VersaillesinNY

RIP Mr Gottesman https://www.wsj.com/articles/david-s-gottesman-friend-of-warren-buffett-has-died-at-age-96-11664501670 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/29/business/dealbook/david-s-gottesman-dead.html

CNBC Transcript: Duquesne Family Office Chairman & CEO Stanley Druckenmiller Speaks with CNBC’s Joe Kernen Live During the CNBC Delivering Alpha Conference https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/28/cnbc-transcript-duquesne-family-office-chairman-ceo-stanley-druckenmiller-speaks-with-cnbcs-joe-kernen-live-during-the-cnbc-delivering-alpha-conference-today.html

RIP Mr Lou Simpson. Some insight on Lou Simpson and how he works From Concentrated Investing: Strategies of the World's Greatest Concentrated Value Investors: Buffett has described Simpson as having “the rare combination of temperamental and intellectual characteristics that produce outstanding long-term investment performance.” In particular, Buffett admired Simpson’s ability to invest in stocks with below-average risk, and yet generate returns that were the best in the insurance industry, a hallmark of Buffett’s. Simpson’s investing for GEICO often paralleled Buffett’s efforts at Berkshire. And students of Buffett’s style will recognize his influence in Simpson’s process: seek undervalued businesses with proven track records, strong management, a high likelihood of continued steady growth, pricing power, financial strength, and a history of rewarding shareholders. “He has this great ability to understand what’s going to be a good business,” said Glenn Greenberg, a longtime friend who is now managing partner at Brave Warrior Capital Management. (Simpson considers Glenn an excellent investor and they have ended up owning the same stocks numerous times over the past 30 years.) “And it’s concentrated because there aren’t that many really good businesses.” Simpson has an unassuming manner and puts people at ease. He has a wide circle of acquaintances, which assists in gaining insights into companies and industries he is researching. He is also a master of understatement, so much so that in conversation the import of his observations aren’t understood until long after the discussion is over. Like the man, Simpson’s office is unassuming. It is situated in a low-key, nondescript office building in Naples, Florida, an 8- to 10-minute drive from his home. A passerby would have no clue about the business being transacted in it. It is also unusually quiet. He says that he has always tried to block out as much noise as possible. There are no interruptions; no ringing phones, no Bloomberg in the office—Simpson keeps it in the entranceway, separate from the office, so that he has to stand up from his desk to look something up if he needs it. “If I have the Bloomberg on, I find I am looking at what the market is doing,” he said. “I really like to be the one who is parsing the information, rather than having a lot of irrelevant information thrown at me.” His desk, like the rest of his office, kitchen, and meeting rooms, is clutter free. His work life is similarly low key. He is disciplined about exercising before work, and arrives at his office long before market hours. Simpson reads everything he can find about companies that have caught his eye. He doesn’t search for investments in analyst reports, or by speaking to sell-side researchers. lou-simpson-1987-profile.pdf A Maestro of Investments in the Style of Buffett - The New York Times.pdf

https://www.manhattanda.org/d-a-vance-michael-steinhardt-surrenders-180-stolen-antiquities-valued-at-70-million/

Steinhardt might have illegally purchased some cursed antique objects or did he publicly bashed Warren Buffett in 2011, maybe both. "You can fool people some of the time, but you can't fool them all of the time." — Aesop

This link works: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0b4hdtb Skip first 2 min Steven Pinker, Tim Harford, Charlie Munger

Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvvR2wp795uqsmh6F-Rq6TA/videos

Stanley Druckenmiller: “The greatest investors make large concentrated bets where they have a lot of conviction” https://thehustle.co/stanley-druckenmiller-q-and-a-trung-phanin

2021 Student Investment Fund Annual Meeting Keynote by Stanley Druckenmiller

RIP Charles de Vaulx. It's a tragedy. https://www.morningstar.com/articles/1035374/iva-founder-charles-de-vaulx-has-died Charles de Vaulx, an iconoclastic value manager who co-founded IVA Funds after working for many years with investing legend Jean-Marie Eveillard, has died in an apparent suicide, the New York City Police Department confirmed Monday evening. De Vaulx, 59, entered IVA offices at 717 Fifth Ave. in Manhattan shortly before 1 p.m. Monday, the department’s public information office said in an email. Responders pronounced him dead at the scene at 1:05 p.m. The police said detectives are still investigating de Vaulx's passing, but do not suspect any criminal activity. The death of de Vaulx shocked and saddened former colleagues and others who knew him for his uncompromising investment style that prioritized buying stocks at deep discounts or not at all. He was renowned and revered across the industry for his investing acumen and opinionated views on individual companies and the market in general. IVA, the firm he formed in 2008 with former colleagues from First Eagle funds, had struggled in recent years, however. His passing comes little more than a month after IVA abruptly announced it would liquidate its funds and close shop.

Behind the Rise and Fall of an Esteemed Value Shop _ Morningstar.pdf https://www.morningstar.com/articles/708457/behind-the-rise-and-fall-of-an-esteemed-value-shop Good article and lessons learned about IVA's fund raise and dramatic fall.

