What it means to be a true contrarian (and two stock picks from a seasoned practitioner)

Few of us would understand what it means to be a true contrarian investor. As much as we might try to convince ourselves that selling some stocks after they have run hard, or putting a little cash to work when markets fall 10% is contrarian investing, it doesn’t really cut it. I say this not to be overly critical. But ask long-time contrarian, Orbis Investment Management’s Alec Cutler, what it means to be a contrarian and the differences become clear. “The pain and the elation involved - mostly the pain - and how to have the backbone to stick with it, to be willing to be alone and wrong, not just wrong. “Everyone's fine being wrong in a crowd. No one wants to be alone and wrong and poked at; 'Why did you do that? You're an idiot'”, says Cutler. In the following interview, Cutler shares more about his investment philosophy, which he has developed over multiple decades in markets. He also shares his take on the world in which we’re all investing, a take that is as interesting as it is unique. Finally, he shares a couple of companies that he likes right now and how they fit within Orbis' Multi-Asset Strategies.