Analyst who helped create Morningstar's economic moat ratings and founder of Dorsey Asset Management.
Life story
Pat Dorsey (Patrick W. Dorsey) holds a bachelor's degree in government from Wesleyan University and a master's in political science from Northwestern University, and is a CFA charterholder. Little is publicly known about his birth year, childhood or family.
How they got started
From 2000 to 2011 Dorsey was director of equity research at Morningstar, growing the research group from 20 to 90 analysts. He played a key role in creating Morningstar's economic moat ratings and its framework for analysing competitive advantage.
He then served as director of research at Sanibel Captiva Trust, which serves high-net-worth clients, and in July 2013 founded Dorsey Asset Management in Chicago. He is the author of "The Five Rules for Successful Stock Investing" and "The Little Book That Builds Wealth".
Investment style
The firm runs a single concentrated global equity strategy, putting client capital into 10–15 businesses. Three criteria: durable competitive advantages ("economic moats"), long reinvestment runways, and management that allocates capital well — bought at a reasonable discount to intrinsic value.
Best decisions
Popularising the economic moat
Dorsey helped build Morningstar's moat ratings and brought the concept to a wide audience through his books — the term is now standard across the industry.
Biggest mistakes
Limited public information
We found no reliable public sources detailing Dorsey Asset Management's results or mistakes.
Today
Dorsey remains founder and CEO of Dorsey Asset Management, a Chicago-based firm with a small research team investing in global equities.
What to learn from following the portfolio
- Dorsey holds few positions — each new one signals a business he sees as having a moat; studying why it was chosen is worthwhile.
- The firm invests globally; the 13F shows only US-listed long positions with a 45-day lag.
- Copying is not a strategy — learning the moat analysis from his books is far more useful.
- Halal lens: technology, platform and consumer companies may more often be halal, while financial and payments companies need careful screening. Check each position's halal status in the Portfolio tab.
An introduction based on public sources — not investment advice. Spotted an error? Let us know.