Artisan International Value
The GARP long-only investor who actually beats the market consistently
Not all mutual funds are mere 'closet indexers' and asset gatherers, consistently falling short of their benchmarks.
In the heart of San Francisco’s Financial District, near the Embarcadero, lies Artisan International Value, a $44 billion AUM strategy founded by David Samra. The firm has consistently outperformed its benchmark in the challenging long-only mutual fund industry, with a focus on buying growth at a reasonable price.
To understand their investment style and the unique challenges of value investing in non-U.S. equity markets, we must first explore the story of David Samra—the man who built this successful strategy, despite being hired without an explicit track record.
David Samra
David Samra’s journey in finance started far from Wall Street’s gleam, in Medford, a working-class suburb of Boston. Raised by blue-collar entrepreneurs, Samra’s first exposure to business was hands-on, watching his parents build their small business. He enrolled at Bentley University, then a trade school focused on accounting, but found his passion leaning toward finance rather than the CPA track most of his peers followed. This early pivot set the stage for his eventual success in value investing.
After graduating, Samra dabbled in accounting jobs but quickly shifted gears. While working as a certified financial planner, he partnered with a few friends to form an informal investment group, pooling their money each month to buy stocks and experiment with options.
Samra’s burgeoning interest in investing led him to Columbia Business School, where he was the last student admitted to the class of 1991. Though the famed value investing program led by Bruce Greenwald hadn’t yet been established, Samra's time at Columbia became formative. He interned under Mario Gabelli, a renowned value investor, whose teachings about the discipline of investing would influence Samra for the rest of his career.
Post-MBA, Samra joined Montgomery Securities’ asset management division, one of the few firms at the time exploring international markets. There, he honed his skill in international equity research, adopting a practice of visiting the companies he was analyzing1—an approach that became a cornerstone of his investment philosophy. His time at Montgomery taught him the importance of seeing beyond just numbers, of meeting with human beings running the companies and understanding a company’s culture.
Samra’s reputation grew, eventually landing him at Harris Associates, where he worked under the legendary David Herro at Oakmark Funds, who runs International Equities (Herro’s U.S Equities counterpart, Bill Nygren, is equally legendary.) While Herro was known for more of a traditional value investor, Samra began to develop his own style. He became a firm believer in owning good businesses at reasonable prices, rather than just seeking out the cheapest stocks. This evolution would define his career and lead to the founding of the Artisan International Value strategy, where Samra’s emphasis on quality businesses with sustainable growth has continued to deliver consistent outperformance.
More to come:
Founding Artisan International Value
Philosophy, idea generation and research process
Team profile
Nuances of investing in non-U.S. companies