Jump to content

Buffett's Early Investments


Liberty

Recommended Posts

  • 9 months later...
  • 2 years later...
  • 1 month later...

 

 

Hi Folks, please help me here. I am looking at the aforementioned Buffet holdings in 1962. But the handwriting is hard to read (and I may need to get a kindle copy for better resolution), Can anyone tell me what are the following holdings?

 

BCP

TNP

LNC  (I doubt it is Lincoln National Corp because the price is too different)

Murray ??? There are many companies that start with Murray, but Murray what??

 

Thanks!

ps. these are not trivial holdings, all are more than 1% of portfolio.

 

What book did you get this from?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Cameron

 

 

Hi Folks, please help me here. I am looking at the aforementioned Buffet holdings in 1962. But the handwriting is hard to read (and I may need to get a kindle copy for better resolution), Can anyone tell me what are the following holdings?

 

BCP

TNP

LNC  (I doubt it is Lincoln National Corp because the price is too different)

Murray ??? There are many companies that start with Murray, but Murray what??

 

Thanks!

ps. these are not trivial holdings, all are more than 1% of portfolio.

 

What book did you get this from?

 

Andy Kilpatrick - Of Permanent Value

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

Hi Folks, please help me here. I am looking at the aforementioned Buffet holdings in 1962. But the handwriting is hard to read (and I may need to get a kindle copy for better resolution), Can anyone tell me what are the following holdings?

 

BCP

TNP

LNC  (I doubt it is Lincoln National Corp because the price is too different)

Murray ??? There are many companies that start with Murray, but Murray what??

 

Thanks!

ps. these are not trivial holdings, all are more than 1% of portfolio.

 

What book did you get this from?

 

Andy Kilpatrick - Of Permanent Value

 

Do you know what edition it's in? I only have older versions.

 

Thank you!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Cameron

 

 

Hi Folks, please help me here. I am looking at the aforementioned Buffet holdings in 1962. But the handwriting is hard to read (and I may need to get a kindle copy for better resolution), Can anyone tell me what are the following holdings?

 

BCP

TNP

LNC  (I doubt it is Lincoln National Corp because the price is too different)

Murray ??? There are many companies that start with Murray, but Murray what??

 

Thanks!

ps. these are not trivial holdings, all are more than 1% of portfolio.

 

What book did you get this from?

 

Andy Kilpatrick - Of Permanent Value

 

Do you know what edition it's in? I only have older versions.

 

Thank you!

 

I got the 2012 edition, I think its under Kindle Unlimited on Amazon. Its in the chapter Adventure: Big Bang.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not sure if this all got figured out already, but TNP was Texas National Petroleum.  It was a merger arbitrage I think.  See pages 93 and 94 of James Altucher's book "trade like warren buffett"

 

back to this train wreck of a saints game///

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not sure if this all got figured out already, but TNP was Texas National Petroleum.  It was a merger arbitrage I think.  See pages 93 and 94 of James Altucher's book "trade like warren buffett"

 

I found this on gurufocus. Most likely less in depth than the pages in James Altucher's book.

Buffett describes an arbitrage situation in which he invested that generated a 20%+ annualized return with little risk. When Union Oil announced it was buying Texas National Petroleum, Buffett noted that there were no anti-trust issues and the transaction was negotiated by controlling shareholders of the target. As such, he appraised the risk at virtually nil.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Buffett noted that there were no anti-trust issues and the transaction was negotiated by controlling shareholders of the target. As such, he appraised the risk at virtually nil.

 

Interesting to note how WB assessed risk.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not sure if this all got figured out already, but TNP was Texas National Petroleum.  It was a merger arbitrage I think.  See pages 93 and 94 of James Altucher's book "trade like warren buffett"

 

back to this train wreck of a saints game///

 

Did that suck or what?

 

I'm not a huge football fan but remember my Dad taking me & my Sis to a Harlem Globetrotters game where they played Archie Manning's Saints & from then on I was a fan of the Saints.

