Peter Cundill


Francis Peter Cundill was a Canadian value investor. He was most noted for his flagship investment fund, Cundill Value Fund. Cundill was a follower of the Benjamin Graham investment style.

Biography

Peter Cundill was born in Montreal, Quebec in October 1938, and was educated at Lower Canada College. He completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University in 1960. He then qualified as a Chartered Accountant and a Chartered Financial Analyst Charter Holder, which lead to a career in the investment management business. Cundill worked at Greenshields Inc. in Montreal and the Yorkshire Group in Vancouver
In 2006 Cundill was diagnosed with Fragile X Tremor/Ataxia Syndrome, an as yet untreatable neurological condition. Cundill died on January 24, 2011, in London.

Investment career

  • 1974, Cundill started Peter Cundill & Associates Ltd. and Cundill Value Fund was founded.
  • 1998, Mackenzie Investments acquired Cundill Funds Inc.
  • 2006, Cundill sold the remaining 5% of his firm to Mackenzie.
  • 2009, Cundill retired from daily operational fund management, becoming Chairman Emeritus of Mackenzie Cundill.

    Recognition

  • In 2001, Cundill was presented the Canadian Investment Awards Analysts' Choice Career Achievement award in recognition of proven superior performance and his lifetime contribution to the financial community.
  • In 2003, Cundill was presented the Fund Manager of the Year award.
  • In 2004, Cundill was honoured with a fellowship by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia.
  • In 2008, Cundill established the Cundill International Prize in History at McGill, which is "awarded annually to an author who has published a book determined to have a profound literary, social and academic impact on the subject".
  • Cundill was an Advisory Board Member for the Ben Graham Centre for Value Investing at the Ivey School of Business.

    Selected publications

  • There's Always Something to Do: The Peter Cundill Investment Approach, Christopher Risso-Gill,
  • Routines and Orgies: The Life of Peter Cundill, Financial Genius, Philosopher, and Philanthropist, Christopher Risso-Gill, Publishing Date November 2014,