I do my best to ignore it but this year it’s hard not to look away. Like a car wreck at an intersection, this year’s political circus has grabbed a lot of attention. Train wreck probably better describes it. I’ll spare you my opinion of the candidates, except to say it looks like a choice for the least worst option. Neither candidate is a glowing example (spray-on tan doesn’t count) of much. But I’m cynical.

As is so often the case, there is perception – what you’re being told sold – and reality. And 20-second sound bites drive most of what voters perceive (not much different then the markets). Reality, on the other hand, requires a bit more time and thought and logic to weigh outcomes and trade-offs of all the complex issues being discussed. But our time is short, so 20-seconds suffices for too many of us. Continue Reading…

Michael Mauboussin published a great piece late last week titled Reflections on the Ten Attributes of Great Investors.

I pulled a couple of the attributes below but it doesn’t do the piece justice. Mauboussin expands on each one further. You really should box out some time this weekend to read it in full. Continue Reading…

Everyone has heard the Buffett quote:  “It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.”

It’s one of those quotes that gets repeated so often the real message gets mistaken for “if you just do this easy thing, you’ll make a lot of money.” The problem isn’t that it’s hard to buy great companies. It really is easy. You can do it anytime. The hard part is buying them at a fair price. Here’s Graham: Continue Reading…