After graduating from Harvard Business School, Donald Yacktman began his investment career in 1968 at Stein Roe and Farnham. After 14 years as a portfolio manager, he left to go to Vincent Chesley's firm. He was so successful that he got Morningstar’s award best portfolio manager 1991.
Yacktman founded the company Yacktman Asset Management in 1992 and his son Stephen joined a year later. Since then his son has increasingly taken on responsibility for managing it. In 1999 they became equal partners in the company. Their strategy is to look for stocks that are sustainable for a very long time, they call it "Risk Adjusted Forward Returns". They look at the growth rate, profitability, and reinvestment rates to determine probabilities for future returns.
Donald Yacktman’s portfolio highlights a diversified set of quality, long-term investment stocks across energy, technology, financial services, and healthcare. His investment approach emphasizes durable business models, strong market positions, and the potential for sustainable compounding—reflected in a concentrated selection of well-known public stocks.
1) Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. — A core energy investment focused on scale and operational resilience in the oil and gas sector, aligning with a value-oriented, cash-flow-driven portfolio strategy.
2) Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (Ordinary Shares, Class B) — A diversified holding that reflects Yacktman’s preference for resilient businesses and a quality investment vehicle managed with a long-term mindset.
3) Microsoft Corporation — A technology investment tied to durable software and cloud platform economics, representing Yacktman’s interest in long-duration growth within established franchises.
4) Charles Schwab Corp. — A financial services investment that leverages market participation and customer-driven assets, consistent with a portfolio approach that values business models benefiting from sustained financial activity.
5) Johnson & Johnson — A defensive healthcare investment focused on product durability and long-term demand, showcasing Yacktman’s balance of growth and stability in his stocks.
Overall, these positions illustrate how Donald Yacktman’s investment portfolio combines stability and growth, using a mix of blue-chip stocks to pursue long-term returns through quality and durability rather than short-term trading.
