Chris Davis

Chairman of Davis Funds and board member for Coca-Cola and Berkshire Hathaway.

Claims

As speaker

Mentioned in

Key positions and views

The macro-economic environment has permanently shifted away from the 40-year trend of falling interest rates and globalization, invalidating many previously successful investment strategies.

The private equity industry has largely devolved from a value-creation engine into a fee-extraction mechanism that preys on pension funds and relies on inter-firm sales.

AI will not be a 'winner-take-all' market for its creators; rather, the companies that successfully integrate AI into their operations (the 'users') will capture a larger share of the long-term profits.

The rise of passive and closet indexing has created a market that is 70-80% functionally passive, leading to significant inefficiencies that skilled active managers can exploit.

Shareholder activism has 'lost the thread,' moving away from constructive engagement to a focus on short-term financial engineering that often destroys long-term value and should be resisted.

Podcast consensus on Davis

Points of consensus

▶Chris Davis serves on the board of directors for both Coca-Cola and Berkshire Hathaway, a fact confirmed across multiple podcast appearances.Jun 2026

▶He consistently argues that the multi-decade era of falling interest rates, falling inflation, and globalization has permanently ended, creating a new and more challenging investment environment.Jun 2026

▶Across all sources, Davis predicts that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will significantly impact the 'laptop class' of workers, similar to how globalization affected blue-collar jobs, by hollowing out the middle tier.Jun 2026

▶He repeatedly criticizes the modern private equity industry, stating it has 'completely lost the thread' and is now primarily engaged in selling assets between firms and extracting fees rather than creating value.Jun 2026

Points of debate

▶Davis expresses a seemingly contradictory view on the market, being deeply pessimistic about the overall market's high valuation and euphoria, while simultaneously being very comfortable and optimistic about his own firm's portfolio, which trades at a much lower multiple.Jun 2026

▶He presents a nuanced stance on indexing, viewing it as a strategy that will be challenged in the new economic era, yet also speculating that its increasing dominance (potentially 70-80% functionally) creates massive opportunities for the remaining active managers.Jun 2026

▶His strong condemnation of the activist investor movement as having 'completely lost its way' and needing to be 'greatly resisted' represents a firm, debatable position against a common market practice that many others see as a tool for accountability.Jun 2026

▶While he believes AI is currently in an overhyped phase, he also holds the strong conviction that its long-term impact is underestimated and will fundamentally reshape white-collar work, presenting both a short-term bubble and a long-term revolution.Jun 2026

Key themes

▶The End of an Economic EraJun 2026

Davis repeatedly asserts that the 40-year tailwind of falling interest rates, declining inflation, and increasing globalization has 'stunningly and permanently' ended. He believes this paradigm shift will challenge investment strategies that worked in the past decade, such as indexing, momentum, and focusing on 'dividend aristocrats'.

Investors relying on passive strategies or historical performance may face significant headwinds, suggesting a need to re-evaluate portfolio construction for a more volatile and less predictable market environment.

▶Critique of Modern Financial EngineeringJun 2026

Davis expresses strong skepticism towards prevalent industry practices like private equity and activist investing. He argues that private equity has devolved into a fee-extraction mechanism that harms pension plans, while the activist movement has abandoned its useful origins to prioritize short-term gains over long-term value creation.

This perspective challenges the institutional narrative around alternative assets and shareholder activism, urging investors to look critically at the underlying value creation and alignment of interests in these areas.

▶The Disruptive Force of AIJun 2026

Davis views AI as a transformative technology, applying Amara's Law that it is overestimated in the short term but underestimated in the long term. He predicts AI will 'hollow out' the 'laptop class' of professional workers and believes the ultimate beneficiaries will be the users of the technology, not necessarily the builders, comparing it to the development of railroads or electricity.

This suggests an investment thesis focused not just on AI infrastructure companies, but on established businesses across various sectors that can effectively integrate AI to create durable competitive advantages.

▶Durable, Contrarian Value InvestingJun 2026

Davis champions a long-term investment philosophy focused on durable, growing companies purchased at a discount to the overall market. This is evidenced by his firm's portfolio trading at 14 times earnings versus the market's 20-21, and their successful identification of risks (e.g., SVB) and opportunities (e.g., Capital One as a tech company at a value multiple).

Davis's approach demonstrates that a disciplined, research-driven active management style can still find significant alpha, particularly in a market he believes is becoming less efficient due to the rise of passive investing.

Source episodes

Sentiment over time

Not enough data for timeline

Changes over time

1969

Davis Advisors is founded, beginning a multi-decade track record of compounding shareholder wealth at over 10% annually and outperforming the S&P 500.

c. 1977-1978

As a young entrepreneur, Davis increased his dog walking rates tenfold from $0.50 to $5 per walk following the passage of New York City's 'pooper scooper' law.

c. 1990

The Davis Financial Fund is started. It has since gone on to outperform the S&P 500 since its inception.

Late 1990s

His grandfather's securities lending business, Shelby Cullum Davis and Company, had between $500 million and $800 million lent to Long Term Capital Management (LTCM) during its collapse.

October (of the prior year)

An internal research report at Davis Advisors, written by colleague Pierce Crosby, identified and highlighted the significant duration risk being taken by Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic, months before their failures.

Most Recent Year

The Davis Financial Fund significantly outperformed its benchmarks, beating the S&P Financials Index and the XLF ETF by 1,200 basis points.

Suggested prompts

How does Chris Davis reconcile his view that indexing will be 'challenged' with his prediction that active managers will thrive if indexing becomes more dominant? &nearr;What specific qualities does Davis look for in a company that allows it to be a long-term 'user' of technology like AI rather than a disrupted incumbent? &nearr;Beyond criticizing private equity's fee structures, what fundamental changes does Davis believe are necessary for the industry to return to its value-creation roots? &nearr;How does Davis's experience serving on the boards of established giants like Coca-Cola and Berkshire Hathaway inform his perspective on market disruption and long-term durability? &nearr;

Key concepts

Investment Strategy & Philosophy 3 ep Private Equity Critique 3 ep Artificial Intelligence (AI) Impact 2 ep Market Outlook & Economic Shifts 3 ep Davis Advisors Performance 3 ep Indexing vs. Active Management 2 ep Activist Investor Critique 3 ep Financial Sector Analysis 3 ep Family & Business History 2 ep

Notable quotes

“All of that has stunningly and permanently, I believe, come to an end.”

Chris Davis · Beating the S&P For Generations with Davis Funds Chairman Chris Davis | Masters in Business

“it's likely that AI will do to the laptop class what globalization did to, to blue-collar workers, meaning very much hollow it out, hollow Hollow it out.”

Chris Davis · Beating the S&P For Generations with Davis Funds Chairman Chris Davis | At the Money

“I think private equity is— it was a wonderful business to begin with. And I think it has absolutely lost the thread...most of what's happening at this scale is just stealing money from pension plans”

Chris Davis · Beating the S&P For Generations: Masters in Business with Chris Davis

“Last year, our financial fund, which is 95% in large-cap financials outperformed the S&P Financials Index and the XLF, the largest financials ETF, by 1,200 basis points.”

Chris Davis · Beating the S&P For Generations: Masters in Business with Chris Davis

Report last updated: Jun 10, 2026

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