Legends

The great investors of the past: what they returned, what they wrote and what they owned. Most of their best years came before the SEC put filings online, so we show the holdings that letters, filings and reports of the time name, each with its source. It’s a partial record, not a full portfolio.

• Peter LynchFidelity Magellan Fund, 1977–1990

  29% a year for 13 years, from small stocks spotted in everyday life

  24 known holdings, with sources

• Warren BuffettBuffett Partnership Ltd (and predecessor partnerships), 1956/57–1969

  29.5% a year before fees, 1957–1969, before Berkshire

  8 known holdings, with sources

• Benjamin GrahamGraham-Newman Corporation, 1936–1956

  The father of value investing, and the GEICO bet

  13 known holdings, with sources

• Walter SchlossWalter J. Schloss Associates / Walter & Edwin Schloss Associates, 1955–2002

  Almost 50 years of cheap stocks, no computer and no analysts

  10 known holdings, with sources

• John NeffVanguard Windsor Fund, 1964–1995

  Low P/E, high yield: 31 years beating the market

  12 known holdings, with sources

• Julian RobertsonTiger Management, 1980–2000

  The original Tiger, and the funds it seeded

  Full 13F holdings for its last two years

• Jim SimonsRenaissance Technologies – Medallion Fund, 1988–

  The best record of any fund, built by mathematicians

  Holdings never disclosed