Daniel Pecaut's Blog, page 6
January 1, 2018
5 star review for University of Berkshire Hathaway: 30 Years of Lessons Learned from Warren Buffett & Charlie Munger at the Annual Shareholders Meeting via Amazon.com: An entertaining and useful book full of quotes from Buffett and Munger that ...
An entertaining and useful book full of quotes from Buffett and Munger that you won't see elsewhere. Well worth it.
December 31, 2017
5 star review for University of Berkshire Hathaway: 30 Years of Lessons Learned from Warren Buffett & Charlie Munger at the Annual Shareholders Meeting via Amazon.com: Surprisingly engaging; highly informative
Writing style is clear and engaging, with plenty of backstory provided to help the reader understand how Berkshire Hathaway became what it is today, and what misconceptions are often made regarding the company and the investing habits of Munger and Buffet.
Not at all like a dry historical record found in a dusty textbook - more similar to an interesting novel.
A word of caution, repeated from the introduction of the book though - it isn't an "hold your hand" "follow these steps" instruction manual. Instead, the book covers principles of value investing, taken from shareholder meetings and other interactions the authors had with Munger and Buffet over the course of thirty years. In other words, it is up to the reader to understand and implement the lessons described.
Overall a surprisingly enjoyable and highly informative book.
Not at all like a dry historical record found in a dusty textbook - more similar to an interesting novel.
A word of caution, repeated from the introduction of the book though - it isn't an "hold your hand" "follow these steps" instruction manual. Instead, the book covers principles of value investing, taken from shareholder meetings and other interactions the authors had with Munger and Buffet over the course of thirty years. In other words, it is up to the reader to understand and implement the lessons described.
Overall a surprisingly enjoyable and highly informative book.
December 29, 2017
5 star review for University of Berkshire Hathaway: 30 Years of Lessons Learned from Warren Buffett & Charlie Munger at the Annual Shareholders Meeting via Goodreads:
I will drink grape juice, on occasion; I enjoy a good wine; but I love whiskey. This book is the investor���s equivalent of fine spirits.
For 30 years Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger have met with their disciples once a year, to distill for them 12 months of their gleeful, disciplined rampage through the world of risk and reward. Those of us who have never made the pilgrimage to hear the Oracle of Omaha (and probably never will) can still benefit from Pecaut and Wrenn���s impressive attempt to refine that intellectual annuity down still further to this succinct barrel-aged collection of financial benchmarks, pithy sayings, anecdotes, self-forgetful honesty, clever humor, and pure white-hot truth from two of America���s most successful businessmen. Such nuggets as ���Derivatives are like hell: easy to get into and tough to get out of���, ���The meek will always inherit the earth, but will they stay meek?��� (on the hiring of CEOs) and ���Our competitive advantage is that we have no competitors��� abound, prompting thought well beyond one���s initial appreciation of their wit and business acumen.
It is the wise stockholder���s sip of 40-year Macallan, neat; enjoy it responsibly!
JV
For 30 years Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger have met with their disciples once a year, to distill for them 12 months of their gleeful, disciplined rampage through the world of risk and reward. Those of us who have never made the pilgrimage to hear the Oracle of Omaha (and probably never will) can still benefit from Pecaut and Wrenn���s impressive attempt to refine that intellectual annuity down still further to this succinct barrel-aged collection of financial benchmarks, pithy sayings, anecdotes, self-forgetful honesty, clever humor, and pure white-hot truth from two of America���s most successful businessmen. Such nuggets as ���Derivatives are like hell: easy to get into and tough to get out of���, ���The meek will always inherit the earth, but will they stay meek?��� (on the hiring of CEOs) and ���Our competitive advantage is that we have no competitors��� abound, prompting thought well beyond one���s initial appreciation of their wit and business acumen.
It is the wise stockholder���s sip of 40-year Macallan, neat; enjoy it responsibly!
JV
December 28, 2017
5 star review for University of Berkshire Hathaway: 30 Years of Lessons Learned from Warren Buffett & Charlie Munger at the Annual Shareholders Meeting via Amazon.com: Five Stars
Excellent collection of learning from warren and charlie over the years.
