oscarazocar

Fatal Risk by Roddy Boyd on AIG and its blowup is excellent and exactly covers the topics you describe. https://www.amazon.com/Fatal-Risk-Cautionary-Corporate-Suicide/dp/0470889802

There is an interview on Yahoo Finance with Andy Serwer (former editor of Fortune) from 2019 where he talks about it. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/charlie-munger-common-sense-berkshire-hathaway-succession-112631602.html ANDY SERWER: How do you make the decision to step back if you may not have the mental acuity to make that decision? CHARLIE MUNGER: Well, I think you’ll be surprised at how well both Warren and I are capable of stepping back when we feel our powers are too far deteriorated. ANDY SERWER: Have you talked about that? CHARLIE MUNGER: Sure. And Warren has told people to speak up when the time comes. If we’ve been rational all this way, do you think we’re not going to try to be rational right to the bitter end?

Why would he? If she can do deals that are too small for BRK, the gains won’t be material. If she were to compete with BRK he doesn’t have a reason to invest in her vehicle either. Where did you guys see this? His personal account is way smaller so I would imagine he would invest with her if he thought she would do better. Look at Munger and Li Lu. It was in the stories the day of the announcement. From WSJ: "Mr. Buffett said he understood Ms. Britt Cool’s decision because he also left a job he loved, at his mentor Benjamin Graham’s investment firm, to work for himself in 1956. He added that he doesn’t intend for Berkshire to invest in Ms. Britt Cool’s new venture." I think he may have said that more reasons than that he didn't think she would succeed. First, he didn't say that he wouldn't invest, but that Berkshire wouldn't invest. We have no idea what he does personally; my guess is that he does not invest in other people's funds based on his history. Can anyone recall a single instance when he did that? He has never been one to outsource his personal investing. Second, if Berkshire invested in Britt's new vehicle, that might set a bad precedent. Buffett doesn't want to give an incentive for people to leave Berkshire, and he probably doesn't want to be in a position of having people leave and investing in some but not others.

Thank you, that is very helpful.

Not sure if this is addressed anywhere, but does anyone know if it is possible to block or hide certain general categories? The main way I use the site is by logging on and seeing the 25 most recent posts in the "Corner of Berkshire & Fairfax message Board - Info Center" on the front page. If possible, I would like to see this, but filtering out things like the "Politics" category or certain threads like "FNMA and FMCC preferreds. In search of the elusive 10 bagger." I find that stuff like this gets posted in high volume and tends to crowd out posts on other companies that I miss. Perhaps there is an easier way to accomplish what I am trying to do. Thanks for any help.

With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa is an excellent and unflinching World War II memoir that goes deep into the details of the psychological cost of war on soldiers. It was written by Eugene Sledge and was one of the books that the HBO mini-series The Pacific was based on. The audiobook is excellent and is narrated by the actor who played Sledge in the series. https://www.amazon.com/Old-Breed-At-Peleliu-Okinawa/dp/0891419195

Confusingly, there area a few successful businessmen named Gurdon W. Wattles. Gurdon Wallaces Wattles (1855-1932), who you are referring to, was a leading Omaha businessman in the early 20th century, but not the man cited in The Snowball. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurdon_Wattles Gurdon Weller Wattles (1902-2004), who The Snowball refers to, was a very successful investment banker and active investor. http://www.newjerseyhills.com/gurdon-weller-wattles-was-leading-investment-banker/article_0e8a9982-08ff-53c2-b321-b0298abcfc97.html To further add to it, both appear to have sons also named Gurdon Wattles. My guess is that Buffett ran across Wattles because Wattles was a very smart investor doing enterprising things and the companies he was involved in were cheap due to the complexity and thus Buffett ran across them when poking around. I would bet Ben Graham was aware of him from NYC investing circles.

Does anyone who uses Rocket Financial know what the price is to add the International? Thanks.

Google Finance finally just pulled the old version for me today. All my bookmarks to portfolios are gone.

There is a good primer on the web called Analyzing and Investing in Community Bank Stocks by David B. Moore that runs 236 pages. Do a Google search and you should be able to find a link to a pdf.