Mason Hawkins

Mason Hawkins co-founded Southeastern Asset Management in 1975 and has spent nearly five decades building one of the most respected deep value investment firms in the United States. Southeastern manages the Longleaf Partners family of mutual funds as well as significant institutional capital. The firm's approach is built on identifying businesses trading at large discounts to their intrinsic value, where management teams have substantial insider ownership and act as genuine owner-operators.

Hawkins and his team are patient and willing to hold positions for many years as value is recognized. The firm applies a strict '60 cents on the dollar' rule — only investing when they believe they can buy a dollar of value for 60 cents or less. Southeastern has been a vocal advocate for shareholder rights and has engaged in several prominent activist situations where management teams were destroying value. The firm is known for its intense focus on management quality and its willingness to challenge underperforming executives publicly.