 

Years later I had a side biz producing 18K fleur de lis for a number of jewelers around the state & was looking forward to a resurgence in biz to maybe move some old inventory & put an end to that chapter.

 

Did biz with L. Berg a few times but he proved difficult to work with & I liked my regulars much better anyway (lower turnover but better margins & nicer people.)

 

Tried to do biz with Borsheim's & Helzberg when I was repping a line of engagement rings but the owner just wanted to place ads in trade pubs & couldn't understand how a national consumer ad campaign would drive customers into stores for our designs  :-\ )

 

Anyways, black & geauld baby!

(next year...)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

Hi Folks, please help me here. I am looking at the aforementioned Buffet holdings in 1962. But the handwriting is hard to read (and I may need to get a kindle copy for better resolution), Can anyone tell me what are the following holdings?

 

BCP

TNP

LNC  (I doubt it is Lincoln National Corp because the price is too different)

Murray ??? There are many companies that start with Murray, but Murray what??

 

Thanks!

ps. these are not trivial holdings, all are more than 1% of portfolio.

 

What book did you get this from?

 

Andy Kilpatrick - Of Permanent Value

 

Do you know what edition it's in? I only have older versions.

 

Thank you!

 

I got the 2012 edition, I think its under Kindle Unlimited on Amazon. Its in the chapter Adventure: Big Bang.

 

Thanks! You're the best. Fortunately, that's the edition I have.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just bought (it has not arrived yet), a book by Glen Arnold called, The Deals of Warren Buffett: Volume 1, The First $100m;

 

it looks like it takes 10 or so deals from City Services through Berkshire, so it does not really get into all of his positions, but it may be representative and does have the cocoa beans, Dempster Mill and Sanborn.

 

I will post a review in the book section, when I have read it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just bought (it has not arrived yet), a book by Glen Arnold called, The Deals of Warren Buffett: Volume 1, The First $100m;

 

it looks like it takes 10 or so deals from City Services through Berkshire, so it does not really get into all of his positions, but it may be representative and does have the cocoa beans, Dempster Mill and Sanborn.

 

I will post a review in the book section, when I have read it.

 

I bought it and skimmed it. It doesn't look like he actually went into the annual reports from the year Buffett invested and researched what Buffett might have been thinking at the decision point. The book's very high-level.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just bought (it has not arrived yet), a book by Glen Arnold called, The Deals of Warren Buffett: Volume 1, The First $100m;

 

it looks like it takes 10 or so deals from City Services through Berkshire, so it does not really get into all of his positions, but it may be representative and does have the cocoa beans, Dempster Mill and Sanborn.

 

I will post a review in the book section, when I have read it.

 

I bought it and skimmed it. It doesn't look like he actually went into the annual reports from the year Buffett invested and researched what Buffett might have been thinking at the decision point. The book's very high-level.

 

Oh sh@t, that's annoying.  I was hoping for a really in depth treatment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just bought (it has not arrived yet), a book by Glen Arnold called, The Deals of Warren Buffett: Volume 1, The First $100m;

 

it looks like it takes 10 or so deals from City Services through Berkshire, so it does not really get into all of his positions, but it may be representative and does have the cocoa beans, Dempster Mill and Sanborn.

 

I will post a review in the book section, when I have read it.

 

I bought it and skimmed it. It doesn't look like he actually went into the annual reports from the year Buffett invested and researched what Buffett might have been thinking at the decision point. The book's very high-level.

 

Oh sh@t, that's annoying.  I was hoping for a really in depth treatment.

 

I only skimmed a few sections, though. I was curious on Disney/Hochschild, in particular. I'm curious on your thoughts if you get around to it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

 

 

Thanks for the article, but I am not convinced by the thesis. In the 50's and 60's buffett invested in 400 companies total so the majority must be cigar butts. They must all contribute to his overall results, because if he was getting 30-50% a year he cannot have laggards in his portfolio....