December 26, 2017
5 star review for University of Berkshire Hathaway: 30 Years of Lessons Learned from Warren Buffett & Charlie Munger at the Annual Shareholders Meeting via Goodreads:
A great glimpse into Berkshire Hathaway
The book provides a an excellent grouping of notes from the annual shareholders meeting in Omaha. I have had the pleasure of attending it several times and always leave awed. This book provides an excellent summary of so many years with colorful sayings and insights into why some things were done.
The book provides a an excellent grouping of notes from the annual shareholders meeting in Omaha. I have had the pleasure of attending it several times and always leave awed. This book provides an excellent summary of so many years with colorful sayings and insights into why some things were done.
5 star review for University of Berkshire Hathaway: 30 Years of Lessons Learned from Warren Buffett & Charlie Munger at the Annual Shareholders Meeting via Amazon.com: A great glimpse into Berkshire Hathaway
The book provides a an excellent grouping of notes from the annual shareholders meeting in Omaha. I have had the pleasure of attending it several times and always leave awed. This book provides an excellent summary of so many years with colorful sayings and insights into why some things were done.
December 25, 2017
5 star review for University of Berkshire Hathaway: 30 Years of Lessons Learned from Warren Buffett & Charlie Munger at the Annual Shareholders Meeting via Goodreads:
I believe this book is well worth reading���for those involved in the world of investment. But I���m not an investor ��� ���never had the money to invest, for one thing. ���Never studied it, for another. And consequently, ���don���t understand many of the technical terms and concepts used here.
Is there a lot of repetition in what both Warren Buffett and Charles Munger have to say? Yes���the note to the contrary (in Appendix V) notwithstanding. That said, these gentlemen have valuable information to impart���and Daniel Pecaut has done an admirable job in imparting it. Imagine a bystander feverishly scribbling notes at The Sermon on the Mount, and you get the picture. The countless jokes may be more Nebraskan or Iowan in sound and sense than Aramaic, but no one will grow worse for the Cornhusker or Hawkeye wear.
As just one example of the value of this book, I���ll give you a brief section from pp. 188 ��� 189, which teaches a couple or three elementary things (out of the mouths of W. Buffett and C. Munger)���viz., that investment should be carefully watched and nurtured: (1) in oneself; (2) in good business managers; and (3) in companies with a sound business plan and policy. Unlike most of what is taught at the MBA level, Warren Buffet likes to keep it simple and direct. To wit:
���Warrenomics 101
���(Warren) Buffet loves to teach college students.
���Buffett noted that he had eight sessions last year with students from 49 different universities.
���His two courses, if he were to run a business school, would be 1) How to Value a Business, and 2) How to Think About Markets. That would be it.
���In valuing businesses, it is important to understand the language of accounting, to stay within your circle of competence, and to focus on what is meaningful and sustainable.
���In thinking about markets, it is important to remember that markets are there to serve you, not instruct you. The key here is emotional stability, to have an inner peace about your decisions. It is important to think for yourself and to make good decisions over time.���
���It is simple, but not easy.
���The key with markets is that you cannot allow yourself to be forced to sell (from using too much leverage) and that you must not sell in a panic mode, emotionally pulling the rug out from under yourself.
���(Charles) Munger added that there is so much that is false and nutty in modern banking, investing and academia that the most one can hope for is to reduce the nonsense. If someone has an IQ of 150 but thinks that it is 160, it leads to disaster.
���Buffet imagined himself an economics teacher, professing the efficient market hypothesis: ���Everything is priced properly.��� And mused, ���What do you do for the rest of the hour?��� And this is the stuff of Nobel Prizes!
���Buffett concluded with Max Plank���s observation of the inexorable evolution of science despite the strong resistance to new ideas by even the best and brightest of his peers: ���Science advances one funeral at a time.������
And speaking of (economic or business) crises, note this suggestion, note this word of advice Buffett had for Goldman Sachs���s CEO, Lloyd Blankfein: ���Get it right. Get it fast. Get it out. Get it over��� (p. 203). All other things being equal, we like Buffett���s pith.
Perhaps a good place to conclude this review is with a citation from p. 266 under the chapter subtitle ���Five Things You May Have Missed:
���We have long noticed the paradox of craziness that surrounds Warren Buffet: no investor gets more media attention, and yet so little understanding flows out of that attention.
