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Buffett on the First Things You Have to Learn

May 24, 2017

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Jon

I’ve been going over a lecture and Q&A Warren Buffett gave at the University of Florida back in 1998. During the Q&A, Buffett discussed some the first things investors must learn early on.

After reading the transcript, three things jumped as nice reminders worth sharing. Buffett made the first one obvious. I think the other two fit with it. Learning all three early on will help avoid a lot of mistakes down the road.

Towards the end, Buffett highlighted one of the first things you have to learn about stocks, which he learned from The Intelligent Investor: Continue Reading…
Happy Hour: The More It Changes…

May 19, 2017

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Jon

The “this time is different” calls are nothing new. It happened in the late ’20s and again in the late ’90s. Another such time was around 1960 and Ben Graham offered a brilliant take on the viewpoint.

At the time, most people thought the business world was “radically different and more favorable than that of the past.” Stock valuations were higher and many believed higher multiples were warranted going forward.

During a talk at UCLA, Graham addressed whether “this time is different” or if it was just a typical bull market: Continue Reading…
The Chase for Quality

May 17, 2017

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Jon

Quality is king. That’s what Buffett and Munger have been preaching for a few decades and Berkshire is the shining example that it works.

Buffett has been laying out what to look for in quality businesses for a while now. I’ve been going over some his earlier thoughts on quality companies after listening to the BRK annual meeting.

Buffett’s lecture at the University of Florida probably is one of the best at describing examples of what he looks for: Continue Reading…
Happy Hour: Bezos Advantage

May 12, 2017

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Jon

During the Berkshire annual meeting, both Buffett and Munger had great things to say about Jeff Bezos. I highlighted some their comments earlier this week. At one point, Buffett recommended watching an interview Bezos did with Charlie Rose late last year.

It’s a good interview that fits with what Buffett and Munger discussed during the meeting. Bezos’s ideas around Amazon’s customer-centric view and long-term perspective fit with their philosophy: Continue Reading…
Notes from the 2017 Berkshire Meeting

May 10, 2017

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Jon

The Q&A session at the Berkshire Annual Meeting can be hit or miss. A lot of questions get repeated year after year. The answers don’t really change much either. About half the time a good question gets asked or an old question finally gets a great answer.

Now that the meeting is streamed online, getting through it and taking notes is much easier. I watched the replay to this year’s meeting. I actually watched it twice. The first time at a faster speed just to get through it (the Q&A was 5 hours long), noting the timestamp for the better questions and answers. Then I watch those sections over again.

The notes below are from those topics I found most interesting. Continue Reading…
Happy Hour: This Time is Different

May 5, 2017

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Jon

The current market valuation is expensive by historical standards. Some say it’s overvalued but others don’t.

If you’re lean on the side of expensive, a question worth asking is what would make our current high market valuation “not expensive”?

Jeremy Grantham asks the same question in the latest GMO letter. He has some decent answers worth thinking about: Continue Reading…

Buffett on the First Things You Have to Learn

Happy Hour: The More It Changes…

The Chase for Quality

Happy Hour: Bezos Advantage

Notes from the 2017 Berkshire Meeting

Happy Hour: This Time is Different