 

I'd love to have list of his holdings back then (not just the 5 or 6 mentioned in snowball and other books)

 

Buffett had/ has laggards like every one else operating at similar AUM - the difference was the upside of his winners.  Although we don't have details on single-pick gains from the BPL days I think the best modern analogue is M Burry's early days at Scion.  In the first year he was up 55% gross while the S&P was down 10% - and that was all because of a single value stock in his portfolio that was a 3-6 bagger depending on the cost basis.  A number of his other picks (especially airlines in 2001) went nowhere.  This is a power law world.  You don't make 55% in a year by owning 10 equal-sized positions that each go up 55%.

 

Buffett did 30% gross at BPL.  His claim that he could consistently do 50% a year is bogus in my opinion unless he was managing <1M in inflation-adjusted dollars.  He has really done the community a disservice by saying that IMO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

Thanks for the article, but I am not convinced by the thesis. In the 50's and 60's buffett invested in 400 companies total so the majority must be cigar butts. They must all contribute to his overall results, because if he was getting 30-50% a year he cannot have laggards in his portfolio....

 

I'd love to have list of his holdings back then (not just the 5 or 6 mentioned in snowball and other books)

 

Buffett had/ has laggards like every one else operating at similar AUM - the difference was the upside of his winners.  Although we don't have details on single-pick gains from the BPL days I think the best modern analogue is M Burry's early days at Scion.  In the first year he was up 55% gross while the S&P was down 10% - and that was all because of a single value stock in his portfolio that was a 3-6 bagger depending on the cost basis.  A number of his other picks (especially airlines in 2001) went nowhere.  This is a power law world.  You don't make 55% in a year by owning 10 equal-sized positions that each go up 55%.

 

Buffett did 30% gross at BPL.  His claim that he could consistently do 50% a year is bogus in my opinion unless he was managing <1M in inflation-adjusted dollars.  He has really done the community a disservice by saying that IMO.

His 50% a year claim was in the 50s, before buffett partnership. Those were the years that sent him into his first "retirement" at 26. In fact, he said exactly what you said:

"It's a huge structural advantage not to have a lot of money. I think I could make you 50% a year on $1 million. No, I know I could. I guarantee that."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does anyone know when Buffett sold Greif Bros., Cleveland Worsted Mills, or Philadelphia Reading? I'm trying to figure out how much he made/lost on these but don't have estimates of when he sold. I'm looking for Buffett's portfolio by year, preferably. I know the Robert Miles book has some years, but not enough to figure it out for these specific names.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

Thanks for the article, but I am not convinced by the thesis. In the 50's and 60's buffett invested in 400 companies total so the majority must be cigar butts. They must all contribute to his overall results, because if he was getting 30-50% a year he cannot have laggards in his portfolio....

 

I'd love to have list of his holdings back then (not just the 5 or 6 mentioned in snowball and other books)

 

Buffett had/ has laggards like every one else operating at similar AUM - the difference was the upside of his winners.  Although we don't have details on single-pick gains from the BPL days I think the best modern analogue is M Burry's early days at Scion.  In the first year he was up 55% gross while the S&P was down 10% - and that was all because of a single value stock in his portfolio that was a 3-6 bagger depending on the cost basis.  A number of his other picks (especially airlines in 2001) went nowhere.  This is a power law world.  You don't make 55% in a year by owning 10 equal-sized positions that each go up 55%.

 

Buffett did 30% gross at BPL.  His claim that he could consistently do 50% a year is bogus in my opinion unless he was managing <1M in inflation-adjusted dollars.  He has really done the community a disservice by saying that IMO.

His 50% a year claim was in the 50s, before buffett partnership. Those were the years that sent him into his first "retirement" at 26. In fact, he said exactly what you said:

"It's a huge structural advantage not to have a lot of money. I think I could make you 50% a year on $1 million. No, I know I could. I guarantee that."

 

I believe it. I see businesses all the time selling for 1.5 - 2x earnings at that small of a level.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...