Interview with Allan Mecham

[InvestingOnSale]

Shai, when is the interview slated to take place? Thanks!

[WneverLOSE]

Hi, are there any advances ? did the interview already took place? and when should we expect the interview to be published ?

 

[manualofideas]

We've sent the questions to Allan.  He said he would do the interview but that it might take a while for him to respond.  Now we're in "waiting patiently" mode.

 

 

Will update the Board as soon as we have something.

 

 

Thanks all,

John

[frog03]

Any news?  Thx

[AzCactus]

Anything new here?

[Snorky]

Anything new ?

[Sionnach]

Bueller?

[LC]

kind of hilarious that it's been 6 months now. does it usually take this long for investment managers to respond to interview questions?

[StockDuck13]

kind of hilarious that it's been 6 months now. does it usually take this long for investment managers to respond to interview questions?

 

I agree, I've had the topic set to notify for roughly 4 of those months. Really excited about another interview with this guy though, I'm sure it's worth the wait.

[Picasso]

If it's not to late to ask a question... What does Allan think of the fact that Harambe was taken from us in his prime? 

 

Thanks.

[Sionnach]

If it's not to late to ask a question... What does Allan think of the fact that Harambe was taken from us in his prime? 

 

Thanks.

 

Hahaha this is the best post I've seen on this forum

 

 

But, I agree it would be interesting to get Allan's thoughts on this. RIP Harambe

[Sionnach]

On a separate note, I was fortunate enough to meet Allan a few months ago. He's as genuine and humble as he seems in his interviews/letters. As much as I would love to see another interview with him, I'm sure his schedule makes it very difficult to do so

[kab60]

Why is that? Does he meet with management teams?

[Jurgis]

If it's not to late to ask a question... What does Allan think of the fact that Harambe was taken from us in his prime? 

 

Thanks.

But, I agree it would be interesting to get Allan's thoughts on this. RIP Harambe

 

They shot the wrong ape.  :'( RIP.

[arcube]

Hilarious! Hahahaha...thanks for the laugh!

 

If it's not to late to ask a question... What does Allan think of the fact that Harambe was taken from us in his prime? 

 

Thanks.

[oddballstocks]

Why is that? Does he meet with management teams?

 

His body gets stiff making it hard to move from sitting in that big giant easy chair reading 10-K's all day. 

 

I've found investment managers to to be the most accessible people on the planet.  They sit around all day waiting for someone to call/email them with ideas or updates.  Every other job is consumed by operational issues, investment guys are always on the hunt and if you have good ideas they always have time to talk.

[Sionnach]

Excerpt from the Mecham Interview:

 

http://latticework.com/an-insight-from-allan-mecham-on-understanding-industrial-distribution-companies/

 

Always interesting to hear his thoughts. Would it be possible to get the rest of the interview posted here? Thanks!

[StockDuck13]

Looks like the interview came out. Is there any way to view it without a Manual of Ideas subscription?

 

Alex

[StockDuck13]

Found it. See attached: 8)

Allan_Mecham_Interview_2016.pdf

[Sionnach]

Found it. See attached: 8)

 

You're the man! This is awesome, thanks!  :D

[StockDuck13]

Found it. See attached: 8)

 

You're the man! This is awesome, thanks!  :D

 

No problem! Let me know what you think about it. That large squirrelly position he is describing is his investment in Overstock.com back in 2006. I've attached the annual letter from that year below.

 

Have you implemented some of his strategies into your own process or did he mention something you do as well? I personally try to follow his keep it simple attitude and dedication to doing your own research.

 

Alex

2006_annual_letter.pdf

[Sionnach]

 

No problem! Let me know what you think about it. That large squirrelly position he is describing is his investment in Overstock.com back in 2006. I've attached the annual letter from that year below.

 

Have you implemented some of his strategies into your own process or did he mention something you do as well? I personally try to follow his keep it simple attitude and dedication to doing your own research.

 

Alex

 

I'll read and reflect on the interview and get back to you on that, but I am a avid admirer of Mecham. I was lucky enough to meet him a few months ago and he is a genuinely nice and down-to-earth guy.

 

Thanks, again!

[JayGatsby]

Found it. See attached: 8)

Great interview. Thanks for posting. Seemingly simple strategy, yet rarely replicated.

[StockDuck13]

Found it. See attached: 8)

Great interview. Thanks for posting. Seemingly simple strategy, yet rarely replicated.

 

I am a big admirer of Mecham and find that his strategy is the closest to what I want mine to eventually develop into. I love that he reads everything on physical paper. He will print out articles, reports, and research and read it all on paper. I think there's a big group of people who read and retain information better when read on paper vs. a computer screen. I found that I fell into this group and started looking for an ereader thinking that it was the closest to reading on paper while saving space and storing huge quantities of data. I ended up getting a Sony ereader since its screen is the same size as an 8x11 sheet of paper and had a sd card slot which I have taken full advantage of.

 

His strategy does indeed seem pretty simple. I guess college football offenses and investing have something in common: simple is better. His earlier letters have hints that his strategy has evolved somewhat since he started in 1999. It sounds like he invested more in small cap stocks then grew into bigger stocks as his fund grew. What he looks for in each group of stocks has remained the same though.

 

What are your thoughts?

 

Alex

[Jurgis]

So to echo the VIC thread: Is MOI worth it? Answer before Thursday.  8)