thowed

Some lovely stories here. Two key takeaways. 1) Retail investing was very different pre-internet. It's been such a seismic change, and more people than not won't remember it. There was so little information, and so you tended to go for the big, advertised mutual fund. 2) A Shares were really expensive for normal people from a certain point. I had some spare time in my studies in 2009/10, and discovered that the Berkshire letters were all on the internet. I worked my way through them, and learned so much. However I didn't buy a share for a long time, as back then it was hard to find online brokers in my country (UK) who did US stocks. And I still worry about what happens after WEB passes. However much planning you do, succession is incredibly difficult. @Williams406 Particularly enjoyed your story - you really nailed your timings!

Yes - this one was good. I can't really say why, but the past few were a little underwhelming. Maybe expecting the long brilliance of the earlier letters? And now a reset in expectations? Some of it reminded me of that old Jason Zweig line that it's so hard being a financial journalist, as there's only one sensible thing to say, and he has to find a different way of saying it once a week. But I certainly need constant reminders about filtering out the 'casino noise', remembering the importance of incentivisation, and also how distorted accounting can be (lies, damned lies, and accounting...).

It was a great day when I was introduced to Chuck Akre. It's the sort of simple investment philosophy that I can understand.

Just want to say again I appreciate everyone on this thread - it was a huge help yesterday in keeping calm. It's also great that the assessment is fair & acknowledges that FFH is not perfect, and could improve, rather than just fanboy-ing. Thank you all.

People seem to be reading/watching & reacting - after bounce back to 1300, now seems to be gradually drifting down.

Can't get filled...

Thanks - I need to do a bit more work on it to build conviction, as there's a lot that's interesting with it.

This is the sensible post I would have like to have written, instead of just being facetious.

I'm struggling to understand the price here. I would have thought it would be doing better in this environment. Did they mess up one of their acquisitions?

Wow, I sure missed the Politics Board................................................... Aren't ALL Americans immigrants?

Nothing to disagree with on PSH (but my god I wish he'd stop the political nonsense on Twitter). Will just add that the Discount got to 38% late October, and has come in this year to 27%, so maybe not optimal time to buy right now, though 27% discount in any other scenario pretty decent.

Twitter is hideous, & the self-promotion, and show-boating a joke. It's not a place for humility! BUT just about worth it for the handful of good accounts. Apart from here, it's one of the few places where you can discuss strange small-caps with people all over the world, and find people who know them using the Ticker search.

I don't think you can generalise. I'm no expert, but I think SOME are. But it requires researching - something so much easier to do with internet resources and people like Nate @oddballstocks and team.

Great thread - very thought-provoking. After initial attempts to think of 'best' companies, I was persuaded by arguments here that an Index makes the most sense, given how much could change in 30 years. The only thing I'd add (as a non-US person particularly) is WHICH index. Not all are quite the same. For instance, when I look at how the S&P500 has demolished Europe over the past 20 years, that is because of how Tech companies have made the S&P so much more dynamic and 'Darwinian' which is what you want. Europe has one or two (e.g. ASML) and a couple of newer things like LVMH, but is more beholden to older, more static industries like Banks, Oil, Tobacco, Miners etc. Arguably. over 30 years, the world could change so much that MSCI World might make sense - just in case - (or even one with some EM stuff in as I think MSCI World is just DM, ironically). But it is also tempting to just copy Buffett with his old S&P500 suggestion - it is a pretty decent index with diversification in a dynamic country. I mean, of course there could be a Civil War after the election with Trump doing ever more insane things, but if you worry about that sort of stuff TOO much, you'll never get anywhere!

I think it would be interesting to see if interest rates went (and stayed) higher, whether this makes cigar butt investing more practicable again. It feels like Zero interest rates meant that so little was cheap enough for a classic value strategy.

