Zurich-based author and investor Guy Spier (@GSpier), the founder and CEO of Aquamarine Capital, joins Julia La Roche one episode 78.
In 2008, Guy and his friend Monish Pabrai bid just over $650,000 for a charity lunch with Warren Buffett. That meal with the Oracle of Omaha was a transformative experience for Guy, which he wrote about in his book, “The Education of a Value Investor,” which has sold more than 40,000 copies and has also been translated into Hebrew, German, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Mandarin and Spanish.
Guy completed his MBA at the Harvard Business School, class of 1993, and holds a First Class degree in PPE (Politics, Philosophy, and Economics) from Oxford University, where he studied at Brasenose College with British Prime Minister David Cameron. After completing his MBA, Guy started the Aquamarine Fund, an investment vehicle inspired by the original 1950s Buffett partnerships and run with a close replication of the original Buffett partnership rules. The focus is on investing for long-term capital appreciation and capital preservation by running a portfolio of equity investments with the goal of acquiring companies with outstanding long-term economics at a reasonable price and where there is a sufficient margin of safety between the company’s market price and its intrinsic value. Typical investors include high net-worth individuals, family offices, and private banks.
0:00 Show open
1:50 Welcome, Guy Spier
3:00 Started as a Gordon Gekko wannabe, found a ‘lifeline’ through Buffett
6:13 Reading about Warren Buffett
9:47 The pilgrimage to Omaha
11:00 Power of sending thank-you notes
17:00 Handwritten notes from Buffett
18:09 Bidding on lunch with Buffett
22:30 Lunch with Buffett was “transformational.”
27:44 The inner scorecard
30:00 Deep fear ahead of meeting Buffett
34:06 How much does the macro matter?
37:28 Siren songs of the hyped stocks
40:25 Writing with William Green
44:26 Why he changed his mind about not talking to company management
49:20 New investment process checklist items
54:15 Debt
57:10 Buffett spends time thinking about the downside
1:01:20 Content diet for investing
1:08:40 Surrounding yourself with a mastermind group
#097 Peter Borish: My Concern Is More Than A Recession
#096 Michael Howell: It's Bonds, Not Banks, That Look Dangerous
#095 Carol Roth: You Will Own Nothing
#094 Todd Gordon: Why We're Not Headed Toward Recession
#093 Neil Howe: The Fourth Turning Is Here — How Will This Crisis End
#092 Milton Berg On Why There’s Strong Evidence The Market Won’t Do Well
#091 Peter Atwater On The Troubling Disconnect Between Main Street & Wall Street
#090 Jens Nordvig On How AI Is Changing Investing Forever
#089 Jim Bianco On Why Inflation Will Be Problematic And There Won't Be A Fed Pivot
#088 Dr. Ed Altman: We’ve Reached An Inflection Point In The Credit Cycle
#087 Jason Trennert: If You're Playing The Odds Expect A Recession In The Next 6-12 Months
#086 The Acid Capitalist Hugh Hendry On The Economy: 'I'm Fearful'
#085 Kyle Bass On China: 'We Sit At A Hinge In History Right Now'
#084 Michael Green On Passive Investing Creating Distortions In The Market Right Now
#083 Nassim Taleb And Scott Patterson On Black Swans And Chaos Kings
#082 David Hunter On Melt Up In Stocks, Global Bust, And Gold $20,000 Forecast
#081 Professor Steve Hanke Sees Decline In Inflation, Recession On The Way
#080 Nick Glinsman: Investors Beware China
#079 Brent Johnson, Creator Of ‘The Dollar Milkshake Theory,’ Explains Why We’re Heading Toward A Sovereign Debt And Currency Crisis
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