The Education of a Value Investor – Details, episodes & analysis

Tobias Carlisle, an Australian investor and founder of Acquirers Funds, LLC, also shares his personal journey—from his beginnings as a corporate advisory lawyer in Australia to his transition into investing inspired by Warren Buffett. His career spans roles as an activist hedge fund analyst and general counsel, leading up to his authorship of Deep Value, Quantitative Value, and Concentrated Investing.

Full transcript available here: https://aqfd.docsend.com/view/ziv6die4mhrta2ud

Contents:

(00:00:01) The Journey from Australia to the States 

(00:03:20) A Career Start in Law

(00:07:01) The Transition to Investing

(00:14:46) Exchange traded Funds vs. Mutual Funds

(00:27:31) The Important of Risk of Ruin

(00:31:12) On Tobias’s Books

(00:36:33) The Disciple of Writing

(00:45:26) Tobias on His Portfolio Construction

(00:58:17) Historical Fictions

Jo Boaler is a British author and Professor of Mathematics Education at Stanford University. Jo is involved in promoting reform mathematics and equitable mathematics classrooms, and thereby fulfils a role of communicating to broader society outside of academics. Beside her new book Math-ish, she is also the author of the books Limitless Mind, The Elephant in the Classroom and other books on learning and education. 

Jo talks to Guy about visual approaches to teaching maths, covering the role of a growth mindset in learning maths, which can be developed from early on. They also touch on the importance of talent and genes versus the mindset we approach things with and on some barriers in teaching.

Full transcript available here: https://aqfd.docsend.com/view/g7uc3eypdnvhz7fr

Contents:

(00:00) Introduction of Jo Boaler 

(01:52) Teaching Mathematics: A Visual Approach 

(10:16) The Illusion of Knowledge 

(20:33) Developing a Growth Mindset 

(26:02) Lessons Outside of Mathematics 

(30:51) Genes vs. Mentality 

(38:40) Differences Between the UK and the US 

(43:45) Gender Barriers 

(48:10) Further Resources 

Sachin Khajuria is an investor and the author of the book “Two and Twenty: How the Masters of Private Equity Always Win”. He holds two degrees in Economics from the University of Cambridge.

Sachin talks to Guy Spier about his education, career, and the characteristics and future of the private equity world. He also touches on topics such as distressed investing, fee structures, and the importance of a multicultural background.

Full transcript available here: https://aqfd.docsend.com/view/m7jv4zsqpfv47nue

Contents:

(00:00:00) A Career in Private Equity

(00:08:11) Elite Education vs. Learning by Doing

(00:15:40) How Can Low and High Fee Structures Coexist?

(00:24:50) Winner Takes All Structures

(00:32:20) On the Inside of the Deals

(00:45:12) Distressed Investing: Both Sides of the Coin

(00:58:16) Advantages of a Multicultural Identity

Michael McCloskey is the founder and president of GreensKeeper Asset Management. He is one of those rare-to-find people who has a flair for both numbers and writing. In fact, he has a BSc in mathematics, as well as both a JD and an MBA degree. Michael has worked as an investment banker and has a lot of experience in the securities industry. Today, he lives in Mississauga, Canada with his wife and two daughters.

Michael McCloskey talks to Guy Spier about how he became a value investor and the principles he learned from Buffett and Munger along the way, such as sharing wisdom. He speaks fondly about family values and teaching, mentioning his alumni at GreensKeeper with particular joy. Michael then takes the listener through the research report on Visa he recently produced, while giving an insight into the whole credit cards and payment networks industry. Finally, he reflects upon his days of studying mathematics, as well as on the topic of writing books.

Full transcript available here: https://aqfd.docsend.com/view/zbmpr7ckcys75i2k

Contents:

Who is Michael McCloskey? (00:00:00)

The Connection to Berkshire Hathaway (00:05:29)

Importance of Family (00:14:54)

The GreensKeeper Alumni (00:24:49)

A Research Report on Visa (00:30:52)

Risks in the World of Payment Networks (00:45:18)

Buy Now Pay Later Plans (01:08:55)

A Detour About AmEx and Mastercard (01:22:38)

What is Inspiring About Mathematics? (01:36:52)

The Art of Writing Books (01:44:45)

Milo Jones is political scientist, a business school professor focusing on intelligence analysis and geopolitics, and has served as an officer in the US Marine Corps. He is currently based in Warsaw, Poland, but he spends plenty of time travelling around the world. Milo is also the author of the book Constructing Cassandra: Reframing Intelligence Failure at the CIA, 1947-2001.

He talks to Guy Spier about the conclusions of his book, insights for investors from the intelligence community and the concept of OODA loops. Milo Jones also explains the idea of how “the digital retrieves the medieval” and discusses possible outcomes of the war in Ukraine. 

