cbs news is where Neeraj Khemlani once hunted for stories big enough to grab mass attention, and he is now pitching a new one of his own. More than two years after leaving, Khemlani is publicly focused on “The Coffee Can Investor, ” a new book from Columbia Business School Publishing built around a get-rich-slow approach that demands patience and discipline. The core idea centers on a long-term “coffee can” portfolio meant to sit untouched as carefully chosen stocks compound over decades.
What Khemlani is putting forward now
In “The Coffee Can Investor, ” Khemlani analyzes the investing method of Matt Ankrum, a Midwestern investor he has known for decades. The book frames Ankrum’s approach around searching for “100-baggers, ” stocks that can multiply a hundred times over several decades, and it emphasizes research and restraint rather than chasing the market’s flashiest names.
Ankrum’s process, as described by Khemlani, includes studying financial material such as the Journal of Portfolio Management and looking for companies positioned to rise in value over the long haul. Khemlani writes that he has long spoken with Ankrum for background on financial-market movements, and that the “coffee can” concept clicked when he learned Ankrum planned to spread money across multiple “100 bagger” stocks with the intention of passing the portfolio to his children.
Inside the “coffee can” strategy—and who it’s for
Khemlani argues the book is aimed at everyday readers, especially a growing community of retail investors he describes as increasingly influential in market moves—“moving the markets, buying the dips, forcing the market, ” in his words—while also “only getting bigger. ” He ties that interest to retirement savings, saying the amount of money going into 401K’s is growing, while he also points to statistics he says he found showing the average stock hold time is just five and a half months and that the average American retirement nest egg is between $300, 000 and $400, 000.
He presents the gap between short holding periods and long-term retirement goals as a reason to revisit “the fundamentals of value investing. ” The discipline required, he says, is real—but easier when people can learn from examples of those who have succeeded with patience and study. Khemlani also brings his own family into the narrative, writing that he starts a coffee can for them as well.
Immediate reactions: Khemlani on discipline, retail investors, and why the story matters
“The discipline to do this is real, but it’s a lot easier if you can hear these stories and see the people who’ve done it in the past succeed, ” Khemlani says during a recent interview, explaining why he believes the story can resonate beyond finance professionals.
He also describes his view of the retail-investor wave in plain terms: this cohort is “moving the markets, buying the dips, forcing the market, ” and “only getting bigger, ” he says, adding that “The amount of money going into 401K’s is only getting bigger. ”
His pitch: if investors want the next Nvidia, Alphabet, or Apple, they should look elsewhere. The coffee can selections highlighted in the book lean heavily toward business-to-business companies, which Khemlani notes may surprise readers even if it did not surprise him.
Quick context: how his prior executive experience shaped the lens
Khemlani connects the book’s b-to-b emphasis to what he observed while at Hearst, where he says the company put more emphasis on owning business-to-business companies such as Fitch Group and QGenda. That experience helped convince him Ankrum’s thinking could translate to public markets.
Examples of companies named as coffee can picks include Bio-Techne, described as a maker of diagnostics, and Fastenal, described as a maker and distributor of industrial fasteners, tools, and equipment.
What’s next
Khemlani frames the book as an “investing adventure” and cites inspiration from Jim Rogers’ memoir “Investment Biker, ” which recounts a 22-month motorcycle journey across 52 countries alongside reflections on markets. For now, Khemlani’s stated goal is to spark a craving for more of that kind of “investing adventure”—and to keep the focus on patient methods that he believes can outlast the churn of short-term trading. As he continues this post-cbs news chapter, the next developments to watch will be how widely the coffee can approach resonates with the retail-investor audience he is openly courting.
