2026 Ben Graham Conference – Bob Robotti on Why Inflation, Not the Fed, Will Decide the Next Decade of Value

Robert “Bob” Robotti, president and chief investment officer of Robotti & Company Advisors, accepted a value-investing award at the 2026 Ben Graham Conference, hosted by CFA Society New York, and used his remarks to argue that the resurgence of value investing will be driven by economics and inflation rather than by guessing the Federal Reserve’s next move.

An Auditor Who Became an Investor

The citation traced Robotti’s path from a young auditor assigned to Tweedy, Browne, where conversations with senior partners introduced him to value investing, to a stint as chief financial officer to Mario Gabelli, which he has described as the equivalent of a personal MBA. Since founding his firm in 1983, he built a record investing in cyclical and overlooked corners of the economy, including energy, industrial manufacturing, homebuilding and special situations, finding value where others saw uncertainty.

The award also recognized his work on public-company boards, where he has pushed for better governance and capital allocation, and his philanthropy through institutions such as Pace University, John Cabot University and the Museum of American Finance. Robotti joked that hearing the citation read aloud was like hearing his own obituary, and said the personal connections and the team of investors around him mattered most.