Brazil Value Talks: Gabriel Negraes — Repost

There is a lot of noise in the market and very little timeless wisdom.

That’s why I decided to create a new section at Brazil Stocks: a curated collection of the best interviews ever given.

Over the years, I’ve learned more by reading and rereading interviews like these than from many classic investment books. Quite often, it’s in a simple answer, almost hidden in the middle of a conversation, that the most valuable insights emerge.

The idea is not to focus on short-term predictions, but on mindset, methodology, and principles that continue to work over time.

Today’s interview is with Gabriel Negraes.

Throughout the conversation, Gabriel outlines an investment philosophy that is essentially speculative and event-driven: he seeks to identify triggers capable of generating buying pressure and repricing assets—particularly in situations involving judicial reorganization, turnarounds, asset sales, court rulings, stock splits, tender offers, and legislative changes. His approach begins by identifying significant discrepancies between the current price and an anticipated event, looking for high-upside asymmetries even in companies with poor fundamentals or those nearing bankruptcy. He closely monitors legal and administrative proceedings, CVM (Brazilian SEC) filings, investor relations communications, social media, legislation, and a broad network of investors to uncover opportunities before they become widely known. He also makes it clear that he avoids emotional decision-making, following third-party recommendations, day trading, or trading instruments he does not fully understand; instead, he prefers to focus on one investment case at a time—often involving low-quality assets, penny stocks, and companies undergoing restructuring. His positions typically last from one week to three months, following the “buy the rumor, sell the news” logic, with positions closed once the market has fully priced in the expected event.

Enjoy.

From January 2020 to March 2024, his historic performance will be the envy of anyone.

His portfolio returned 1558.58% in the period, versus 8.04% for Ibovespa.

This guy knows how to generate real value.

Shall we meet him?

BZ: Gabriel, could you tell us a little about yourself?

GN: I come from a family in Goiás that was extremely conservative and traditional regarding investments.

Anything other than land, cattle, and crops was viewed with skepticism.

Despite that unpromising background, I experienced a major shift in perspective toward the financial markets.

Soon after starting law school, I began to engage with corporate law.

At the time, I was following the fallout from major cases such as the Parmalat bankruptcy proceedings in Brazil, the reactivation of the Telebrás system, the Eike Batista and “X-companies” saga, the Gradiente vs. Apple dispute over the iPhone trademark, and the Varig bankruptcy estate, among dozens of others.

The extreme volatility in the share prices of these assets always caught my attention.

I kept trying to understand why that happened.

Once I actually became a lawyer, I began to grasp the underlying rationale better.

The dynamics of these types of investment theses became much more tangible to me.

That was the moment I started to gain confidence and build purchasing power.

I kept pedaling—falling, getting back up...

Refining my modus operandi over time.

BZ: What is your strategy for making money on the stock market?