Full transcript available here: https://aqfd.docsend.com/view/2ixfuarfgxp6z2y4

Contents:

(00:00:00) From the Upper East Side to the US Marine Corps

(00:07:44) The Reason Behind Intelligence Failures

(00:16:59) Insights for Investors from the Intelligence Community

(00:22:12) OODA Loops

(00:32:29) Structured Analytic Techniques

(00:48:44) When the Narrative Takes Over

(00:56:34) “The Digital Retrieves the Medieval”

(01:11:13) What Can the West Do About Russia?

John Zolidis is an equity analyst and a registered investment advisor, President, and Founder of Quo Vadis Capital Inc. 

He talks to Guy Spier about what made him found his own company, about the retail sector, and the battle between physical stores and Amazon. John also shares why he is fascinated with the Chinese market, as well as gives some insight into a company he has been following.

Full transcript available here: https://aqfd.docsend.com/view/mx8ghkc4wihjuwu5

Contents:

(00:00:00) Introduction 

(00:07:55) Life in Southampton, New York

(00:11:22) The Flaws of Sell-Side Research

(00:25:29) About the Retail Sector

(00:30:17) Difficulties in Apparel Retail

(00:47:21) Physical Stores vs. Amazon 

(00:58:54) The French Luxury Sector and Big Surface Stores 

(01:06:00) Investing in China: How to Minimize the Risks? 

(01:17:33) Transition Between Research and Investment Management

Guenther Dobrauz is a half-Swiss, half-Austrian lawyer, Leader of PwC Legal Switzerland, and a member of PwC’s Global Legal Leadership Team. In the past he has co-run one of the first Swiss venture funds. He is also the author of 10 books.

He talks to Guy Spier about regulatory law in Switzerland, his work at PwC, and his Austrian origins. Blockchain technology and circular economy are two of the main topics, being the focus of Exelixis Capital, an investment entity co-founded by Guenther Dobrauz, Sebastian von Doering and Michael Dieckell.

Full transcript available here: https://aqfd.docsend.com/view/t3awk5yugdv8i7hb

Contents:

(00:00) Thinking Outside of the Box 

(09:08) About PwC 

(13:30) The Austrian Origins of Guenther Dobrauz 

(18:19) Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrencies 

(23:36) The Founding of Exelixis Capital 

(30:14) How to Choose the Right Opportunities? 

(35:34) Books, Vinyl Records and Custom Motorcycles 

(41:38) Lessons for Professional Success 

Francisco Negrin is a creative director working in opera, as well as shows and other events.

He talks to Guy Spier about his early life, his career in opera and the meaning of his sets, as well as the business leadership that is part of his work behind the scenes. 

Contents:

(00:00:00) The Early Life of Francisco Negrin

(00:16:06) Blending into Cultures

(00:27:51) The Relevance of Opera

(00:36:45) Tools to Convey the Message of a Piece

(00:48:16) Is Opera a Popular Art Form?

(00:59:03) Business Leadership Behind the Scenes

(01:06:42) Personal Professional Mission

(01:11:49) Important Pieces of Art

Mark Bitz is an entrepreneur, author and community leader. In his latest book, Winning Practices of a Free, Fit, and Prosperous People, and in his course, his aim is to make people aware of the essential practices that should flow through populations, be mastered and subsequently transmitted in order to evolve a superior set of software that enables them to really flourish in their environment.

He talks to Guy Spier about the winning practices, his idea of a cultural council in the United States, international affairs and the importance of an honest rule of law. 

Full transcript available here: https://aqfd.docsend.com/view/pkiww39rnr4w2ryc

Contents:

The Influence of Various Cultural Packages (00:00)

A Winning Practice: DNA Fidelity (00:12:33)

International Affairs and Interference (00:24:016)

The Importance of an Honest Rule of Law (00:30:46)

Role of Religion in Transmitting Culture (00:37:34)

The Idea of a Cultural Council (00:44:10)

China from a Different Point of View (00:57:12)

The United States’ Ability to Reboot (01:07:16)

Calls to Action (01:17:44)

Ninad Shinde grew up in India, studied and worked in the United States, before moving to London, where he still lives and works as a consultant to private equity firms.

He talks to Guy Spier about his education, his work on lab-on-a-chip devices, about the evolution of the private equity space and about one of his big interests, the cloud / software as a service business.  

You can find the talk by Professor Carlotta Perez here: https://youtu.be/dhNd3tVR1hI

And another good talk with Professor Carlotta Perez is here: https://youtu.be/TRUlHfPLnjE

Full transcript available here: https://aqfd.docsend.com/view/z9gjdur3ukppeiay

Contents:

(00:00:00) Crossing Three Continents

(00:06:42) Lab-On-A-Chip Devices

(00:12:20) The Perks of Being an Indian

(00:21:54) Shifting Towards the World of Finance

(00:31:29) The Evolution of Private Equity Firms

(00:44:57) The New Economy

(01:01:17) Heuristics for Choosing the Right Businesses

(01:14:25) How to Find the Future A-Team?

(01:24:58) Charlie Munger and Cryptocurrencies

(01:33:11) Other Resources and Contacts