Founded in 1920, one of the oldest value investing firms, rooted in the Benjamin Graham tradition.
Life story
Tweedy, Browne was founded in 1920 by Forest Berwind "Bill" Tweedy. In the early 1930s he became friends with Benjamin Graham — the two worked in the same New York office building at 52 Broadway. Walter Schloss, one of Graham's best-known disciples, was also close to Tweedy and used office space at the firm.
Howard Browne and Joe Reilly joined in 1945. Howard Browne's son, Christopher H. Browne (1946–2009), later became the firm's most prominent public face. Little is publicly known about the founders' personal lives and families.
How they got started
The firm first made its name as a broker: from 1956 to 1966 Warren Buffett used Tweedy, Browne as the preferred brokerage for Buffett Partnership. Over time it evolved into an investment manager running client money.
In 1997 Affiliated Managers Group (AMG) bought a 70% stake for about $300 million. By the end of 2012 the firm managed roughly $13 billion through separate accounts and four mutual funds. It launched its first ETF in late 2024 and a second in 2025.
The firm is run by a team rather than a single star manager: according to its website a seven-member investment committee sets strategy, and its managing directors include Thomas Shrager, John Spears, Roger de Bree, Jay Hill, Jason Minard and Robert Wyckoff.
Investment style
Tweedy, Browne is a direct descendant of the Graham school. It tries to exploit gaps between market price and estimated intrinsic value. According to Wikipedia, the firm looks at five signals: low price-to-book, low P/E, significant insider buying, sharp share price declines and small market capitalization.
The firm openly credits Graham, Buffett, Munger and Schloss as its methodological foundation. The portfolio is global, with many non-US holdings, but a 13F only shows the US-listed portion.
Best decisions
Buffett's broker (1956–1966)
A young Warren Buffett chose Tweedy, Browne as the main broker for his partnership — a testament to the firm's standing among value investors.
Exposing Hollinger (2003)
In 2003 Christopher Browne was the first to speak up publicly about irregularities in Conrad Black's management of Hollinger International and reported them to the SEC. Black was removed and later convicted of fraud — a well-known example of shareholder activism in defense of minority owners.
"The Little Book of Value Investing"
Christopher Browne wrote this book to teach ordinary investors the principles he used throughout his career. According to Wikipedia, his Value and Global Value funds beat market averages between 1993 and 2009.
Biggest mistakes
Shrinking assets
Detailed public accounts of specific investment mistakes are scarce. However, assets under management fell from about $13 billion in 2012 to about $7 billion in 2026 — a sign that classic deep-value investing lost investor attention during the years when growth stocks dominated.
Today
In 2026 Tweedy, Browne has more than a century of history and manages about $7 billion (March 2026). It is run by an investment committee; Christopher Browne died in 2009. AMG remains a major owner through its 1997 stake. In recent years the firm has launched ETFs to reach a new generation of investors.
What to learn from following the portfolio
- Tweedy, Browne trades rarely and holds for a long time, so a brand-new position or a meaningful increase is a deliberate decision worth noticing.
- Much of the portfolio is outside the US; a 13F shows only US-listed shares and ADRs, with a 45-day delay — it is not the full picture.
- Graham-style "cheap" stocks often include banks, insurers and highly leveraged companies, which usually fail halal screening. Check each position's halal status in the Portfolio tab.
- The portfolio is a good source of ideas for undervalued companies, but copying it blindly is not a strategy: they are willing to wait for years.
An introduction based on public sources — not investment advice. Spotted an error? Let us know.