Podcast

We keep unpacking Pulak Prasad’s What I Learned About Investing from Darwin and move from pure defense to intelligent offense. We show how to narrow thousands of stocks to a tight focus list using one metric: ROCE (Return on Capital Employed). From there, we layer on robustness—the business equivalent of a roll cage—using traits like excess cash, fragmented customers/suppliers, high entry barriers, stable management, and slow-changing industries. Real-world case studies illustrate how high-ROCE, robust companies survive hits, compound cash, and seize opportunity when others can’t. We also tackle convergence (why certain business models win across time/geographies and others chronically destroy capital). Finally, we break the Pavlovian habit of reacting to macro headlines and hot themes, and double down on the only variable we truly control: entry price.

In this first installment of our three-part series on What I Learned About Investing From Darwin, we explore one of the most original and thought-provoking contributions to the world of fundamental investing in recent years. Written by Pulak Prasad—an investor with an exceptional long-term track record—this work blends evolutionary biology with practical investment wisdom in a way few others have attempted. In Part 1, we focus on Prasad’s central principle: avoiding big risks. While most investors are drawn to potential upside, Prasad emphasizes the importance of minimizing the chance of permanent capital loss—a mindset that aligns with his genuine “forever” holding period. Drawing on lessons from Darwin and the natural world, he highlights how survival—both in nature and in investing—is often about what you don’t do.