Archive for March, 2013

The Importance of Knowing Thyself

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March 23, 2013

Readers know that I’m a fan of Mariko Gordon of Daruma Capital. Below is an excerpt from her recent March 2013 Letter. Although she is referring specifically to equities, I think her comments are applicable to all portfolio assets. Lao Tzu wrote that “He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.” This […]

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Buffett Partnership Letters: 1968 & 1969

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March 20, 2013

During 1969, the Partnership transitioned into Berkshire Hathaway. Therefore this concludes our series on portfolio management and the Buffett Partnership Letters. Please see our previous articles in this series. Control, Hurdle Rate, Compounding, When To Sell “…controlled companies (which represent slightly over one-third of net assets at the beginning of the year)…we cannot make the same sort […]

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Treatise on Equity Risk Premium

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March 17, 2013

Howard Marks recently wrote a letter focusing almost exclusively on equities (March 2013 Letter). Within the letter, he thoroughly explores the equity risk premium – a concept usually taken for granted or as a given figure – in such a thoughtful and intuitive way, that the usually esoteric concept becomes nearly graspable by people (like […]

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Howard Marks’ Book: Chapter 12

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March 13, 2013

Continuation of portfolio management highlights from Howard Marks’ book, The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor, Chapter 12 “The Most Important Thing Is…Finding Bargains” Definition of Investing, Portfolio Management, Position Review, Intrinsic Value, Opportunity Cost “…‘investment is the discipline of relative selection.’” Quoting Sidney Cottle, a former editor of Graham and Dodd’s Security […]

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Wisdom from Peter Lynch

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March 10, 2013

Previously, we summarized an interview with Michael F. Price & an interview with David E. Shaw from Peter J. Tanous’ book Investment Gurus. Below are highlight from yet another fantastic interview, this time with Peter Lynch, the legendary investor who ran Fidelity’s Magellan Fund from 1977-1990, compounding at ~30% annually during that period. When To Buy, Volatility, Catalyst […]

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Observations on Correlation

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March 8, 2013

I recently found an old letter sitting at the bottom of an unread pile of papers. A friend had passed it along with a note commenting “pretty cool…quant/technical work that makes intuitive sense.” Feeling guilty for having forgotten about this for so long, I read through the old letter, and thought the following observation on […]

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Ruane Cunniff Goldfarb 2012 Annual Letter

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March 6, 2013

Portfolio management highlights extracted from Ruane Cunniff Goldfarb’s Sequoia Fund 2012 Annual Letter. These letters always make for pleasant reading, with candid and insightful commentary on portfolio positions and overall market conditions. Risk Free Rate, Discount Rate “Valuations for stocks are heavily influenced by interest rates, and particularly by the risk-free rate of return on […]

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Buffett Partnership Letters: 1967 Part 2

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March 2, 2013

Continuation of our series on portfolio management and the Buffett Partnership Letters, please see our previous articles for more details. For any business, tapping the right client base and keeping those clients happy is crucial. To do so, Buffett believed in the establishment of mutually agreed upon objectives, and keeping his clients abreast of any changes in […]

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