Chou Funds Semi-Annual Report

[Parsad]

Francis Chou's 2011 Semi-Annual Report is out.  Always a few interesting comments and ideas.  Cheers!

 

http://www.choufunds.com/pdf/SemiAR11.pdf

[wisdom]

no letter so far?

[adesigar]

no letter so far?

 

http://choufunds.com/semiann_reports.html

 

The 2015 report is there

[no_free_lunch]

Thanks for the link.

 

He is holding 25% cash in the associate fund, 75% in the asian fund and 35% in the europe fund.  When you look back the cash levels have been high for years.  I think it is impressive that he has kept up with most of his index peers (sort of) given how defensive he has kept the portfolio.

[wisdom]

Read his 2013 report. That shows how good he is.

[VersaillesinNY]

Great minds think alike. At a recent conference, Wilbur Ross started his presentation quoting the same Mark Grant’s story about Greece:

 

"It is a slow day in a little Greek Village. The rain is beating down and the streets are deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit.

 

On this particular day a rich German tourist is driving through the village, stops at the local hotel and lays a €100 note on the desk, telling the hotel owner he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one to spend the night. The owner gives him some keys and, as soon as the visitor has walked upstairs, the hotelier grabs the €100 note and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher.

 

The butcher takes the €100 note and runs down the street to repay his debt to the pig farmer.

 

The pig farmer takes the €100 note and heads off to pay his bill at the supplier of feed and fuel.

 

The guy at the Farmers' Co-op takes the €100 note and runs to pay his drinks bill at the taverna.

 

The publican (tavern manager) slips the money along to the local lady of the night drinking at the bar, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer him "services" on credit.

 

The hooker then rushes to the hotel and pays off her room bill to the hotel owner with the €100 note.

 

The hotel proprietor then places the €100 note back on the counter so the rich traveler will not suspect anything.

 

At that moment the traveler comes down the stairs, picks up the €100 note, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, pockets the money, and leaves town. No one produced anything. No one earned anything. However, the whole village is now out of debt and looking to the future with a lot more optimism. And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is how any new Greek bailout package is likely to work."

 

[investor-man]

Great minds think alike. At a recent conference, Wilbur Ross started his presentation quoting the same Mark Grant’s story about Greece:

 

"It is a slow day in a little Greek Village. The rain is beating down and the streets are deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit.

 

On this particular day a rich German tourist is driving through the village, stops at the local hotel and lays a €100 note on the desk, telling the hotel owner he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one to spend the night. The owner gives him some keys and, as soon as the visitor has walked upstairs, the hotelier grabs the €100 note and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher.

 

The butcher takes the €100 note and runs down the street to repay his debt to the pig farmer.

 

The pig farmer takes the €100 note and heads off to pay his bill at the supplier of feed and fuel.

 

The guy at the Farmers' Co-op takes the €100 note and runs to pay his drinks bill at the taverna.

 

The publican (tavern manager) slips the money along to the local lady of the night drinking at the bar, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer him "services" on credit.

 

The hooker then rushes to the hotel and pays off her room bill to the hotel owner with the €100 note.

 

The hotel proprietor then places the €100 note back on the counter so the rich traveler will not suspect anything.

 

At that moment the traveler comes down the stairs, picks up the €100 note, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, pockets the money, and leaves town. No one produced anything. No one earned anything. However, the whole village is now out of debt and looking to the future with a lot more optimism. And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is how any new Greek bailout package is likely to work."

Clever

[Jurgis]

With all respect, this is an old story.

And the fact that great investors use it in their reports is nothing to be happy about IMO.

 

I'll just write it off as a filler material.

For anyone else in the business: telling old jokes does not improve your reputation.

[bookie71]

'll just write it off as a filler material.

For anyone else in the business: telling old jokes does not improve your reputation.

BUT "plagiarism is the highest form of flattery" ;D

[Jurgis]

'll just write it off as a filler material.

For anyone else in the business: telling old jokes does not improve your reputation.

BUT "plagiarism is the highest form of flattery" ;D

 

and it works for Buffett. ;)