One of the best books ever written on investing is Margin of Safety, by Seth Klarman. There’s one passage in particular in which Klarman discusses behaviors to avoid in order to achieve success in investing, saying: Unsuccessful investors are dominated by emotion. Rather than responding coolly and rationally to market fluctuations, they respond emotionally with greed and fear. We all … Read More
Seth Klarman: The Proper Wiring for a Long-Term Investor
In Seth Klarmans’ latest shareholder letter he writes successful investing is like being a successful relief pitcher, saying: Consider the plight of a relief pitcher. Historically undervalued, unappreciated, often used interchangeably with other relievers, and, until recently, low on the major league pay scale. Required to be ready throughout most games at only a moment’s notice. And the role comes … Read More
Seth Klarman: How To Increase The Likelihood Of Achieving Sustainable Gains With Limited Downside Risk Over The Long-Run
In his latest Baupost Sharholder Letter, Seth Klarman provides some great advice for investors on how to increase the likelihood of achieving sustainable gains with limited downside risk over the long-run saying: “We believe another key element in portfolio management is curtailing the duration (the weighted average life) of one’s portfolio through exposure to investments with catalysts for the realization … Read More
Seth Klarman: One Of Society’s Most Vexing Problems Is The Relentlessly Short-Term Orientation That Manifests Itself In Investing
We’ve just been reading Seth Klarman’s latest speech at the Harvard Business School. During the speech Klarman provides some great insights into the problems with a short-term orientation in investing. Here’s an excerpt from the speech: Consider corporate time horizons. It’s a choice to attempt to maximize corporate results over the very short run and a different and sometimes harder … Read More
Seth Klarman: Q32018 Top 10 Holdings
One of the best resources for investors are the publicly available 13F-HR documents that each fund is required to submit to the SEC. These documents allow investors to track their favorite superinvestors, their fund’s current holdings, plus their new buys and sold out positions. We spend a lot of time here at The Acquirer’s Multiple digging through these 13F-HR documents … Read More
Seth Klarman: Value Investing In Bull Markets
According to CNBC (August 22, 2018) we are currently in the midst of the longest bull market in history, since World War II: The current bull market rally, which started March 9, 2009, became the longest one on record since World War II on Wednesday by avoiding a 20 percent or more decline, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. The … Read More
Seth Klarman: Top 10 Holdings, New Buys, Sold Out Positions
One of the best resources for investors are the publicly available 13F-HR documents that each fund is required to submit to the SEC. These documents allow investors to track their favorite superinvestors, their fund’s current holdings, plus their new buys and sold out positions. We spend a lot of time here at The Acquirer’s Multiple digging through these 13F-HR documents … Read More
Seth Klarman: 32 Books That Every Investor Should Read
Last week we compiled our Top 50 investing Books Of All Time. Over coming weeks we’ll provide recommended reading lists from some of the superinvestors. Back in 2010 Jason Zweig interviewed Seth Klarman at the CFA Institute Annual Conference. During the interview Klarman was asked for his book recommendations. He provided a number of specific books and authors that investors … Read More
Baupost Says Copy of Seth Klarman’s Book on Amazon Was Not Authorized
In case you haven’t heard. Earlier this month a Kindle version of Seth Klarman’s bible – Margin on Safety, which sells for around $1500, appeared for sale on Amazon for $9.99. Here’s how Bloomberg reported it: Baupost Group said the version of Seth Klarman’s 1991 investment book, “Margin of Safety,” that appeared on Amazon.com was published without his approval and … Read More
How Does Seth Klarman Implement His Value Investing Strategy Differently To Many Other Value Investors
Last week @NeckarValue tweeted a link to a great interview with Seth Klarman at Barron’s titled – “Value Hunter in a Sky-High Market”. The article provided a number of great value investing insights by Klarman and how he implements his value investing strategy differently to a lot of other value investors. Here’s an excerpt from that article: Q: You talk about value … Read More
Seth Klarman Protege David Abrams Says “Value Investing Is The E = mc² Of Money And Investing”