MARCH 11, 2021 IVA Funds Liquidation Effective March 10, 2021 International Value Advisers (IVA) and the Board of Trustees has approved the liquidation of the IVA Funds. The Adviser and Board believe that this liquidation is in the best interest of the Funds’ shareholders. https://www.ivafunds.com/documents/news/IVA Funds Supplement - Liquidation.pdf https://citywireusa.com/professional-buyer/news/they-could-have-kept-going-what-drove-iva-to-liquidate-its-funds/a1479887 https://www.barrons.com/articles/venerated-international-value-shop-iva-shuts-down-51615500015

He looks good, witty & healthy. Attached is the Zoom transcript which is not exactly accurate. meeting_saved_closed_caption.txt

That's in order to see the AUM evolution over a decade: $1.7 billion => $17 billion => $8.3 billion => $4.95 billion Sorry to have confused you.

Charles De Vaulx Fund Raises $1.7B! created on: August 27, 2009,

The house is on fire at IVA fund, Charles de Vaulx is facing massive redemptions, their AUM melted from $17 billion in 2012, $8.3 billion in late March 2020 and $4.95 billion now :( I hope that they are able to stabilize their outflows, they have a good value approach & discipline but kept huge amounts of uninvested cash for years. Quote from Sept 2020 call - Transcript "3) Outflows have continued unabated, at least until a few weeks ago when value stocks became much more resilient than growth tech stocks. We now have in total $4.95 billion under management, down from $8.3 billion late March. So because markets have rebounded since, the net outflows that we have experienced with IVA have been approximately $4 billion, and that includes some institutional separate accounts that we have lost. The IVA Worldwide fund is now $2.7 billion in size across all the share classes. And the IVA International fund is $1.1 billion in size. As a result of that shrinkage, IVA has had to let go of four employees that became redundant from various departments a few weeks ago and we now have 38 employees and that includes the partners. We have been able to meet these outflows both by using some cash in the various portfolios, but first and foremost, by trimming most positions so as to maintain the desired individual weightings in each name. Because IVA’s AUM are down, but also because we own fewer thinly traded stocks, the liquidity portfolio of our portfolios including both funds is very good. Besides the cash position of 36% today in the Worldwide, 31% in the International Fund, we could now theoretically liquidate 26% of all equities held by all IVA products in one day, we could liquidate 44% of such equities in three days, 57% in five days, and 69% in 10 business days if we made the assumption that we would represent 20% of the average daily volume. Fifteen months ago, we could only have liquidated 30% in three days versus 44% currently."

Drahi Offers $3 Billion to Take European Telecom Empire Private https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-11/billionaire-drahi-to-take-altice-private-in-5-8-billion-deal?sref=iO3LZPgY

https://www.cornerofberkshireandfairfax.ca/forum/general-discussion/paul-reichmann-the-man-who-blew-$10-billion-dies

The way I read it is that: - Chuck wanted to deploy cash more aggressively, while Charles wanted to hold on the cash pile and remain "prudent". - The fund has been under performing the indexes for a long period of time, mainly because of their large cash position. This uncomfortable situation generated strong disagreements. - The share of the cake (fees) is not to be split anymore. - Most of the value shops have their own internal breakups & spin-offs (Baupost, Bestinver, First Eagle fund, IVA, Paulson, Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb, Fairholme, GoodHaven, T2...) ---------------- "As of July 13, 2020, Chuck de Lardemelle has departed IVA. Effective immediately, all IVA products will be solely managed by Charles de Vaulx, Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager. IVA believes that, during these challenging times, Charles’ solitary voice directing the investment team is in the best interest of our shareholders. The investment objectives, investment strategies and management philosophy remain unchanged. Chuck was one of the Founding Partners of IVA, and his contributions and service to IVA and our clients are greatly appreciated. We wish him success in any future endeavors. As a reminder, Charles de Vaulx joined International Value Advisers, LLC (IVA) in May 2008 as a Partner and Portfolio Manager, and serves as Chief Investment Officer. Until March 2007, Charles was the Portfolio Manager of the First Eagle Global, Overseas, U.S. Value, Gold and Variable Funds, together with a number of separately managed institutional accounts. His career has thus far spanned 3 plus decades and he has successfully navigated many market cycles and crises. His experience and leadership are vital during this volatile time. We believe our firm and its clients are in capable, wise, responsible care as Charles continues to be a prudent steward of client assets."

If not allowed here - my apologies - but makes for interesting reading..... Thanks for sharing!

Challenging times at IVA where they have been holding large parts of their portfolios in cash for many years. https://www.barrons.com/articles/why-did-iva-funds-co-cio-leave-10-months-after-accepting-the-job-51594745599

Thanks for sharing!

It seems that the lowest price is currently on abebooks.com at only 338 usd. I purchased the book on amazon.com in 2012 for 19.69 usd :), my guess is that you just need to check again in a couple months.

Wishing him a prompt recovery.