2025 Ben Graham Conference: Top Fund Managers Pitch International Value Stock Picks

At the 2025 Ben Graham Conference, the International Value Investments panel explored whether global value stocks are finally poised to outperform. Moderator Henry Mallari-D’Auria, CIO of Global & Emerging Markets Equities at Ariel Investments, led the discussion with panelists including Matthew Fine, Portfolio Manager at Third Avenue Management; Christian Heck, Portfolio Manager at First Eagle Investments; Amelia Koh, Analyst at Tweedy, Browne; Krishna Mohanraj, Portfolio Manager for International Strategy at Diamond Hill; and Waldemar Mozes, Director of Investments at Cedar Street Asset Management. Together, they examined value selection, non-U.S. opportunities, and the disciplined frameworks guiding their global portfolios.

Also our coverage of the 2025 Sohn Monaco Conference, 2025 Global Alts New York and the Best Alternative Investment Fund Conferences for 2025.

2025 Ben Graham Conference - Matthew Fine, Christian Heck, Amelia Koh, Krishna Mohanraj, and Waldemar Mozes

Moderator's Opening Remarks & Panelist Introductions

The moderator, Henry Mallari-D’Auria, opened the panel by stating, "This is the panel you have waited for, perhaps for a decade. What's going to happen outside the United States? Will it finally perform? The case for attractive valuation has been there for a while, but will value perform? Have we already started to see the change in direction in non-US equities? That's what you are here to find out, and we are thrilled with a great panel to help us out".

He explained the initial format: "Over the next few minutes, each of our panelists will give some answers, but I think what we'll start with is letting them each describe who they are, what their philosophy and firm represent, and give us an example of an investment they've made that highlights the way they invest. If they each take roughly three or so minutes, that will leave us time to get into more robust questions".

Panelist Firm Philosophies & Investment Examples

Matthew Fine, Third Avenue Management

Matthew Fine noted that Third Avenue was founded by legendary value investor Marty Whitman in 1986. Their core strategy for all funds is to buy at a cheap valuation, which derives from investor pessimism, making it contrarian at the time of investment. The key is to buy when the market is "cloudy" but wait 3-5 years for conditions to improve.

Investment Example: Global Automotive Industry

• Matt highlights the global automotive industry as an example of a "cloudy" investment.
• The sector currently shows valuations around 5.5x Price-to-Earnings (PE) and almost zero on Enterprise Value-to-EBITDA, with 90% of market capitalization held in cash.
• This valuation is due to investor pessimism around factors like tariffs and China's entry into the market.
• Despite these concerns, the industry's EBIT (Earnings Before Interest and Taxes) margin is strong for the sector, and their exposure is primarily in the US and Japan with low China influence.

Christian Heck, First Eagle Investments

Christian Heck, originally from Germany, described First Eagle Investments, noting their history dates back to the 1870s and they manage approximately $150 billion today. Their value fund was incepted 46 years ago and was run by Jean-Marie Eveillard, who had a close relationship with Marty Whitman. First Eagle has compounded about 13% annually since inception over those 46 years. They are "global, go anywhere" value investors, focusing on price and a margin of safety.

Investment Example: Get Tencent At A Discount

• This stock is the investment holding of two South African entrepreneurs who made a significant investment in 2001 into the Chinese tech company, Tencent.
• Tencent has been one of the greatest investments of all time, compounding at about 40% annualized.
• The stock owns about 25% of Tencent, which is its main asset.
• Tencent operates WeChat, an app with 1.4 billion users in China who spend close to two hours daily using it for communication, payments, social media, and video.
• Tencent has grown its top-line revenue and operating income by over 20% annualized in the last decade.
• First Eagle was historically skeptical of China investments but saw a great opportunity during the property bubble burst and tech crackdown.