Giverny Capital — The Art of Compounding
The “Buffett of Montreal”
François Rochon applies an engineer’s rigor to the art of investing. By focusing on “Owner Earnings” and holding quality compounders for decades, his Giverny Capital has significantly outperformed the S&P 500 since 1993.
| Stock | % Port. | Activity | Shares | Value | Held Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 BRK.B Berkshire Hathaway | Reduce −0.91% | 505,984 | $254.3M | 2 yrs | |
META Meta Platforms | Add +0.53% | 313,449 | $206.9M | 7.5 yrs | |
AME AMETEK Inc. | Reduce −1.73% | 979,458 | $201.1M | 9 yrs | |
GOOG Alphabet Inc. | Add +0.20% | 639,507 | $200.7M | 9.3 yrs | |
HEI.A Heico Corp Cl. A | Add +0.67% | 754,532 | $190.5M | 9.3 yrs | |
SCHW Charles Schwab | Add +0.63% | 1,590,000 | $158.4M | 7.3 yrs | |
MEDP Medpace Holdings | Add +0.58% | 263,320 | $147.9M | 2.3 yrs | |
V Visa Inc. | Add +0.45% | 407,345 | $142.9M | >10 yrs | |
IBP Installed Building Products | Add +0.87% | 519,236 | $134.7M | 4 yrs | |
PGR Progressive Corp. | Add +0.55% | 536,832 | $122.3M | 6.3 yrs |
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| Stock | Action | Shares | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
BFAM Bright Horizons Family Solutions | New Buy | 410,196 | Largest new purchase of the quarter (+1.39% portfolio). Child care & education compounder with recurring revenue — classic Rochon profile. |
ISRG Intuitive Surgical Inc. | New Buy | 405 | Small initial stake in robotic surgery leader (+0.01%). Likely building position over time. |
BRO Brown & Brown Inc. | Add +139.7% | 450,274 | +1.19% portfolio weight. Massive conviction increase in insurance distribution compounder. Largest add of the quarter. |
DIS Walt Disney Co. | Add +109.1% | 284,019 | +1.08% portfolio weight. More than doubled the Disney position — streaming + parks recovery bet. |
TSM Taiwan Semiconductor | Add +96.9% | 7,906 | +0.08% portfolio weight. Significant percentage increase, though small position size. Conviction in semiconductor leadership. |
KNSL Kinsale Capital Group | Add +12.5% | 23,802 | +0.31% portfolio weight. Continued accumulation of specialty insurance compounder — multi-quarter conviction. |
TWFG TWFG Inc. | Add +10.4% | 31,194 | +0.03% portfolio weight. Building position in insurance distribution platform. |
MA Mastercard Inc. | Add +3.7% | 1,035 | +0.02% portfolio weight. Adding to payments duopoly alongside Visa position. |
BLDR Builders FirstSource | Add +3.3% | 2,888 | +0.01% portfolio weight. Adding to building materials distributor. |
FERG Ferguson Enterprises | Add +2.5% | 871 | +0.01% portfolio weight. Building materials / plumbing distributor. |
JPM JPMorgan Chase | Add +2.2% | 1,133 | +0.01% portfolio weight. Continued exposure to best-in-class banking franchise. |
ANET Arista Networks | Add +1.6% | 6,759 | +0.03% portfolio weight. Re-adding to networking leader after prior Q3 trim. |
BRK.B Berkshire Hathaway | Reduce −0.91% | −4,660 | −0.08% portfolio weight. Minor trim of the top holding. Still 8.48% of portfolio. |
AME AMETEK Inc. | Reduce −1.73% | −17,218 | −0.12% portfolio weight. Minor trim of long-held industrial compounder. Still 3rd largest position. |
AAPL Apple Inc. | Reduce −2.12% | −357 | Negligible trim (−357 shares). Essentially a hold signal. |
RMD ResMed Inc. | Reduce −0.01% | −30 | Negligible trim (−30 shares) of the Q3 new buy. Position essentially unchanged. |
FND Floor & Decor Holdings | Reduce −0.12% | −272 | Minor trim of home improvement flooring retailer. |
COF Capital One Financial | Reduce −0.01% | −1 | Negligible (1 share). Position essentially unchanged after Q3 reduction. |
FISV Fiserv Inc. | Sold Out | −651,257 | −2.85% portfolio weight. Largest exit of the quarter by portfolio impact. Full exit from fintech payments. |
KMX CarMax Inc. | Sold Out | −1,670,114 | −2.54% portfolio weight. Full exit from used car retailer. |
