Sign inRecent Commentaries tagged (value-investing)
Berkshire Hathaway's Top 15 Holdings
Warren Buffett has a cult-like following after decades of successfully investing capital under the legendary Benjamin Graham's value investing philosophy. I, for one, am a big believer in the style and keep a close eye of Buffett's moves to study his company choices. Below are Berkshire...
Book Review: Diary of a Hedge Fund Manager
This is a book that gives a feeling for being in hedge fund management, rather than a dry description of what needs to be done if you are in the rare position of being asked to manage a hedge fund. The author was an ambitious guy. Growing up in Canada, he wanted to play professional hockey. ...
Book Review: Quality of Earnings
I think earnings quality is one of the great neglected concepts of investing. Why do many growth investors blow up on seemingly promising companies? The answer is often that the investors did not review earnings quality. Why do value investors fall into value traps? The answer is often that...
Cram and Jam
Insurance is probably the most complex industry as far as accounting goes. Why? When you sell the policy, you have a vague idea of what the costs will be, and when those cash flows will occur. That leaves room for a wide variety of games as far as the accounting goes. Because hitting...
Book Review: The Only Three Questions That Count
I resisted getting this book when it first came out. Much as I enjoy Ken Fisher as a writer, and appreciate the interaction that I have had with him over the years, the title turned me away. “Three questions? Only three? Investing is far more complex than that.” I would say that to...
Value Investor Bill Miller Remains Quite Bullish
Bill Miller of Legg Mason (LM), one of the most famous value investors today, told the United Kingdom’s Telegraph newspaper that he believes the market is headed higher. It is his belief that the market is underestimating US GDP growth in 2010, which could lead to equity market gains of as much...
Nine Notes and Comments
As I roll through the day, i often make comments on the blogs and websites of others. I suppose I could gang them up, and post them here only. I don’t do that. Other sites deserve good comments. Today, though, I reprint them here, with a little more commentary. 1) First, I want to thank a
On Contrarianism
With markets, it doesn’t matter what people say. What matters is what they rely upon. Face it, people have opinions, and when asked only the most cautious or prudent won’t give an answer. Talk is cheap. But money talks. What will people or institutions risk some of their financial well-being...
Catching up on Blog Comments
Before I start, I would like to toss out the idea of an Aleph Blog Lunch to be hosted sometime in January 2010 @ 1PM, somewhere between DC and Baltimore. Everyone pays for their own lunch, but I would bring along the review copies of many of the books that I have reviewed for attendees to take...
Book Review: Warren Buffett on Business
In the Fall of 2005, I was at the Annual Meeting of the Casualty Actuarial Society in exotic Baltimore, Maryland. The Keynote address was by Roger Lowenstein who did a talk on two topics. Warren Buffett the great investor, and the looming problems from the demographic crisis. At the end of...
On Sovereign and Quasi-Sovereign Risks
I like investing internationally, because of the diversification it offers, both in stocks and bonds. Or, think of it as a hedge. Will the American Experiment continue to prosper? We have come a long way from the Founding Fathers, and more than half of it is not good. But there are some place...
Book Review: Market Indicators
Every one one us has limited bandwidth for analysis of data. We pick and choose a few ideas that seem to work for us, and then stick with them. That is often best, because good investors settle into investment methods that are consistent with their character. But every now and then it is...
The Forever Fund
Imagine for a moment that you were approached by a very wealthy foundation, and they asked you to invest their money. They offer a low asset-based fee, but the assets are so large that it looks like a dream to you. Then they tell you the conditions: We want this fund to last forever. It must...
Book Review: Think Twice
Since I met him at a Baltimore CFA Society meeting in 2001, I have appreciated the intelligence of Mike Mauboussin. (My old boss was his roommate in college, so I was told, the name is pronounced “MOE-bus-son.”) He was early to pick up on the value of behavioral economics and nonlinear...
Pension Apprehension
I have a bunch of pieces “ganged up” to go on real estate, international economics, government policies, market risks, and a book review on “Think Twice,” but tonight the topic is pensions, with a side order of Bill Miller. Hopefully I will get to the other topics next week. Defined benefit...
