We had the pleasure of sitting down with Czech superinvestor Daniel Gladiš in Brno recently to discuss insights from his new book, Hidden Investment Treasures: How to Find Great Stock Investments as the Investment World Goes Passive. Daniel is a veteran value investor, founder of Vltava Fund, and longtime member of MOI Global.
In this conversation, Daniel explains how active stock pickers can uncover compelling opportunities even as passive investing dominates today’s market. The interview explores several themes from Hidden Investment Treasures. Daniel touches on how he finds winning ideas in an era of index funds, why a company’s capital allocation decisions are critical to value creation, and how his investment approach has continued to evolve. Daniel also dives into several real-time case studies that form the crux of his new book.
Active Opportunities in a Passive Market
One key theme Daniel discusses is the advantage for active investors in a market increasingly ruled by passive funds. With the majority of money now flowing into index-tracking investments, price discovery has become distorted, creating mispricings savvy investors can exploit.
Daniel notes that when equity markets are dominated by passive investments, it actually “creates a lot of opportunities for active investors”. He argues that investors must adapt their selection process to turn the passive trend to their advantage. He outlines how the prevalence of passive funds has made market moves more extreme and slower to reflect fundamentals, opening the door for patient, long-term value investors to find bargains.
Capital Allocation and Value Creation
Daniel emphasizes that much of a company’s value creation comes down to smart capital allocation. Several case studies in his book illustrate how repurchases and acquisitions can boost long-term shareholder value. For example, Asbury Automotive is a company growing aggressively through acquisitions while simultaneously buying back stock, leading to rapid per-share growth in earnings.
Daniel highlights buybacks as a recurring theme, but with an important caveat: not all repurchases create value. He puts strong weight on how management deploys capital, whether investing in growth, making acquisitions, or returning cash to shareholders. Buybacks only make sense when done below a stock’s intrinsic value; repurchasing shares at too high a price actually destroys value for the remaining shareholders. He prefers buybacks (when undervalued) over dividends, which he finds tax-inefficient and often inflexible. Daniel offers insight into how investors can avoid “value traps” and benefit from growth in per-share value.
Real-Time Case Studies and Investing Lessons
A distinctive aspect of Daniel’s book (and the interview) is the use of real-time case studies drawn from his actual portfolio. Daniel deliberately chose about 15 stocks he currently owns (or has owned recently), spanning a range of industries, to demonstrate that you can find value in many corners of the market. By presenting live ideas rather than only past successes, he “puts his neck on the line” to provide more credible lessons.
Each case study is crafted to illustrate broader investing principles, from an auto dealership leveraging buybacks, to a special situation in litigation finance, to an energy company with a shrewd shareholder return policy. Daniel’s structured approach to these case studies offers a view into how he analyzes businesses in different sectors, all while adhering to core value investing tenets.
An Ever-Evolving Investment Philosophy
Throughout the interview, Daniel reflects on how his philosophy has developed over the decades, and why it’s still evolving. Early in his career he was heavily influenced by Ben Graham’s teachings, focusing on statistically cheap deep value stocks. Over time, as obvious bargains grew scarce, he gravitated toward better-quality businesses and learned that “the best investments are the simplest ones”. Daniel candidly describes mistakes made when he tried to get too clever, reinforcing the value of sticking to fundamental principles.
Importantly, he views investing as a continuous learning process. “It’s a never-ending process… you can always get better, you can always learn something new,” he says, stressing the need to adapt as the environment changes. Even in the passive-investing era, Daniel is adjusting his stock selection approach and remains curious how it will evolve in the next 5–10 years.
Key Themes:
- Passive Investing Era – Distortions and Opportunities for Stock Pickers
- Capital Allocation Focus – Share Buybacks, M&A, and Value Creation
- Case Study Highlights – Real-Time Investment Ideas across Industries
- Investing Philosophy – Continuous Learning and Evolution of Approach
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About the interviewee:
Daniel Gladiš, based in the Czech Republic, has amassed a market-beating track record since starting VLTAVA Fund in 2004. VLTAVA Fund is a value-oriented, research-driven investment fund focused on investing in good companies run by quality management. Previously, Daniel was Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors of ABN AMRO Asset Management (Czech) from 1999–2004. He was also Director and founder of Atlantik finanční trhy, a.s., a member of the Prague Stock Exchange. Daniel is a graduate of VUT Brno and has authored the best-selling books Naučte se investovat (Learn to Invest) and Akciové investice (Stock Investments).
