People have tried to explain the causes behind the extreme unbalance in prosperity in different parts of the world over the last two centuries. In an article titled How the West (and the Rest) Got Rich the author pinpoints the missing ingredient that brought about the last few centuries of progress and prosperity to Western Europe and the U.S. Continue Reading…
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Happy Hour: Walking the Dog
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Analogies abound in investing because they relate something familiar to the unknown, they simplify the complex. I can expound on how the markets work or I can retell Ben Graham’s story of Mr. Market. The later does a better job of explaining the basics to anybody then my detailed explanation ever would.
I was reminded of a similar analogy this week. It’s one I’ve read several times before and thought it was worth sharing. Ralph Wanger relayed how markets work to Bill Berstein: Continue Reading…
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Buffett on Competitive Advantage
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I wanted to share some excerpts from an old Q&A session Warren Buffett had back in 2003. In it, Buffett spends a good amount of time covering competitive advantage.
I think it’s important because often times people chase the next big thing, the tech of the future, or some hot IPO. There’s always a fantastic story spun around new companies, so full of potential with barely an ounce of ink spilled on the risks.
They’re looking for a lottery ticket. Continue Reading…
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Happy Hour: Hardware Lag
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I’m going slightly off topic today. Recode has a nice article on the story behind Fiber, the good and bad sides, and the disruption it’s caused. I’m a fan of Google Fiber because the direction it’s moving will be how we access the internet in the not too distant future and I dislike Comcast.
A small piece stuck out to me because it was something I discussed several years ago about how everyone and everything will connect to the internet soon. Continue Reading…
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Howard Marks on His Investment Philosophy
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Howard Marks gave a talk at Google back in March ’15 where he covered the origin of his investment philosophy. I scribbled some notes as watched it. I thought it was time to organize things and post it here.His book, The Most Important Thing, is his investment philosophy. He admits that his most important things have changed over time. His thinking is always evolving. The goal was to show that investing is hard, counterintuitive, and to teach people how to think.
During the talk, Marks highlighted where the roots of his philosophy began: Continue Reading…
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Happy Hour: BRK Book Selection
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Every year at the Berkshire annual meeting, Warren Buffett offers a handpicked selection of books. I dug up this year’s list from the meeting and I thought I’d list all of them below.
I’ve read several books on the list, own (still need to read) a couple more, and added several new ones to my wish list. Many, as you might guess, are about him. A few are about Charlie Munger. The rest are on investing, biographies, history…I’ll let you check out the rest. Continue Reading…