Bio

It’s an unlikely path from country farm boy to boutique fund owner and manager. But with that path paved in race track forays, investment banking exercises and small business labours, the insights gained are now invaluable knowledge to Intelligent Investor Funds’ Chief Investment Officer, Steve Johnson.

Influential over the years is childhood friend, and Research Director of The Intelligent Investor, Greg Hoffman. Their early partnership in an ASX school competition didn’t quite prepare them for years of business ownership but it did cement their appreciation for each other’s skills and passion for investing.

Steve spent most of his childhood in one of two places; working on his family farm or wasting the money he earned on the farm at the racetrack. His first investment was one 4-year-old Hereford cow, purchased from his father for $250. Three mysterious calf-disappearances later Steve had learnt his first investment lesson: Don’t deal with financially strapped counterparties.

While farm experiences continued adding to his business acumen, Steve was learning a great deal about markets, psychology and probabilities at the horse races. Such was the learning curve that by the time Greg handed him a copy of The Making of an American Capitalist, being able to accept losses and understanding the difference between price and value were second nature to him. Value investing was just something that made sense.

But to invest you need capital and, fortunately, it was a long time before Steve had any of that. While learning about the world of finance in an accounting role in Swiss bank UBS’s Sydney office, Steve obtained an economics degree and, upon graduation, moved across to Macquarie Bank’s investment banking group. An experience he wouldn’t trade for love or money.

But working and investing with Greg was something both of them had always wanted to do, so when the opportunity arose to invest in The Intelligent Investor and move back to Sydney in 2003, there was no hesitation. After six years of writing the odd article, managing the business side of The Intelligent Investor and thinking about ‘what next?’, the new Funds Management business was established in October 2009.

Investing and managing money has always been Steve’s ideal job. He loves nothing more than looking under the hood of companies and working out what they’re all about. Finding opportunities in such circumstances is the cream on his cake. He is currently managing the Intelligent Investor Funds’ first portfolio, the Value Fund, and has recently signed a mandate to manage a second portfolio valued at $45m.