It’s been a while since we’ve revisited the guiding principles behind our investment operation in our notes. We thought this year’s letter should address them for a few reasons.
Read MoreOne theory still widely taught in today’s finance classes is that stock prices are rational, i.e. they accurately reflect all publicly available information. It follows then that trying to pick individual stocks is a futile effort versus, say, buying a basket containing all stocks. It is true that for most investors, investing in a broad market basket is the right strategy due to lack of time and resources to do the analytical work.
Read MoreWe’ve written in the past about our preference for management teams that think and act long-term. We prefer business managers who are not afraid to make strategic, capital allocation, and hiring decisions that will impact their businesses five, ten, or twenty years into the future even if they are detrimental to short-term profitability. That sounds pretty good but how does one become long-term-oriented?
Read MoreMuch has been said recently about the performance of big tech stocks, and rightfully so. A few of them are growing rapidly, including due to heavy investments into artificial intelligence—think Nvidia or Microsoft, for example. The conversation often turns to the dichotomy between so-called “growth” and “value” styles of investing.
Read MoreTrips to Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting in Omaha are an opporunity to meet other investors and to think about my own investment process. The 2023 meeting played the role well. Below are a few thoughts from this year’s trip.
Read MoreInvestors sometimes ask, ‘This stock has gone down—should you be selling it?’ The short answer is: it depends. We should remember that a stock represents partial ownership in a real company and, as such, should reflect future business fundamentals. Similar to buying an investment property or a farm, any related income and the ultimate sale price generated by that investment should be reflected in the purchase price.
Read MoreIt’s been several years since I taught my daughter how to ride her bicycle without training wheels but the lessons from that experience resonated with me as I thought about trust in corporate culture.
Just like many kids her age, my daughter was excited by the prospect of riding her bike without training wheels. It took quite a bit of trust on both our parts to achieve the goal. First, she had to trust me to create a safe environment. We used pads and a helmet to protect her against an inevitable fall. We practiced in a cul-de-sac and away from through traffic. I held her seat until she reached balance and eventually picked up speed. I also needed to show confidence in her ability to improve, help her recover when she lost her balance, and cheer her on as she rode around the neighborhood with her friends.
It turns out that trust is as important in a corporate setting as it is in helping kids learn and excel at a new skill. Trust is the foundation of an effective culture that results in happy customers and propels corporate performance.
Read More“The great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
In our most recent article, we discussed competitive moats as a critical element of our investment process. An equally complex and arguably more nuanced area of business analysis involves assessment of management and corporate culture. We will devote several future updates to this topic but today we will explore the manner in which executives of public companies communicate with investors and whether their communication style can tell us anything about business performance…
Read More“A strong ability to defend established markets against new competitors is essential for a sound investment.” - Philip Fisher
Fisher’s quote above describes what we consider a critical factor when investing in businesses. For a business to generate above-average multi-year shareholder returns, it must possess a competitive advantage, or “moat”, to defend its proverbial castle against competition.
While much has already been written about competitive advantages, most of them come down to three types: cost advantages…
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