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Dear Sanjeev...


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"Outside of Fairfax and Berkshire, we won't be talking about any of our holdings going forward...you'll have to watch filings or be a partner.  ;D  "

 

To be honest, I don't understand why you are adopting a new policy at this point.

 

First of all, many money managers tell people why they are buying such and such security. Irwin Michael has a full website dedicated to share his ideas and thought process. To my knowledge, there is nothing illegal, unethical or that would prompt regulatory enforcement for doing such.

 

Second, the money managers who attract money tend to be the ones who share their ideas. If you are quietly doing your business, you turn into an unknown and it becomes very difficult to attract new investors and that is even if you have phenomenal rates of return.

 

Third, I cannot imagine that sharing your ideas on this board has led to investors not investing with you. The way you have shared ideas so far, you can tell a bit what you own, but it remains impossible to copy your approach. If someone has any intention to have his or her money managed by someone, they will contact you if they like your approach and not simply trying to copy.

 

Fourth, while I can understand your unwillingness to discuss lightly traded securities, I cannot see any reason to avoid discussing liquid securities such as a Bank of America even during accumulation.

 

Fifth and finally, I enjoyed sharing my ideas on your website and looking at yours. I thought this was a solid place to find new ideas, to validate or dismiss them. It was a nice give and take process. Now, if the leader does not participate anymore in sharing his ideas, I see the website having greatly diminished in value.

 

Now, I would certainly appreciate reading about your reasons for your change in policy.

 

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i just joined the board to share my ideas, get feedback and source new ideas.  may be time to bail if this is the path forward...

 

Haha.

 

On a less dramatic note, it is totally within Sanjeev's rights to say as much or as little as he wants. There are a number of fantastic posters here. No need to pressure anyone to do anything - that's not what we're all about.

 

Sanjeev created this ecosystem. That's more than enough for me.

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i just joined the board to share my ideas, get feedback and source new ideas.  may be time to bail if this is the path forward...

 

Haha.

 

On a less dramatic note, it is totally within Sanjeev's rights to say as much or as little as he wants. There are a number of fantastic posters here. No need to pressure anyone to do anything - that's not what we're all about.

 

Sanjeev created this ecosystem. That's more than enough for me.

 

Sadly, seems like the life cycle of most investor boards though.

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i just joined the board to share my ideas, get feedback and source new ideas.  may be time to bail if this is the path forward...

 

Haha.

 

On a less dramatic note, it is totally within Sanjeev's rights to say as much or as little as he wants. There are a number of fantastic posters here. No need to pressure anyone to do anything - that's not what we're all about.

 

Sanjeev created this ecosystem. That's more than enough for me.

 

Completely agree - while I'd love to hear Sanjeev's opinion more often - I would think his first obligation is to his shareholders.

If his posting here somehow conflicts with his fund - then he needs to do what's right for them.

 

And he has created this great forum, which is self-sustaining and well established.

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i just joined the board to share my ideas, get feedback and source new ideas.  may be time to bail if this is the path forward...

 

Haha.

 

On a less dramatic note, it is totally within Sanjeev's rights to say as much or as little as he wants. There are a number of fantastic posters here. No need to pressure anyone to do anything - that's not what we're all about.

 

Sanjeev created this ecosystem. That's more than enough for me.

 

+1

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I've learned so much from Sanjeev's wise words, and I hope that the post that he wrote in the SHLD thread meant that he won't explicitly talk about what he owns and what he doesn't, but that he will still keep posting on the board and comment about various businesses and about his thinking on investing.

 

It might be selfish of me to think this way, but I think we're all 'selfish' in wanting to learn more from Buffett, Munger, Berkowitz, etc. To me, Sanjeev fits in that lineup of great teachers.

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I haven't been on the forum in ages.  I decided to check it out yesterday after hearing the terrible news about SHLD and other retailers like JCP.  It's too bad that Sanjeev has decided to go incognito mode.  I've used lots of his ideas and others on here as a spring board.  But, it seems to me that over time, it's really hard to maintain focus, composure, and conviction with so much eyes on you.  Must be a hard game to maintain.

 

I used to follow the Kirk Report too way back in the day.  He used to share all of his trading ideas, but then he felt that the pressure got too intense when subscribers to his report started harping at him for all the missteps.  But, it wasn't really his fault.  Even if you tried following Kirk's trades, he did things that most other followers didn't that would limit their losses.  So, he decided to pull the plug on that and go into the philosophy of "teaching people to fish and eat for a lifetime".  From what I gather, the Kirk Report has now gotten such a significant following, that he easily pulls in $200k a year from subscriptions.  Even without reporting his trades.  The cool thing is, he donates most of that to charity or to maintain the website. 

 

Anyways, no worries, Sanj.  I personally wouldn't want everyone to question my every move all the time.  That would be rough, especially given the context.

