Posts Tagged ‘Psychology’

Montier on Exposures & Bubbles

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July 12, 2014

Below are some wonderful bits on bubbles and portfolio construction from James Montier. Excerpts were extracted from a Feb 2014 interview with Montier by Robert Huebscher of Advisor Perspectives – a worthwhile read. Cash, Expected Returns, Exposure “The issue is…everything is expensive right now. How do you build a portfolio that recognizes the fact that cash […]

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Baupost Letters: 2000-2001

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July 1, 2014

This concludes our series on portfolio management and Seth Klarman, with ideas extracted from old Baupost Group letters. Our Readers know that we generally provide excerpts along with commentary for each topic. However, at the request of Baupost, we will not be providing any excerpts, only our interpretive summaries. For those of you wishing to […]

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Elementary Worldly Wisdom – Part 3

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April 18, 2014

The following is Part 3 of portfolio management highlighted extracted from a gem of a Munger speech given at USC nearly a decade ago. It’s long, but contains insights collected over many years by one of the greatest investment minds in this century. Caustically humorous (purely Munger), it is absolutely worth 20 minutes of your […]

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Mauboussin: Frequency vs. Magnitude

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March 17, 2014

Our last article on the uncontrollable nature of luck was just downright depressing. To lift spirits & morale, this article showcases more comforting content on factors that are within an investor’s control. The following excerpts are extracted from a piece by Michael Mauboussin written in 2002 titled The Babe Ruth Effect – Frequency versus Magnitude. […]

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Waiting For The Next Train

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December 18, 2013

Following up our recent article on selectivity standards in an upward moving market, below are some comforting words (and/or coping advice) from Mariko Gordon of Daruma Capital derived from her October 2013 Newsletter. “My ruminations on regret are of the bull market variety. Whereas bear markets make me regret owning every single stock in the […]

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Howard Marks’ Book: Chapter 15

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November 10, 2013

Continuation of portfolio management highlights from Howard Marks’ book, The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor, Chapter 15 “The Most Important Thing Is…Having a Sense for Where We Stand.” Cash, Risk, Opportunity Cost “The period from 2004 through the middle of 2007 presented investors with one of the greatest opportunities to outperform […]

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An Anecdotal Gem

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October 23, 2013

The following anecdote comes from WkndNotes by Eric Peters (a treasure trove of humor and investment insight) and touches upon Tesla. Our readers know that PM Jar does not discuss ideas, and we have no intention of jumping into the Tesla debate or to declare ourselves Musk-lovers. The reason why we are showcasing this excerpt is because […]

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Baupost Letters: 1999

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October 9, 2013

Continuation in our series on portfolio management and Seth Klarman, with ideas extracted from old Baupost Group letters. Our Readers know that we generally provide excerpts along with commentary for each topic. However, at the request of Baupost, we will not be providing any excerpts, only our interpretive summaries, for this series. Sizing, Catalyst, Expected […]

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Howard Marks’ Book: Chapter 14

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August 27, 2013

Continuation of portfolio management highlights from Howard Marks’ book, The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor, Chapter 14 “The Most Important Thing Is…Knowing What You Don’t Know” Mistakes, Sizing, Diversification, Leverage, Opportunity Cost “…the biggest problems tend to arise when investors forget about the difference between probability and outcome – that is, when […]

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Embracing Chaos & Randomness

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August 17, 2013

Investing is hard on the psyche. Events don’t always make sense, yet external pressures often demand that you make sense of everything seemingly random. This can lead to frustration stemming from cognitive dissonance — the discomfort experienced when simultaneously holding two or more conflicting ideas, beliefs, values or emotional reactions. Perhaps this is why I enjoyed reading […]

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Bill Lipschutz: Dealing With Mistakes

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June 10, 2013

The following excerpts are derived from Jack Schwager’s interview with Bill Lipschutz in The New Market Wizards. Lipschutz helped build and ran Salomon’s currency desk for many years – here is a 2006 EuroMoney Article with additional background on Bill Lipschutz. There are number of worthwhile portfolio management tidbits here, mainly the relationship between making mistakes, […]

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More Than You Know: Chapter 1

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June 1, 2013

Below are numerous psychological gems extracted from Chapter 1 of More Than You Know by Michael Mauboussin. Also be sure to check out his thoughts on Process Over Outcome. Psychology, Sizing “The behavioral issue of overconfidence comes into play here. Research suggests that people are too confident in their own abilities and predictions. As a […]

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Consequences of Contrarian Actions

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May 9, 2013

Below are excerpts from a speech Bob Rodriguez of First Pacific Advisors gave in May 2009. Quite a few interesting lessons derived from his previous trials and tribulations in dealing with clients and redemptions during periods of contrarian actions and underperformance. Psychology “I believe I have found success because I have been deeply aware of […]

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Mauboussin on Position Sizing

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May 1, 2013

Below are excerpts from an article written by Michael Mauboussin in 2006 on the importance of position sizing (Size Matters). For fans of the Kelly formula, this is a must-read. Mauboussin highlights a few very important flaws of the Kelly formula when applied to our imperfect, non-normally distributed world of investing. Sizing, Diversification “To suppose […]

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Mind of an Achiever

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April 20, 2013

In the competitive world of investing, each of us should constantly be seeking out competitive advantages. Personally, I believe that a certain degree of competitive advantage can be found in the cross-pollination of different schools of investment thought. Many in the value school often deride trading strategies, but they cannot deny the existence of those […]

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Montier & Mauboussin: Process Over Outcome

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April 16, 2013

James Montier’s Value Investing: Tools and Techniques for Intelligent Investment is a book I often recommend to others – Montier does a wonderful job of pulling together a range of topics related value investing. Below are excerpts from Chapter 16 titled “Process not Outcomes: Gambling, Sport and Investment.” Montier derived much of the content below […]

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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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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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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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The Inner vs. Outer Scorecard

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February 21, 2013

We all have egos in the psychological sense – defined as “a person’s sense of self-esteem or self-importance.” It’s the degree that denotes the positive or negative association that’s often attached to the term “ego.” There are two passages below, one from Howard Marks and the other from Warren Buffett, that share a common denominator: […]

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