Wallace 'Wally' Weitz serves as the founder and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Weitz Investment Management, established in 1983 after beginning his career as a securities analyst in New York and spending a decade at Chiles, Heider & Co. in Omaha from 1973-1983 as an analyst and portfolio manager. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Carleton College and serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees at Carleton College since 2016. Weitz also serves as a director of Berkshire Hathaway Inc and founded the Weitz Family Foundation in 2000 to combat poverty in Omaha by empowering individuals and organizations toward equity and peace. With over fifty years of experience, his expertise lies in U.S. equities, specializing in multi-cap and value-oriented strategies through fundamental, bottom-up stock selection. Andrew 'Drew' Weitz serves as Portfolio Manager and was added as a portfolio manager for the Hickory Fund effective December 30, 2011, bringing expertise in investment strategies and financial analysis. Bradley Hinton serves as Co-Chief Investment Officer and portfolio manager, while Barton Hooper serves as director of equity research.

Read More

The Hickory Fund employs Weitz's proprietary 'Quality at a Discount' investment strategy, which transcends traditional value and growth labels. The Fund's investment strategy is to buy above-average to highest-quality businesses, at prices that are believed to be less than what the companies are worth. The strategy is built around a comprehensive six-element Quality Score Matrix that evaluates competitive position, capital efficiency, reinvestment runway, cash flow consistency, management quality, and financial leverage. Each element is scored on a scale from one (best) to seven (worst), with investment selections primarily focused on companies scoring 1-2. The firm maintains a long-term investment horizon, typically holding positions for 3-5 years, and focuses on building concentrated, high-conviction portfolios rather than diversifying thinly. They believe in concentrating a portfolio in their best ideas and generally consider 5% a full position, with exceptions. The investment philosophy emphasizes thinking like business owners to identify and research strong to exceptional businesses, and buy shares for less than they think they're worth.

Read More