Value Invest

Author: Editor

  • VID November 2015

    Welcome to the 23rd Edition of Value Investor Digest

    In this edition, we feature a Business Insider summary of a recent Baupost letter, a summary of Guy Spier’s approach to using checklists, a video of Tom Russo’s talk at Google on “Global Value Investing”, a ValueWalk article on Pzena Asset Management, an FT article on Steve Jobs which analyses the start-up conditions at Apple; plus two more videos at the end of this issue – one from Bill Miller on why he thinks now is the perfect time to buy US stocks, the other from London Value Investor Conference speaker Jean-Marie Eveillard who speaks about market cycles and the risks he sees ahead from “valuation problems” brought about by quantitative easing.

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  • VID September 2015

    Welcome to the 22nd edition of Value Investor Digest.

    In this edition, we feature the latest memo from Howard Marks: “It’s Not Easy”, a John Authers piece on the rise of indexes in recent decades, and another FT article by John Plender on the tough choices Pension Fund Trustees have with their Value Managers at present. There is also a video interview on CNBC with Jim Chanos where he comments on the situation in Chinese markets today. The final article in this issue is a detailed look at Valeant Pharmaceuticals by John Hempton – interesting given the number of high-profile investors who are taking opposing views on the stock.

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  • VID July 2015

    Volkswagen, Oracle, Lonmin Top Value Managers’ Picks
    Jonathan Buck, Europe Editor at Barron’s attended the London Value Investor Conference this year and has written an article which features some of the investment ideas presented at the conference. These include Davide Campari-Milano, Regus, Volkswagen, Lonmin and Oracle.

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  • VID April 2015

    Howard Marks interviews Joel Greenblatt
    Joel Greenblatt and Howard Marks are both graduates of Wharton, Marks mentioned in the interview that there was an unusual cluster of successful investors from Wharton at the end of the 1970s – and they should investigate “what was in the water at the time”. They discuss a variety of topics during the 32 minute interview, perhaps most interestingly Greenblatt provides some details on his journey as a Value Investor – from investing in “cigar butts” through to higher quality businesses at a reasonable price.

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  • VID March 2015

    Boyar Research reports
    Boyar research, who has been providing independent research since 1975 is a sponsor of this year’s London Value Investor Conference. Boyar has generously agreed to provide VID readers with complimentary research reports. Please click on this link to download a complimentary report. One of the free reports is on BNY Mellon which is a dominant custody bank and investment service provider as well as the 6th largest asset manager globally. BNY Mellon shares have rallied 75% since Asset Analysis Focus last profiled the company in February 2012. Yet BK shares still trade at a reasonable 16x 2014E EPS and 1.2x book value. Importantly, Boyar believe BK is still drastically under-earning both versus its closest peers (margins ~300 bps below State Street) and versus upside in a higher interest rate environment.

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  • VID December 2014

    Neil Woodford interview
    London Value Investor Conference speaker Neil Woodford was interviewed by Killik & Co last week, in this video he discusses the approach of his new fund.

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  • VID April 2014

    “The Security I Like Best”: Warren Buffett’s article on GEICO from 1951
    In December 1951, Warren Buffett wrote this article for The Commercial and Financial Chronicle titled “The Security I like Best”;  that security was GEICO. In this article, Buffett set out the virtues of GEICO and his view that at 8 times 1950 earnings “no price is being paid for the tremendous growth potential of the company”. GEICO had already grown significantly from 2,514 to 143,944 policyholders in the decade prior to 1950. Berkshire Hathaway initially bought 30% of GEICO in the 1970s and the rest in 1996. It now has 12 million policyholders and is still growing rapidly.

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  • VID January 2014

    Howard Marks’ Latest Memo
    This latest memo discusses the role of luck, both in life and in investing. Howard discusses numerous examples of where favourable circumstances in conjunction with hard work have led to success. He uses examples of Buffett and others, as well as considering the circumstances of his own life. Howard reflected that sometimes “bad luck” can be for the better in the long run. In his own words: “Of all the jobs I applied for when leaving Chicago [University] in 1969, I wanted one much more than the rest but didn’t get it. A few years ago, the company’s campus recruiter told me I had been chosen, but on the relevant morning the partner in charge came in hungover and failed to call me with the positive message he was supposed to deliver. Just think: but for that bit of “bad luck” I could have spent the next 39 years at Lehman Brothers!”

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  • VID October 2013

    Warren Buffett on the irreversible nature of pension plan promises
    This is a wonderful memo written by Buffett in 1975 to the Washington Post Chief Executive Katharine Graham with advice on the pension plan (which is now one of the few with a surplus). It captures much of Buffett’s often quoted views on market behaviour and how to look at stocks.  It ends with a great if somewhat understated quote: “A mildly non-conventional investment approach, emphasizing a business approach to security selection, gives some opportunity for long-term results slightly above average without corresponding increase in investment risk”.

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  • VID June 2013

    Michael Price at the London Value Investor Conference
    Michael Price is less well known in the UK but is very well known in the US Value investing community.  He started his career in 1975 as a research assistant at Heine Securities later known as Mutual Shares, by 1988 Michael was the sole owner of the company and he increased the value of assets under management to over $17 billion before selling the business to Franklin Resources Inc. for $670 million in 1996. Michael now manages his wealth through MFP Investors. Both Peter Cundill and Seth Klarman (who began his career working for Michael) have credited Michael with teaching them how to take the net-net concept one step further to value all of a company’s assets. We were delighted that Michael agreed to present at the conference this year and he was among the highest rated speakers on the day.

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