Christopher Bloomstran

Christopher Bloomstran is the president, CIO, and portfolio manager of Semper Augustus Investments Group, based in St. Louis, Missouri. He founded the firm in 1998 after working at George Washington University's endowment fund and other investment roles. Semper Augustus (named after the famed tulip variety from the Dutch Tulip Mania -- a deliberate reference to the dangers of speculation) manages approximately $1-2 billion in assets for high-net-worth individuals and institutional accounts. Bloomstran is best known in the investment community for two things: (1) his extraordinarily detailed and voluminous annual letters, which frequently exceed 100 pages and contain some of the most rigorous financial analysis in the industry, and (2) his deep, proprietary analysis of Berkshire Hathaway's intrinsic value, which he has published annually for over 20 years and which is considered by many (including some Berkshire insiders) to be the most comprehensive external valuation of Berkshire in existence. Bloomstran is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder and is known for his intellectual rigor, forensic accounting skill, and willingness to spend hundreds of hours on a single company's analysis. He is a genuine practitioner of deep fundamental analysis -- the kind of investor who reads every footnote, every proxy, every 10-K, and builds his own financial models from primary data. He is relatively unknown outside value investing circles but is deeply respected by those who know his work.

Strong long-term track record, though heavily influenced by Berkshire Hathaway exposure. Since founding Semper Augustus in 1998, Bloomstran has generated returns that have broadly tracked or modestly outperformed the S&P 500 over the full period. His performance has been cyclical: he underperformed during the late 1990s tech bubble (due to avoiding overvalued tech), outperformed during the 2000-2003 bear market and 2008-2009 financial crisis, underperformed during the 2013-2020 growth/momentum bull market, and has performed well in 2021-2025 as value/quality have recovered. His returns are less spectacular than some other investors on this list (partly due to the large Berkshire position, which has generated excellent but not explosive returns) but are highly credible and achieved with lower risk. His track record is most impressive on a risk-adjusted basis -- he has avoided permanent capital losses, navigated multiple crises, and compounded steadily over 25+ years. His annual Berkshire intrinsic value analysis has been remarkably accurate, with his valuations consistently within a narrow range of where Berkshire subsequently traded.

Berkshire Hathaway is and has always been the dominant position, representing approximately 25-40%+ of the portfolio at various times. Bloomstran's analysis of Berkshire's intrinsic value has been a core competency and conviction driver. Other notable positions (based on 13F filings) have included: Alphabet/Google, Wells Fargo (sold after governance scandals), Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, various energy companies (during periods of undervaluation), Markel Corporation, and other value-oriented financial and industrial companies. The portfolio tends to include businesses with strong balance sheets, tangible book value, and identifiable earnings power. He has historically underweighted technology relative to the S&P 500 but has increased tech exposure in recent years (particularly Alphabet). His portfolio construction reflects his analytical strengths -- he gravitates toward businesses where deep financial analysis provides an informational edge.

Christopher Bloomstran is moderately to highly relevant to our approach. His forensic-level financial analysis is directly applicable to our 'balance sheet deep dive' analysis area -- his approach to stripping away accounting distortions and finding true economic reality is exactly the kind of analysis we want to perform. His Berkshire intrinsic value work is a masterclass in multi-business valuation that we can learn from. His emphasis on capital allocation analysis aligns with our management assessment framework. His long-term orientation and concentration match our approach. His annual letters are among the most educational documents available for developing deep analytical skills. Key limitations: (1) his heavy Berkshire concentration means his portfolio is less useful as an idea source (we already know about Berkshire); (2) he has limited exposure to technology companies and does not explicitly incorporate AGI disruption into his framework; (3) his historical returns, while good, are not as exceptional as Sleep, Akre, or Rochon, partly because of the Berkshire anchor; (4) his traditional value orientation may cause him to miss or underappreciate AGI-driven transformation of business economics. However, his analytical methodology is world-class and worth studying regardless of portfolio overlap.