Bob Robotti: We Asked a Value Legend Why the Real AI Trade Isn't AI — And Why Passive Helps Stock Pickers (Excess Returns Podcast)

Bob Robotti, founder and CIO of Robotti & Company, joins Matt Zeigler and Bogumil Baranowski to explain why bottom-up value investing may be entering one of its best opportunity sets in decades. They discuss AI and reindustrialization, inflation and interest rates, passive investing, capital cycles, private equity, long-term ownership, and why today’s neglected industrial businesses may offer opportunities that the market is missing.

I join Matt Zeigler for one more special episode of Excess Returns. I’m excited to share this episode with you—it’s reposted here with permission and blessing from both Matt and Jack. Don’t miss it! And follow their work; links below.

Bob Robotti on X
https://x.com/BobRobotti
Robotti & Company
https://www.robotti.com

Topics covered

• How Bob finds misunderstood businesses with latent earnings power

• Why his “grassroots macro” process starts with company-level supply and demand

• How AI spending is increasing demand for energy, copper, aluminum, cement and other physical assets

• Why North America’s natural gas advantage could support a long-term reindustrialization cycle

• Why persistent inflation could force higher interest rates and lower valuation multiples

• Why no competitive moat is permanent, even for today’s dominant technology companies

• How passive investing and shorter time horizons can create opportunities for fundamental stock pickers

• Why prolonged downturns can improve industry economics through consolidation and reduced capacity

• Why Bob views himself as an active owner rather than an activist investor

• Why he is skeptical of today’s private equity model and its expansion into retirement portfolios

• The NewMarket investment that taught him the cost of selling a great business too early

• Why he thinks individual company research can outperform indexing over the next decade

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