[From The Archives] Tom Gayner 2011 Value Investor Insight Interview — Part One

Tom Gayner is the co-president and chief investment officer of the financial holding company Markel. He has an outstanding record as a portfolio manager, achieving a return of 11.3% per annum for the past 15 year, while the S&P 500 has returned 4.2% over the same period -- that’s including dividends. Last year, a year when the vast majority of portfolio managers failed to beat the market, Tom Gayner’s equity portfolio earned 18.6%, outperforming the S&P 500 by 4.9%.

Tom Gayner’s career has been shaped by Markel. After graduating from the University of Virginia in 1983, Gayner began working at Price Waterhouse Coopers as a Certified Public Accountant. After, he became a stockbroker at a small company known...