Eddie Lampert has been in the news for the past couple of years or so due to his involvement with the bankrupt Kmart and the now merged Sears Holding (SHLD). Patricia Sellers in Fortune does an in-depth profile of Lampert. Given the title, “Eddie Lampert: The best investor of his generation” you can understand the thrust of the article. Hyperbole aside it is a good read for those who do not have knowledge of Lampert’s background.

In a companion piece Sellers examines the strategies Lampert employs at his hedge fund. In short Lampert is very focused on his focused, equity based strategy.

He typically doesn’t short stocks, trade currencies or derivatives, take on substantial leverage, or do any of the fancy stuff that most hedge funds do. His firm, ESL Investments, employs 20 people, whereas another hedge fund its size (there are just a few) would have hundreds and a busy trading floor.

“We try to stay very focused,” Lampert says. He takes large positions in major companies and typically holds them for a long time.

Every investor needs to generate their own personal investment strategy. Some times it is valuable to examine the strategies of successful investors to see if there is anything of value there. Then again not everyone cannot buy a majority stake in a bankrupt retailer and merge with another major retailer, like Lampert.