M
ason Hawkins, founder and chairman of Southeastern Asset Management, is a renowned value investor with decades of experience. His firm manages approximately $20 billion in assets, specializing in concentrated portfolios based on thorough research and fundamental analysis. Hawkins' long-term approach to wealth creation emphasizes patience and a contrarian mindset, often holding onto investments for years to allow their true value to emerge.

    Under his leadership, Southeastern Asset Management has achieved significant success, including an annualized return of around 12% over the 20 years leading up to the mid-2000s. This is compared to approximately 10% for the S&P 500. Hawkins' investment style emphasizes a "margin of safety," pioneered by Benjamin Graham, which involves purchasing stocks at a significant discount to their estimated intrinsic value.

    Hawkins focuses on quality over quantity, typically holding positions in twenty to thirty stocks in his fund's 13F portfolio. This concentration approach allows the firm to take significant positions in companies it believes in, leading to outsized returns when these investments succeed. His disciplined strategy has helped Southeastern Asset Management weather multiple market cycles, including challenging periods like the dot-com bubble and the 2008 financial crisis.

    As a native of Tennessee, Hawkins graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in Finance and later earned his MBA from the University of Georgia. He began his career at Atlantic National Bank and First Tennessee Investment Management before establishing Southeastern Asset Management.