Three Things John Rogers Told Me That I'm Still Thinking About Almost 4 Years Later
Before I sit down with him again this week, here's what stuck from our first conversation
When I first sat down with John Rogers — founder of Ariel Investments and one of the most respected value investors alive — for The World According to Boyar podcast, I expected a masterclass in stock picking. What I got was something more useful: a window into how a genuinely great investor thinks, behaves, and makes decisions under pressure.
John founded Ariel at 24 years old in 1983 with a few hundred thousand dollars from friends and family. Today the firm manages over $14 billion. This week I’m sitting down with him again at the Value Investing New York conference. Before I do, here are three things from our first conversation I keep coming back to.
1. He bought aggressively the day the market crashed 20% in 1987.
When Black Monday hit, instead of panicking, he spent the day on the phone telling clients to send more money. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to buy bargains,” he told them. Because he took advantage of the bargains the market presented on that historic October day and bought stocks when they were deeply discounted, Ariel went on to be a top five fund in the country the following year. Most investors talk about being greedy when others are fearful. John actually did it — at age 27, in his fourth year running the firm, with everything on the line.
2. He checks the market only three times a day. Deliberately.
Open, midday, close. That’s it. For a man running $14 billion. His reasoning: “Your emotions go up and down and it’s just not healthy.” In an era where most of us are watching tickers constantly, John has built deliberate friction between himself and the noise. It’s not technophobia — it’s discipline.
3. He hired former CIA and FBI agents to help him read management.
Ariel works with a firm called BIA Associates — former intelligence professionals who teach them how to ask better questions and read body language during management meetings. John told me once you know what to look for — the anchor shift, the hand to the face — you can’t unsee it. He uses it in every management meeting. I’ve thought about this in every management meeting I’ve had since.
I’m interviewing John again this Thursday at the Value Investing New York conference. I’ll share the highlights here next week.
If you want to hear the full original conversation, you can find it on The World According to Boyar podcast here: