The Education of a Value Investor - by Guy Spier

[farnamstreet]

I posted a review of Guy's book on my website with a lot of excerpts.

 

http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2014/09/the-education-of-a-value-investor-a-transformative-quest-for-wealth-wisdom-and-enlightenment/

 

In the end the biggest lesson that I took away from meeting with Guy and reading his book is that we need to stop living our life through other people. I can play basketball every day for 18 hours and I’m never going to be Michael Jordan. I can study financial reports until I’m blue in the face and I’m never going to be the next Warren Buffett. In the end The Education of a Value Investor, is an important reminder that we need to be more authentic versions of ourselves. We need to do what is right for us and that might not be what is right for others. We need to stop pretending to be other people and compromising our internal standards or ethics. We need to find who we are and how we want to live. “Instead of trying to compete with Buffett,” Guy writes, “I should focus on the real opportunity, which is to become the best version of Guy Spier that I can be.”

[peter1234]

I posted a review of Guy's book on my website with a lot of excerpts.

 

http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2014/09/the-education-of-a-value-investor-a-transformative-quest-for-wealth-wisdom-and-enlightenment/

 

In the end the biggest lesson that I took away from meeting with Guy and reading his book is that we need to stop living our life through other people. I can play basketball every day for 18 hours and I’m never going to be Michael Jordan. I can study financial reports until I’m blue in the face and I’m never going to be the next Warren Buffett. In the end The Education of a Value Investor, is an important reminder that we need to be more authentic versions of ourselves. We need to do what is right for us and that might not be what is right for others. We need to stop pretending to be other people and compromising our internal standards or ethics. We need to find who we are and how we want to live. “Instead of trying to compete with Buffett,” Guy writes, “I should focus on the real opportunity, which is to become the best version of Guy Spier that I can be.”

 

Great review, thanks a lot for letting us know.

:)

[TorontoRaptorsFan]

An enjoyable read.

 

I started reading this late last night (11pm to 4am) after watching the Apple Keynote speech. Was really enamored with Guy's philosophy on life. It's clear to see he's very loyal to his friends. I throughly enjoyed the chapter on his first meeting with Monish Pabrai and the friendship that has developed with each other.

 

Highly recommended!

[dcollon]

I would agree with TorontoRaptorsFan.

 

I really enjoyed reading this book and learning more about Guy and his journey through his educational and investment life to date.  The detail and sharing of personal information was great.

 

He points out how he completely changed his lifestyle, where he lived, etc...even down to discussing how he structured his office based on his personality traits.  In addition, he mentioned that he and Mohnish spent time analyzing the ideal distance from home to office.  Those are just two small parts that I loved.

 

It was a refreshing and enjoyable book to read.

 

 

[TorontoRaptorsFan]

I also found that section regarding office distance and minimizing distractions another highlight of the book.

 

It's the debate i'm having with myself on whether I should purchase a Kindle or continue to use my iPad mini retina for daily reading. I find when I'm using my iPad I'm more distracted. I want to surf the web, see which new magazines have been released on Next Issue, etc. I think distractions would be minimized with a Kindle.

 

The B&W photos of his investors staring back at him as an idea for office artwork was ??????? On good days they might look like  ;D...on bad days they'll look like  >:(

 

 

[Liberty]

Amazon is taking its sweet time sending me my copy. I'm guessing the publisher is part of Hachette...  :-\

[TorontoRaptorsFan]

Amazon is taking its sweet time sending me my copy. I'm guessing the publisher is part of Hachette...  :-\

 

Embrace Kindle! Reduce Clutter!

[Liberty]

Amazon is taking its sweet time sending me my copy. I'm guessing the publisher is part of Hachette...  :-\

 

Embrace Kindle! Reduce Clutter!

 

Not a bad idea. I read about half/half on iPad vs dead tree. Maybe someday I'll switch entirely, but some books I still prefer on paper. I'm not entirely sure why.

[cubsfan]

http://www.bloomberg.com/video/warren-buffett-believer-idolizing-the-oracle-of-omaha-sGRvKqpHSY~3C8CPkSoYJg.html

 

Short clip with Guy.

[wescobrk]

"Amazon is taking its sweet time sending me my copy. I'm guessing the publisher is part of Hachette...  :-\"

 

I receive my copy early this week. I actually forgot about the order as I placed it several months ago when it was announced on this board.

Amazon's moat just keeps getting wider. It showed me how the price of the book dropped in price after I placed my order and they (amazon) gave me the lower price. Bezos is amazing (I don't own any stock just an admirer)

[Liberty]

Got my copy. Looking forward to reading it.

 

[Kraven]

I read this book. It's good, not great, but worth reading. It's a short, easy and enjoyable read. In some sense I think of it like the Titanic or Avatar of the value investing world. At the very least you see (or read) these things because everyone else is. That doesn't mean it isn't worth doing, but it's one of the few things that give us a sense of shared experience.

 

This the kind of book that would have been nice if it came out in June or something.  It's the perfect book to sit around the pool and read as you're on vacation with the kids.  In terms of how it reads imagine Michael Lewis writing a book about value investing and that will give you a bit of the flavor of the book.

 

It's most definitely not a how to on investing and that was fine by me as those books are worthless. There's actually not that much about investing itself. This is more a book about the progression and betterment of someone who happens to be a value guy. I wouldn't say there's much that's "actionable" but it did make me think and that's a good thing.  I did appreciate some of the tips on how to improve the environment we work in and some of the thoughts on who we surround ourselves with.

 

I think too we get a good sense of Guy's own thought process and who he is as a person. To be honest there is a lot of fawning and hero worship of Buffett, Munger and Pabrai. If I thought for one second it wasn't truly authentic (and I do think it is) I would be turned off completely and toss this book aside.  For whatever reason I thought of that Seinfeld where Jerry's girlfriend convinces him to be more expressive about his feelings.  When he opens up he finds he can't stop.  Near the end he gets George to do the same.  In the next scene you see Jerry with a horrified look on his face as George tells him all his deepest darkest thoughts and fears.  Jerry tells him that he has "scared him straight" and walks out.

 

One thing that I thought could have been done better is that it's sometimes confusing as to when something is occurring.  You know the general time period, but it's within a few years in some cases.  There are little mistakes as well that could have been picked up by more careful editing.  For example, I'm not even a car guy, but there is a reference to 1950's convertible Mustangs and I believe they didn't come out until the 60's (1964 I think).  Not a big deal of course, but just noting it.

 

I think Guy comes across as a good guy (no pun intended).  He seems like someone that it would be nice to have a meal with or a drink or coffee.  Mohnish comes across well too.  It would be nice for him to write another book geared less towards the investing process and more towards the types of things that Guy discusses.

 

So in the end I recommend the book. Don't expect greatness, but expect something that's worth reading and that I think most on this board will enjoy. 

[merkhet]

The part I enjoyed the most was the amount of intellectual honesty he had.

 

As I said before at the DJCO meeting, I'm not sure I would have been willing to admit to the world that I moved to another continent just because I couldn't handle the distractions on this one. Or that I had a serious case of envy that I struggled with when living in NYC.

[augustabound]

For whatever reason I thought of that Seinfeld where Jerry's girlfriend convinces him to be more expressive about his feelings. 

Everything in life relates to a Seinfeld episode. My wife even jokes with me when she's frustrated, "Serenity now!!!" and then smiles.

[Kraven]

The part I enjoyed the most was the amount of intellectual honesty he had.

 

As I said before at the DJCO meeting, I'm not sure I would have been willing to admit to the world that I moved to another continent just because I couldn't handle the distractions on this one. Or that I had a serious case of envy that I struggled with when living in NYC.

 

Maybe it's just me, but it don't see those things as difficult to admit, although when I was younger and in the thick of things I suppose it would have been. 

