It’s Time for Investors to Re-Learn the Lost Art of Reading

[karthikpm]

http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2016/04/01/its-time-for-investors-to-re-learn-the-lost-art-of-reading/

 

http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2016/04/01/16-favorite-annual-letters-from-an-investor-whos-read-more-than-1000/

 

Anyone know what fund this guy runs?

 

 

[thepupil]

This past week, Mr. Abbott, who runs a small New York investment partnership called GCA Capital, plowed through the I’s and moved into the J’s. That puts him him on track to finish with Zumiez, Zynerba Pharmaceuticals and Zynga by the end of May, when Mr. Abbott will turn 30.

 

 

[dabuff]

Article is an important read (especially since Buffett was interviewed for this article). Just goes to show how few investors actually get down to read the nitty-gritty of SEC filings and how easy it can be to gain a competitive advantage by simply reading the same. It also backs up the truth inherent in this quote from Jim Rogers:

 

“The best advice I ever got was on an airplane. It was in my early days on Wall Street. I was flying to Chicago, and I sat next to an older guy. Anyway, I remember him as being an old guy, which means he may have been 40. He told me to read everything. If you get interested in a company and you read the annual report, he said, you will have done more than 98% of the people on Wall Street. And if you read the footnotes in the annual report you will have done more than 100% of the people on Wall Street. I realized right away that if I just literally read a company’s annual report and the notes — or better yet, two or three years of reports — that I would know much more than others. Professional investors used to sort of be dazzled. Everyone seemed to think I was smart. I later realized that I had to do more than just that. I learned that I had to read the annual reports of those I am investing in and their competitors’ annual reports, the trade journals, and everything that I could get my hands on. But I realized that most people don’t bother even doing the basic homework. And if I did even more, I’d be so far ahead that I’d probably be able to find successful investments.”

[karthikpm]

This past week, Mr. Abbott, who runs a small New York investment partnership called GCA Capital, plowed through the I’s and moved into the J’s. That puts him him on track to finish with Zumiez, Zynerba Pharmaceuticals and Zynga by the end of May, when Mr. Abbott will turn 30.

 

Doh  :(

 

I have to learn to read and pay attention!

[Ballinvarosig Investors]

Great article - apparently GE's annual report only got 800 downloads from Edgar :o

[augustabound]

Great article - apparently GE's annual report only got 800 downloads from Edgar :o

 

I thought the article said downloaded directly from the GE website?

So this wouldn't include Edgar/SEC.

 

Maybe we all need to brush up on our reading.  ;D

[Brett]

This doesn't sound that impressive. The average letter is 4-5 pages. So that's <200 pages a day. And most letters are easy reads.

[Jurgis]

This doesn't sound that impressive. The average letter is 4-5 pages. So that's <200 pages a day. And most letters are easy reads.

 

Let's have another thread about how true investors read over 1000 pages per day.  8)  ::)  ;D

[Brett]

This doesn't sound that impressive. The average letter is 4-5 pages. So that's <200 pages a day. And most letters are easy reads.

 

Let's have another thread about how true investors read over 1000 pages per day.  8)  ::)  ;D

 

Haha! I think most people (hey, investors are people too) lie about how much 'work' they do, including the amount of reading they do. I just don't find <200 pages of relatively easy reading that impressive.

[netnet]

Article is an important read (especially since Buffett was interviewed for this article). Just goes to show how few investors actually get down to read the nitty-gritty of SEC filings and how easy it can be to gain a competitive advantage by simply reading the same. It also backs up the truth inherent in this quote from Jim Rogers:

 

“The best advice I ever got was on an airplane. It was in my early days on Wall Street. I was flying to Chicago, and I sat next to an older guy. Anyway, I remember him as being an old guy, which means he may have been 40. He told me to read everything. If you get interested in a company and you read the annual report, he said, you will have done more than 98% of the people on Wall Street. And if you read the footnotes in the annual report you will have done more than 100% of the people on Wall Street. I realized right away that if I just literally read a company’s annual report and the notes — or better yet, two or three years of reports — that I would know much more than others. Professional investors used to sort of be dazzled. Everyone seemed to think I was smart. I later realized that I had to do more than just that. I learned that I had to read the annual reports of those I am investing in and their competitors’ annual reports, the trade journals, and everything that I could get my hands on. But I realized that most people don’t bother even doing the basic homework. And if I did even more, I’d be so far ahead that I’d probably be able to find successful investments.”

+1

[blainehodder]

Gets back to oddballs point: It is way more productive to read 100 simple companies' 5 page annual reports than a single BAC report,