ALGN Align Technology | Sold Out | −45,691 | −0.19% portfolio weight. Complete exit from Invisalign maker. |
CACC Credit Acceptance Corp. | Sold Out | −6,874 | −0.09% portfolio weight. Full exit from auto finance lender. |
| Stock | Action | Detail |
|---|---|---|
RMD ResMed Inc. | New Buy | New entry into sleep apnea device leader (~2.18% of portfolio). Classic compounder in healthcare. |
KNSL Kinsale Capital | Add +6.3% | Increasing conviction in specialty insurance compounder. |
PGR Progressive Corp. | Add +2.6% | Continued accumulation of best-in-class auto insurer. |
V Visa Inc. | Add | Taking advantage of reasonable valuation in the payments duopoly. |
SBUX Starbucks | Sold Out | Complete exit, likely due to deteriorating fundamentals and brand erosion. |
ANET Arista Networks | Reduce −14% | Significant trim after strong price run — valuation discipline at work. |
COF Capital One | Reduce −10% | Reducing consumer credit exposure. |
What is the Rule of Three?
- 1 year out of 3, the stock market will decline by at least 10%.
- 1 stock out of 3 that we buy will not perform as expected.
- 1 year out of 3, our portfolio will underperform the S&P 500 index.
“If you accept these rules beforehand, you won’t panic when they inevitably happen. You focus on the long-term growth of Owner Earnings.”
| Feature | François Rochon (Giverny) | Ben Graham (Deep Value) |
|---|---|---|
| Core Focus | “Compounders”: High ROE, low debt, earnings growth >10%. | “Cigar Butts”: Companies trading below liquidation value. |
| Time Horizon | Eternal. Holds stocks for 5, 10, or 20+ years. | Short to Medium. Sells once fair value is reached. |
| Key Metric | Owner Earnings (EPS growth + dividend yield). | Book Value & Net Current Assets. |
| Philosophy | “The Art of Investing” — cultivating a masterpiece. | Strict mathematical safety margins. |
François Rochon is the founder and president of Giverny Capital, based in Montreal. An engineer by training (École Polytechnique de Montréal), he discovered Warren Buffett’s writings in the early 1990s and pivoted to professional investing. He is renowned for his annual investor letters, which draw parallels between art history and stock market psychology.
His “Rochon Global Portfolio” has delivered an annualized return of approximately 14.5% since inception in 1993 — significantly crushing the S&P 500 (~10%) and MSCI World Index. He manages money for families and institutions with a philosophy rooted in patience, rationality, and humility.
The name is a tribute to Claude Monet’s garden in Giverny, France. Rochon sees investing as an art form similar to painting. Just as Monet cultivated his garden for decades to create a masterpiece, Rochon believes in cultivating a portfolio of great companies over decades to create lasting wealth.
Since inception in 1993, the Giverny Capital Rochon Global Portfolio has achieved an annualized return of approximately 14.5%, significantly outperforming the S&P 500 (~10%) and MSCI World Index. A $100,000 investment in 1993 would be worth over $6 million today. Note: Q4 2025 return was +0.01% vs the S&P 500’s +2.66% — one of those “1 year out of 3” underperformance quarters Rochon openly acknowledges in his Rule of Three.
Rochon does not focus on the stock price. He focuses on the growth of underlying business value — specifically the growth of Earnings Per Share (EPS) plus the dividend yield. His goal is to own a portfolio where these “Owner Earnings” compound at 10–15% annually, regardless of what the stock market does short-term.
No. With a 4.2% turnover rate, Rochon is one of the lowest-turnover investors tracked by 13F filings. He sells only when a company’s moat deteriorates (Starbucks exit in Q3 2025), valuations become extreme (Arista trim), or geopolitical risk escalates (near-complete TSM exit in Q4 2025). He ignores macroeconomic noise and holds through recessions.
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