One of our favorite investors to follow here at The Acquirer’s Multiple is Seth Klarman’s protege David Abrams. Abrams typically shuns the public limelight so it’s difficult to find interviews where he shares his investing strategy. The WSJ did a great story on him back in 2014 titled – Hedge-Fund World’s One-Man Wealth Machine saying: Mr. Abrams got his start in … Read More
Seth Klarman: Successful Value Investing Requires A Multi-Strategy Approach
Back in 2008 Columbia Business School celebrated the 75th anniversary of the publication of Benjamin Graham and David Dodd’s Security Analysis. The anniversary celebration, hosted by the Heilbrunn Center for Graham & Dodd Investing, consisted of a symposium featuring contributors to the sixth edition of Security Analysis, including David Abrams, Bruce Berkowitz, James Grant, Glenn Greenberg, Bruce Greenwald, Roger Lowenstein, Howard … Read More
Seth Klarman: Interplanetary Visitors Would Question Our Intelligence If They Examined The Behavior Of Financial Market Participants
One of the best book’s ever written on investing is Margin of Safety, by Seth Klarman. In one passage in particular Klarman illustrates how interplanetary visitors would question the intelligence of human beings if they examined the behavior of financial market participants. Here is an excerpt from that book: If interplanetary visitors landed on Earth and examined the workings of our financial markets … Read More
Seth Klarman: “Most Investments Are Dependent On Outcomes That Cannot Be Accurately Foreseen”
Much has been written about the best way to calculate the present and future values of a business for investment. But as Seth Klarman points out in his book – Margin of Safety, the reality is: “Even if the present could somehow be perfectly understood, most investments are dependent on outcomes that cannot be accurately foreseen.” Klarman goes on add there … Read More
Seth Klarman: Mainstream Investing Has It Backwards
Some years ago Seth Klarman gave a fantastic speech at the MIT Sloan Investment Management Club. During his speech Klarman suggested that the mainstream approach to investing has is backwards saying: “Right at the core, the mainstream has it backwards. Warren Buffett often quips that the first rule of investing is to not lose money, and the second rule is to … Read More
Seth Klarman: Investing Requires A Degree Of Arrogance Tempered With The Humility Of Knowing We Could Be Wrong
Several years ago Jason Zweig did a great interview with Seth Klarman titled – Opportunities for Patient Investors, which was published by the CFA Institute. While the entire interview provides a number of value investing insights, one answer in particular provides a unique insight into Klarman’s psychology towards investing saying: “In investing, whenever you act, you are effectively saying, I know more … Read More
Seth Klarman: What Is An Appropriate Margin of Safety Before Making An Investment
Margin of Safety, by Seth Klarman is one of the best books ever written on investing and a must read for all investors. One of the most important investing concepts discussed in the book is the ‘margin of safety’, popularized by Ben Graham. Seth Klarman describes the ‘margin of safety’ as follows: “The best investments have a considerable margin of … Read More
Seth Klarman: “A Margin Of Safety Is Necessary As Investors Are Human And Do Make Mistakes”
Seth Klarman wrote an investing classic called – Margin of Safety: Risk-Averse Value Investing Strategies for the Thoughtful Investor. There’s one passage in particular in which Klarman encapsulates his entire value investing strategy saying, “A margin of safety is necessary because valuation is an imprecise art, the future is unpredictable, and investors are human and do make mistakes.” Here is … Read More
Seth Klarman – Value Opportunities Still Exist In Firms Being Attacked By The Likes Of Amazon
Good news for value investors as the WSJ reports that Seth Klarman at Baupost is still finding value opportunities in firms being attacked by the likes of Amazon, saying: “Increasing technological disruption is already pushing some securities well below our assessment of underlying value,” writes Mr. Klarman, “as legitimate concerns are, in some cases, carried to excess.” Klarman also sees … Read More
Seth Klarman – It Is Crucial To Have, And Maintain, A Sound Process
Here’s a great article at the The Outstanding Investor Digest that includes comments and answers from Seth Klarman at a symposium entitled “Celebrating 75 Years of Security Analysis”. During the symposium Klarman provided a number of valuable investing insights and honored the legacy of Graham and Dodd saying, “Graham and Dodd teach us not only about investing, but also thinking about investing”. … Read More