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I don't see this as a big change from Sanjeev.  He has always been cautious about discussing his picks.  It makes sense because it is the core of his business.  Talking about a few picks from time to time helps on the advertising front, but it's optional.   

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First of all, many money managers tell people why they are buying such and such security.  Irwin Michael has a full website dedicated to share his ideas and thought process. To my knowledge, there is nothing illegal, unethical or that would prompt regulatory enforcement for doing such.

 

I'm not Irwin Michael.  I would like to keep a lower profile and just go about managing money. 

 

I also said that I would not talk about our specific positions.  I will continue to discuss stocks, etc, we don't own, as well as continue all of my general commentary. 

 

Second, the money managers who attract money tend to be the ones who share their ideas. If you are quietly doing your business, you turn into an unknown and it becomes very difficult to attract new investors and that is even if you have phenomenal rates of return.

 

We were very open in the past about our investments.  We did not raise a lot of capital, so that contradicts your thesis.  Mohnish once told me that the reason I haven't raised much capital is because I give all of my ideas away on the board.  That didn't affect how I behaved for years after.  And those comments are not the reason why my behavior will change now.  It's a matter of priority, time management and to a certain degree...a result of our goals going forward.

 

Third, I cannot imagine that sharing your ideas on this board has led to investors not investing with you. The way you have shared ideas so far, you can tell a bit what you own, but it remains impossible to copy your approach. If someone has any intention to have his or her money managed by someone, they will contact you if they like your approach and not simply trying to copy.

 

It's worked both ways.  We've attracted some people by our ideas, but I think for the most part we've given ideas away for free and probably dissuaded people from investing.  No one likes to buy the cow, when the milk is free. 

 

But it is not really about that.  As I mentioned, I would like to focus more on managing money and less distractions.  Simply moderating the board consumes a significant amount of my time.  Then general comments not on specific stocks, planning events like the FFH dinner, or helping people with their memberships, passwords, usernames, etc, consumes more than double.  Combine that with my efforts at the CCFC, and now a probable event in Canada for Dakshana Canada, and I have less and less time. 

 

We will shortly have 3 funds going, which means three annual audits, three funds with regulatory filings, three funds with administrative duties and all of the client contact that goes with that.  I'm stretched thin as it is!  At some point in the near future, we will probably go the public company route as well, and that will limit what I can discuss even more, as well as consume more valuable time. 

 

Fourth, while I can understand your unwillingness to discuss lightly traded securities, I cannot see any reason to avoid discussing liquid securities such as a Bank of America even during accumulation.

 

Again, let me reiterate, this is not so much about sharing ideas, as the amount of time I have in the day to get things done.  And there will be less and less of that time available.  My job for this board is to moderate it, generate events, and maintain an environment that is conducive to ALL OF YOU enjoying your time here, networking, making friends, sharing ideas and living life.  That is more important than me sharing ideas or voicing my opinion on matters!

 

Fifth and finally, I enjoyed sharing my ideas on your website and looking at yours. I thought this was a solid place to find new ideas, to validate or dismiss them. It was a nice give and take process. Now, if the leader does not participate anymore in sharing his ideas, I see the website having greatly diminished in value.

 

You guys always get so dramatic about everything.  For the most part, nothing will change.  I will generate ideas and discuss stocks, but they probably won't be stuff we actively hold or are buying or selling.  There are some 7,000 stocks globally...if I don't talk about 10 of them, will that really kill you or destroy the board?  :o  Cheers! 

 

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This reminds me the donkey from Shrek, that says 'I know that half of the bridge is safe', while crossing the bridge.

 

There are some 7,000 stocks globally...if I don't talk about 10 of them, will that really kill you or destroy the board?  :o  Cheers!

 

Just a lame attempt at humor, ignore it ...

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Side point - I'm relatively newer to the board, so wasn't aware that your fund was open to new investors. Is there a link, or file, you can post with your historical returns / positions?

 

Might be interesting if others that actively manage funds that are open to outside investors also shared a bit about their funds/returns/AUMs/etc. I believe there are at least a handful of individuals on here who might be interested.

 

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Side point - I'm relatively newer to the board, so wasn't aware that your fund was open to new investors. Is there a link, or file, you can post with your historical returns / positions?

 

Might be interesting if others that actively manage funds that are open to outside investors also shared a bit about their funds/returns/AUMs/etc. I believe there are at least a handful of individuals on here who might be interested.

 

Funds have to be extremely careful not to do anything that is considered "advertising", so that is why you don't see that information and are unlikely to see it in the future.

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At some point in the near future, we will probably go the public company route as well

 

Dear Sanjeev, please let us know when you do this.

 

Cheers!

 

I'm guessing this is via a reverse merger?  I know of a company whom many investors love on this board that did it for $12k.  If you're interested in doing this I can get you in contact with the Director who orchestrated the reverse merger.

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