[Kraven]

For whatever reason I thought of that Seinfeld where Jerry's girlfriend convinces him to be more expressive about his feelings. 

Everything in life relates to a Seinfeld episode. My wife even jokes with me when she's frustrated, "Serenity now!!!" and then smiles.

 

Absolutely true!

[Packer16]

I liked the book.  It was more of a personal account so for me the biggest take aways were psychological like setting up your environment not to be lured into trading and the finite amount of willpower we have each day. 

 

Packer

[cubsfan]

Along those lines - here was a slide from Guy's presentation at Tilson's Value Investor Congress -

in regards to "Building a Better Investment Process":

 

1. Stop Checking the Stock Price

 

2. If Someone tries to sell you something – don’t buy it.

 

3. Don’t Talk to Management

 

4. Gather Investment Research in the Right Order

 

5. Discuss Investment Ideas Only With People Who Have No Axe to Grind

 

6. Never Buy or Sell Stocks when the Market is Open

 

7. If a Stock Tumbles After You Buy It, Don’t Sell It For Two Years

 

8. Don’t Talk About Your Current Investments

 

I really enjoyed that presentation.

[west]

The part I enjoyed the most was the amount of intellectual honesty he had.

 

As I said before at the DJCO meeting, I'm not sure I would have been willing to admit to the world that I moved to another continent just because I couldn't handle the distractions on this one. Or that I had a serious case of envy that I struggled with when living in NYC.

 

I figured his directness was due to him being Dutch, but it looks as if he is not!

 

I'm with Spier here though.  What do I lose by telling you about how I feel about things without mincing words?  Unless I'm in a Machevellian situation, probably not much (if I remove the emotion which, for me at least, is almost my default mode).  And you can probably gain from me sharing, so I might as well share, perhaps thinking that you might also share your thoughts, honestly, on something down the road, where I benefit from it.  The world would end up a more informed place with less broken down communication.

 

I'm guessing this is largely a cultural thing though...

[Guest wc]

I enjoyed this book more than I expected. I don't think there are any direct investing insights, but plenty of tangential things to think about. His candor was quite refreshing as well.

[ukvalueinvestment]

Along those lines - here was a slide from Guy's presentation at Tilson's Value Investor Congress -

in regards to "Building a Better Investment Process":

 

1. Stop Checking the Stock Price

 

2. If Someone tries to sell you something – don’t buy it.

 

3. Don’t Talk to Management

 

4. Gather Investment Research in the Right Order

 

5. Discuss Investment Ideas Only With People Who Have No Axe to Grind

 

6. Never Buy or Sell Stocks when the Market is Open

 

7. If a Stock Tumbles After You Buy It, Don’t Sell It For Two Years

 

8. Don’t Talk About Your Current Investments

 

I really enjoyed that presentation.

 

The only one I might take issue with is number 7.  There are definitely circumstances where you should accept you were wrong, accept a loss, and move on ASAP.  I get that the market might have overreacted to the downside and I get that you shouldn't act on emotion, but still...

[merkhet]

Einhorn had a counter on this one that I thought was interesting.

 

When you realize that you are wrong, you should definitely sell the stock. However, that does not mean you have to sell the stock immediately -- if you believe there has been a total overreaction.

 

Of course, Guy Spier wasn't talking about situations in which he was wrong -- only if a stock tumbles after you buy it, no?

[jtvalue]

I just finished Guy's book and loved it.  For me the book wasn't so much about investing.  It was more so about recognizing your shortcomings as an individual and adapting to them, lessons you can take from your role models & friendships, being sure to give more than you take from other people, and his overall thoughts on how to live a more rewarding life.  Highly recommended! 

[dajidali]

My first post on the Board. I have just finished the book and really enjoyed it.

 

Guy also recently talked about his book at Talks at Google:

 

Personally, I feel his book is better than his talk  :D

 

 

[Liberty]

Personally, I feel his book is better than his talk  :D

 

He seems to agree with you: