investmd

While I do subscribe to Claude and Perplexity, they can not access the website - guess I tried using simple prompting as opposed to coding...hmmm...

I rewatched the video of Lauren Templeton talk starting at 4hr 3mins mark and took away the following highlights from her presentation on FFH: Extraordinary to compound at 18%+ CAGR for 4 decades: FFH track record since 1985 would put it in top 1% of all US listed companies and #7 overall: She makes a comparison that what FFH has achieved today is akin to what BRK achieved around 2000 - since that time BRK has been a 10x. Will FFH be a 10x over next 25 yrs? She highlights that FFH is a collection of businesses built to compound Finally, audience asks a q re portfolio allocation in her own fund. She doesn't answer directly, but online her fund has approx 12% of AUM in FFH - decent sized position for sure. Interesting q from the audience member might have been if she has a max cap on the allocation or they are willing to let it run Here is the talk again:

+1 Templeton Bottom

Video on topic often discussed here on COBF : Is FFH today a young BRK? Lauren Templeton is a current member of Board of Directors at FFH, Founder of Templeton and Phillips Mgmt and great niece of John Templeton. She gave a talk last week in Omaha where she made a strong case for investing in FFH based on data showing why FFH today is where BRK was 30 years ago. Her talk was part of ValueX BRK. For those that want to watch, her talk starts at 4hr, 3mins mark of the video. The presentation as well as Q&A lasts 15mins. I didn't have any obvious push backs to Lauren Templeton's argument. Curious if anyone here has a contrarian view to hers or questions any of her data points.

@Marco Van Basten the reference to mean reversion was in refernce to performance of S&P500 over next decade as opposed to performance of Giverny Fund. I think earnings of portfolio companies with the Fund have continued to compound at an average of 13%/yr.

The TV series Beast in Me is very good. Eight episodes of suspense. One series. An author writing a biography about a psychotic individual who is alive and cooperating with the author... A completely different style that was also v. good was Drops of God - on Apple TV - a billionaire dies and leaves entire fortune to one of 2 people who have to blind taste wine and come up with which wine they are drinking. Set in France and Japan.

Agree. V. solid long term record of compounding at approximately 13%. Rochon has slowly and consistently built a great firm over a long period of time without much uproar. Fee structure is also fair - no performance fee - charges 1% management fee. 2025 Letter shows: the Global Portfolio has underperformed a blended index (not just S&P500) in 3 of the past 5 years and 5 of the past 10yrs The US Portfolio has underperformed the S&P500 in 4 of the past 5 years and in 8 of the past 10 years IMO, why Giverny may outperform the indexes over the next decade include: reversion to mean of earnings growth and price to equity ratio of a hyper concentrated S&P500 over the years, Giverny has expanded its team of money managers hunting for the optimal additions to the portfolio - Rochon is clearly the portfolio manager, but JP, David Poppe and Patrick Leger have added bench strength The thought process of acquiring truly great companies - Rochon talks of curating a museum - with a margin of safety is consistent. I've been in the fund for past few years (generally underperformed the S&P), but given the downtrend in 2026, thinking this might be a good time to add. Anyone have constructive ideas why it might not be a good time to get into Giverny?

Thanks for sharing. Hadn't listened to it previously. Some takeaways: risk is unquantifiable in advance or in retrospect possibility of loss is risk possibility of missing opportunities is also an important risk - risk of not taking enough risk risk of being forced to sell out at bottom as you take on more risk, the range of outcomes increases shouldn’t expect to make money just for taking risk and shouldn’t expect to make money without taking risk good investors have a superior sense for probability distributions do potential returns compensate for the risk in the left tail?

https://www.theinvestorspodcast.com/richer-wiser-happier/essential-truths-w-howard-marks-nima-shayegh-william-green/ All the Richer Wiser Happier podcasts have been v. good. This one stand out. Themes include: Future is a range of possibilities, Getting comfortable with uncertainties, If you don't have special expertise one likely doesn't have an edge - so stay humble, Understand the numbers but appreciate quality - you know quality when you see it...

+1

I'm going to be in Oxford Feb 26 to March 5 - if any COBF board members are in the area and would want to meet for coffee, pls dm me. I'll be travelling from Canada.

thanks for resurrecting this thread from 2009! I'm presuming @oldye is no longer on this Board, but what a great thread they started! I started buying in 2005 and adding each year. Holding through the 2010-2020 period was so so challenging. Thanks to @Viking & so many board members who helped me keep the trust.

Posters on previous pages had plenty of negative things to say about Guy/Aquamarine Fund...in contrast to positive sentiment expressed by some recently. Let's keep this thread in mind, next time we have crass/negative things to say about others whom we may not know deeply. Yes, we want to question, we want to avoid herd think and to express individual opinions but let's not cross a line that we might regret. There is so much good stuff on this Board, let's keep the positive sentiment going.

thank you so much @SharperDingaan