“I met Chris 20 years ago when he was living in Northeastern Pennsylvania and running his first fund, Tarrach Holdings, LLC.  I recall him speaking at length about AutoZone (AZO), why he was buying the stock, and how he was investing 20% of his assets into the company.  I could tell he thought differently than anybody I had ever met or read about when it came to financial markets.  Looking back, it was as if he had a crystal ball on exactly what would play out over the next two decades.  My only regret is that I didn’t take his recommendation and buy AZO myself at $100 or less – the stock price now sits at $3,700+ as I write this 20 years’ later.”

“Growing up, I always had a sense Chris would do something special in life.  When he presented me the opportunity to invest in his first fund, my wife and I jumped right in!  The results were good.  Additionally, I really enjoyed reading his Investor Letters and the candid, direct communication style he had.  I was disappointed when he wound down that fund as I really felt as Chris had our best interests at heart and wants to make all of his investors’ wealthy.  That being said, I understood the life choice he had to make at the time and why he walked away.  I am just glad he is coming back to the business and bringing us all along for the ride again.  Hopefully, he will keep on beating the market for the next 25 years as he has in the past.”

“I first met Chris when he was CFO of Tamarac in 2010.  While interviewing service providers, my immediate impression was that Chris was detailed, thoughtful, organized, and totally comfortable asking the tough questions.  Over the course of several years, my immediate impression was reinforced time and again.  He and I worked on the challenging area of managing employee healthcare costs and sentiment.  He had the innate ability to balance financial considerations with HR and employee satisfaction considerations.  Few do it well, he did it exceptionally well. 

After getting to know him over time, the dots connected when he mentioned he had managed a hedge fund and had a stock portfolio he managed independently.  We spoke about his focus on long term value, on achieving shareholder growth through companies run well, and making sure the financials and the market and the operations were all in line.  That’s when it clicked, he knew how to evaluate a company because he had run a company, and he knew how to run a company because he had evaluated so many companies.  He gave me a couple of suggestions in those early years, explained his logic, and I listened.  They have performed extremely well, and not only have I seen my portfolio grow substantially, but they have proven to be resilient stocks, a reflection of his ability to analyze and find well run companies.  Chris has an extraordinary ability to analyze data, couple it with logic, and when directed at the stock market, outperform."