Investing

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My Notes on Warren Buffett’s 2023 Letter to Shareholders

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The Art of Value Investing: Dallas and New York

I am organising a couple of sessions on Value Investing in the US –

Dallas: Saturday, 27th April 2024
New York/New Jersey: Sunday, 12th May 2024

If you are in or around these cities and wish to attend, kindly register here.

My Notes on Warren Buffett’s 2023 Letter to Shareholders

Warren Buffett recently released his 2023 letter to shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway. He started with a beautiful eulogy to his longtime partner, Charlie Munger, who passed away on 28th November 2023, just 33 days before his 100th birthday.

In his note, Warren, very humbly, called himself a “general contractor” to carry out the day-by-day construction of his vision of Charlie, whom he called the “architect” of present-day Berkshire. He wrote –

Charlie, in 1965, promptly advised me: “Warren, forget about ever buying another company like Berkshire. But now that you control Berkshire, add to it wonderful businesses purchased at fair prices and give up buying fair businesses at wonderful prices. In other words, abandon everything you learned from your hero, Ben Graham. It works but only when practiced at small scale.” With much back-sliding I subsequently followed his instructions.

…Charlie never sought to take credit for his role as creator but instead let me take the bows and receive the accolades. In a way his relationship with me was part older brother, part loving father. Even when he knew he was right, he gave me the reins, and when I blundered he never – never –reminded me of my mistake.

Throughout life, we cross paths with individuals who, often unexpectedly, alter the course of our journey. These could be mentors who ignite in us a passion we never knew existed, friends who challenge our perspectives, or even strangers whose words or actions resonate deeply, causing a shift in our worldview. Their impact might manifest in altering our career paths, influencing our personal development, or reshaping our beliefs and values.

The beauty of these interactions lies in their unpredictability and profound impact. It’s a reminder that every encounter holds the potential to significantly transform our life’s trajectory, encouraging us to remain open and receptive to new experiences and people.

For Buffett, Munger played the role of altering his life’s trajectory.

It’s very important to pause, reflect, and ask this question to yourself – Who is MY Munger?

I think it’s a very important question.

Anyway, I have prepared some notes on Buffett’s letter. Click here to read my notes.

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With respect,
– Vishal

Rethinking Financial Freedom – A Masterclass

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[Download PDF version of this post]

A Masterclass on Financial Freedom

‘Financial freedom’ is a subject that people tie only to money and not to the peace that no amount of money or wealth would get us. It is, however, a subject matter of the understanding within, of course, along with enough money.

I am holding a 2-hour online session on the subject of “Rethinking Financial Freedom.” The session is free for Mastermind members. However, if you are not one, you can join the session by registering here (India), or here (outside India).

[Read more…]

Mastering the Long Game of Investing

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Shyam Sekhar on Mastering the Long Game of Investing

In the latest episode of The One Percent Show, I talked to Shyam Sekhar, the Chief Ideator and Founder of iThought Financial Consulting. Among a lot of insights, Shyam talked about –

Role of right mentors in life,
Importance of developing an investment philosophy, and
Playing the long game in investing.

On his learnings from mentors, Shyam had this to say –

[Read more…]

Long Term Investing is Hard

The Sketchbook of Wisdom: Get Your Copy Now

A Few Ideas I’m Thinking About

Here are a few ideas I have been thinking about over the last few days.

Long Term Investing is Hard

The biggest reasons more people do not practice long term investing are that –

It flies in the face of anything taught in business schools – that is, short termism – where most influencers/experts come from,
It requires a painful degree of patience because it is only over long periods of time that the market eventually gravitates toward value,
Life spans of businesses and their competitive advantage periods, on an average, are shortening,
Our attention spans and holding periods are shrinking, and
Noise is magnifying.

Given all of this, long term investing has become an increasingly difficult and contrarian endeavour. And so, not many investors have the ability or the wherewithal to practice it.

In fact, most people participating in the stock market don’t even understand what they are doing. This is especially when making money gets quick and easy, and they are doing great at it.

[Read more…]

A Young Investor’s Guide to Navigating the Stock Market Wilderness

The Sketchbook of Wisdom: Get Your Copy Now

I recently met a bunch of high school students, who wanted me to explain them the ‘idea of the stock market.’

One of them asked a brilliant question, “What does the market seem like? What kind of an experience does it provide to a new investor?”

[Read more…]

A Young Investor’s Guide to Avoiding the Fast-Wealth Trap

The Sketchbook of Wisdom: A Hand-Crafted Manual on the Pursuit of Wealth and Good Life

In the course of my interaction with young investors, a question that’s asked by many is this – “What do you think about the idea of trading in stocks early on to create capital, and then invest that capital for the long run?”

I ask, “Why do you want to do this?”

Often, the reply is, “So that I can create that capital for long-term investing fast, and grow rich fast.”

I then ask, “Why are you in such a hurry?”

[Read more…]

[New Book] The Worldly Wisdom of Charlie Munger

As the first dawn of 2024 breaks, we stand at a poignant milestone.

Today, Charlie Munger would have completed 100 revolutions around the sun. A century that was almost reached, yet remained just beyond grasp, as he left us on November 28, 2023.

[Read more…]

23 Ideas from 2023

The best investment you can make is an investment in yourself. ~ Warren Buffett

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Right before the year ends, I thought I’d share a handful of ideas I’ve read, learned, re-learned, and wrote about in the past twelve months. Here are 23 of them, in no particular order of importance. I hope you find these useful, as much as I did.

[Read more…]

Why You Must Not Quit Your Job to Become a Full-Time Investor

The Sketchbook of Wisdom: A Hand-Crafted Manual on the Pursuit of Wealth and Good Life

Short view – It could get lonely and frustrating, plus dangerous for your sanity and financial well-being.

Long view – First, a clarification. I am not a full-time investor i.e., I and my family are not dependent for our living on the stock market. I earn my living by teaching people how to invest sensibly in stocks and how not to blow it up as an investor, and by selling books. And I invest a large portion of my savings in stocks. But I won’t have sleepless nights if the stock market were to tank tomorrow and remain down for the next year or two, because that is not what earns me my oats and sprouts (I don’t eat “bread and butter” you see).

Anyways, the reason I am writing this post is because this is that phase in the market where I see a few questions from readers about how they could quit their jobs to become full-time investors in the stock market.

In most of my replies, I have asked people to avoid quitting their jobs to become full-time investors, and here are five reasons I have often mentioned to support my reasoning. In case you have had this question but were afraid to ask, I hope what follows below helps you take a decision.

[Read more…]

The 45th Lesson

Life’s passing by too fast, or so it seems. I complete 45 years in my present state of existence today. That’s more than three-fifths of the average life expectancy of an Indian male.

Now, while spiritualists would want me to believe that I have existed from anadi (before the beginning of cosmos) and will exist till ananta (infinity), I see forty-five years as a good enough time to find some meaning in one’s life. At least, my rapidly greying hair and receding hairline help me realize that.

Now, while it amazes me that I’ve been around that long — I feel like I’ve barely begun (except when I look at the actuarial table).

[Read more…]

Investing

A Masterclass on Financial Freedom

Shyam Sekhar on Mastering the Long Game of Investing

A Few Ideas I’m Thinking About

Long Term Investing is Hard

The best investment you can make is an investment in yourself. ~ Warren Buffett

Become a wiser investor in just 5 minutes