Ha ha! No, this is the WRONG sort of cult! Tbh, I am more into managers with a bit more humility e.g. Buffett. In fairness Kupperman has owned up when he's been wrong in his letters, but his Twitter feed is pretty cringe-y. Too much self-aggrandising.

Kupperman seems interesting, but there seems to be a bit of a cult about him, which is an immediate red flag for me. So it's good for people to be aware of his history, so they can do more research and make their own judgement. Personally it would be too high risk an investment for me for what he does, but I imagine that if he can get 60% of his investments right then he could do very well.

Bravo, thank you.

Screens are so horrible. Sure, I'm old-fashioned, & prefer people generally, but I'd tolerate screens IF THEY WERE AS FAST AS PEOPLE. At the moment, you spend ages wheeling through the different options, confirming etc. The UX design is terrible. And I don't think enough research has been done on the hygiene of it all either. Anyways, sorry to go off-topic...

The FT has a quiz now with quotes, asking: "Bill Ackman or American Psycho?" Wonder if he'll threaten to 'write a letter'?

Not gospel but I reckon he's had following since inception in late 2010: Microsoft L'Oreal Pepsi Philip Morris Stryker Diageo Unilever and Visa & ADP have been in fund for over 10 years.

@schin I have it somewhere, will try & dig up later.

Good UK stocks were fine from 08, it's Brexit in 2016 that messed things up, I'd say, though some of the best companies have continued to do well, e.g. Games Workshop.

Bump - did anyone do this? Seemed to suffer last year, whether GLP-1 related or otherwise, alongside other Consumer Staples. Wonder if the sector might turn in 2023? Up 2.5% today but that's from a multi-year bottom.

@bizaro86 Sure. They're strange ones. 1: Lindsell Train Investment Trust. About 60% of it is 10 quality (dull) de-rated blue chips: LSEG, NTDOY, RELX, ULVR, MDLZ, DEO etc. 40% is the Fund Management Co. This is massively profitable, & AUM grew & grew, but their strategies just haven't worked post-COVID (partly having no MAG7). Before that they were darlings of the UK Fund Management world (& track record neck & neck with Fundsmith) & pre-COVID it had outperformed NASDAQ since 2001. It is Extremely illiquid. Divi of about 5/6%. They have 2 main funds: Global (which is 35 US, 45 UK/Europe & 20 Japan) and UK (which is 20% non-UK) so have also struggled with general performance of UK market. So buying it now is banking on their companies coming back into fashion, which would then produce a virtuous circle as the AUM increased, and clients came back. Which would also possibly return the discount to a premium. If you can get hold of enough shares, it could be interesting. As you may know, they are VERY long-term buy & hold, Akre-style. About one new company a year goes into the portfolio. Latest two have been RMV in the UK, which has derated due to possible competition from CoStar (I don't think CoStar will dislodge the first-mover personally), but is insanely profitable, and they also bought FICO for their Global fund in late 2021, which... has done alright for them! So their talent remains I believe. On the other hand they can be arguably overly stubborn about selling, and 2: BH Macro. A feeder fund to the Brevan Howard Macro Hedge Fund. Stellar long-term record, especially in 2008, but suffered from low volatility in 2011-17 period. Since 2018 has been roaring up & matching S&P500 with low volatility. Unusual opportunity for Retail to be able to access a top Macro fund, and with liquidity. 2 & 20 fees obvs. Main Hedge Fund closed now, so only way to access it, which led to 10% premium. This year hasn't been so good for them but -1% so if you use it as a Bond-proxy diversifier, as I do, it's not a disaster. But others have been unimpressed & has gone to 10% discount. There is also concern over share overhang. A recent UK wealth management merger has meant the new combined co has about 30% of the Trust, and so may sell a fair bit down. Macro is a funny beast, and of course there is danger that their top traders will be poached by others. But on the other hand, you can now buy a top Macro fund at a 10% discount, which is potentially quite appealing if you're looking for a non-equity, low volatility diversifier.