Report
The text inside did not appear in our Q2 2010 report in English, but we’ve brought it to Buysiders. It’s about “visibility” in the markets: do investors really alternate between periods of “excellent” and “very poor” visibility or is that just an illusion? We choose the latter. As Warren Buffett says, “Forecasts usually tell us more of the forecaster than of the futureâ€.
Read more about IP report excerpts, vol.7, part 1: on visibility
In this Q1 2010 report, we describe how the last few months were a period of much study and few operations. We have found ourselves in a phase with few new situations in which we could have great convictions. We also announced the “Prêmio Investidor Profissional de Arte – PIPA” to our clients.
God has spoken, go out and read it. The core is dedicated to welcoming and explaining BRK to its new shareholders acquired through BNSF, so no big news. Buffett complains more about the media and investments analysts, on how they distort things, causing losses to the less diligent and recommends that everybody form their own knowledge base and opinion. Hope he lives to see that happening, but we sincerely doubt it.
We refer you to part 1 of this series for an introduction to our post on IP’s Q4 2009 report. In this part 2 we highlight excerpts from both funds’ “Perspectives” sections. It’s no accident that they address the same themes and mention the same measures we’re taking.
Read more about IP report excerpts, vol. 5: Yellowstone? – part 2
In the latest of post of our series on IP’s reports, we discussed the current investment environment in the Q4 2009 letter. We liken the current optimism and false sense of security to the sensation some visitors to the Yellowstone National Park feel: they’re awed by the place and how beautiful it looks, but forget or don’t know that a large area of the park is in the very crater of one of the world’s largest super-volcanoes. In this part 1 we highlight excerpts from the “Introduction” section of the report.
Read more about IP report excerpts, vol. 5: Yellowstone? – part 1
Motivated by the recent LBO of IMS Health by TPG (the private equity group) and Canada Pension Plan, here’s an excerpt from our Q3 2009 report in which we discussed the company. We had been looking at it at least since 2007, when we started to look at the healthcare industry globally. Right after our text we link to other interesting articles on the deal.
Part 2 of the excerpts from our Q4 2008 report. In Part 1, we introduced and exemplified the theme of the structural fragility of incentive systems via two texts, “Own Goal” and “Dolus Bonus”. In this text, we present the core of our reflection on the subject in order to highlight the importance of raising our moral critical standards.
Read more about IP report excerpts, vol. 4: Moral diligence (part 2)
Post 1 of 2 posts with excerpts from one of our most-commented reports. We look back at a highly unusual year – a period of seemingly definitive change which proved, definitively, that some things never change. 2008 was one of those years that tested our mettle and reaffirmed old principles, the most cherished of which is our moral diligence. We kick off with two introductory texts, “Own Goal” and “Dolus Bonus”.
Read more about IP report excerpts, vol. 4: Moral diligence (part 1)
The first 4-5 pages in GMO’s Q3 2009 letter are entertaining for their irony, but it’s hard to disagree with Mr. Grantham’s conclusion: concentrate your portfolio in quality U.S. stocks with a global earnings mix. We’d extend that to some non-US quality stocks with diversified earnings sources, of course.
In these excerpts of our Q3 2008 report, we discuss our use of the tried and true “roadmap” that our investment philosophy provides during even such periods of turmoil. In a nutshell, “In extreme situations, it makes all the difference to have very clear principles coupled with a simple, hands-on philosophy executed with discipline.”