Hot Tip From Liberty Acorn Skipper Wanger: Real Growth Takes Time

When we examine companies, we try to project what their growth prospects are for two years out. That's the short-term time frame. As long as the company continues to grow faster than the broader market, we'll hold them.

Of course, we do have a sell discipline. Every time we invest, we make a list of the reasons why we own it.

Sometimes we sell a company because it's grown into our expectations; that's always nice. Other times, the reason behind our decision to buy the stock doesn't pan out. Unfortunately, that's often the case. If we buy a stock based on the anticipation that it's going to roll out a new product that's going to have a big impact and it doesn't meet our expectations, we sell it.

5. Let's talk about stocks you are holding. Expeditors International is your fifth-largest holding. Can you tell me how long you've held the stock and what you like about the company?

Expeditors International of Washington(EXPD Quote) is a well-run company. We've held that stock, boy, for more than 10 years and just watched it grow. [Expeditors, whose stock has risen more than tenfold in the past decade, is run by longtime chief Peter Rose, who was also named to TheStreet.com's Good CEO Portfolio.]

There are several reasons why we like this company, thematically. It's in the export-import business, it's a freight and shipping company. Importing from Asia by air increases every year. If you look around your house at the things you own, you'll notice that, except for the food, pretty much everything comes from overseas, a lot of it from Asia. Somebody has to ship all this stuff, process the orders. This is a trend that will continue.

Expeditors has executed exceptionally well within this area; it's growing steadily. Now it's at the point where it's gotten big enough, they have enough scale to be fairly dominant and highly profitable. Other companies will have a tough time competing with it.

6. International Game Technology is your largest holding. It's been a very strong performer; do you see it having a lot of continued upside?

International Game Technology(EXPD Quote) is a classic downstream technology-trend play that we like.

The company has a near-monopoly position in selling a product that is valuable to customers, which are the casinos. The gambling business is a growing business, and the business is shifting more and more toward slot machines from table games.