Investment Theme</li> <li>[30:00] The Catalyst to start Blue Grotto</li> <li>[36:05] Spectrum Brands&nbsp;</li> <li>[46:00] Cedar Fair Entertainment: The Theme Park Business a Regional Monopoly</li> <li>[49:10] Shorting: The Dark Art&nbsp;</li> <li>[55:30] Shorting Orthopediatrics $KIDS</li> <li>[1:00:00] Position Sizing while Shorting</li> <li>[1:04:00] VMware: Optionality and Themes Case Study</li> <li>[1:12:40] Ben Gordon’s Investing Mosaic</li> <li>[1:22:00] Improving Weaknesses &nbsp;</li> <li>[1:27:10] More from Ben and Closing Questions</li> </ul> <p>If you liked what you heard, check out Ben's website <a href="https://www.bluegrottocapital.com/">here</a>.&nbsp;</p> <p>The Value Hive Podcast is brought to you by TIKR. Join the free beta today at <a href="https://tikr.com/hive" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TIKR.com/hive</a><a href="https://tikr.com/hive" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">.</a> They're constantly releasing new updates that make the platform better, including a new Business Owner Mode that hides share count, market cap, and enterprise value. I couldn't be more excited to partner with TIKR.</p> <p>We're also excited to announce our new