���We suppose it���s a problem of the short attention span/instant gratification culture bouncing off the wisdom of the ages.���
Yes, the same could be said for University of Berkshire Hathaway. If readers will give it the full attention and concentration it deserves, there are, over time, nuggets to be mined���to use a Buffet/Munger-style metaphor.
RRB
Brooklyn, NY
26 December 2017
Is there a lot of repetition in what both Warren Buffett and Charles Munger have to say? Yes���the note to the contrary (in Appendix V) notwithstanding. That said, these gentlemen have valuable information to impart���and Daniel Pecaut has done an admirable job in imparting it. Imagine a bystander feverishly scribbling notes at The Sermon on the Mount, and you get the picture. The countless jokes may be more Nebraskan or Iowan in sound and sense than Aramaic, but no one will grow worse for the Cornhusker or Hawkeye wear.
As just one example of the value of this book, I���ll give you a brief section from pp. 188 ��� 189, which teaches a couple or three elementary things (out of the mouths of W. Buffett and C. Munger)���viz., that investment should be carefully watched and nurtured: (1) in oneself; (2) in good business managers; and (3) in companies with a sound business plan and policy. Unlike most of what is taught at the MBA level, Warren Buffet likes to keep it simple and direct. To wit:
���Warrenomics 101
���(Warren) Buffet loves to teach college students.
���Buffett noted that he had eight sessions last year with students from 49 different universities.
���His two courses, if he were to run a business school, would be 1) How to Value a Business, and 2) How to Think About Markets. That would be it.
���In valuing businesses, it is important to understand the language of accounting, to stay within your circle of competence, and to focus on what is meaningful and sustainable.
���In thinking about markets, it is important to remember that markets are there to serve you, not instruct you. The key here is emotional stability, to have an inner peace about your decisions. It is important to think for yourself and to make good decisions over time.���
���It is simple, but not easy.
���The key with markets is that you cannot allow yourself to be forced to sell (from using too much leverage) and that you must not sell in a panic mode, emotionally pulling the rug out from under yourself.
���(Charles) Munger added that there is so much that is false and nutty in modern banking, investing and academia that the most one can hope for is to reduce the nonsense. If someone has an IQ of 150 but thinks that it is 160, it leads to disaster.
���Buffet imagined himself an economics teacher, professing the efficient market hypothesis: ���Everything is priced properly.��� And mused, ���What do you do for the rest of the hour?��� And this is the stuff of Nobel Prizes!
���Buffett concluded with Max Plank���s observation of the inexorable evolution of science despite the strong resistance to new ideas by even the best and brightest of his peers: ���Science advances one funeral at a time.������
And speaking of (economic or business) crises, note this suggestion, note this word of advice Buffett had for Goldman Sachs���s CEO, Lloyd Blankfein: ���Get it right. Get it fast. Get it out. Get it over��� (p. 203). All other things being equal, we like Buffett���s pith.
Perhaps a good place to conclude this review is with a citation from p. 266 under the chapter subtitle ���Five Things You May Have Missed:
���We have long noticed the paradox of craziness that surrounds Warren Buffet: no investor gets more media attention, and yet so little understanding flows out of that attention.
���We suppose it���s a problem of the short attention span/instant gratification culture bouncing off the wisdom of the ages.���
Yes, the same could be said for University of Berkshire Hathaway. If readers will give it the full attention and concentration it deserves, there are, over time, nuggets to be mined���to use a Buffet/Munger-style metaphor.
RRB
Brooklyn, NY
26 December 2017
5 star review for University of Berkshire Hathaway: 30 Years of Lessons Learned from Warren Buffett & Charlie Munger at the Annual Shareholders Meeting via Amazon.com: University of Berkshire Hathaway: Fine Spirits for the Discerning Investor
I will drink grape juice, on occasion; I enjoy a good wine; but I love whiskey. This book is the investor���s equivalent of fine spirits.
For 30 years Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger have met with their disciples once a year, to distill for them 12 months of their gleeful, disciplined rampage through the world of risk and reward. Those of us who have never made the pilgrimage to hear the Oracle of Omaha (and probably never will) can still benefit from Pecaut and Wrenn���s impressive attempt to refine that intellectual annuity down still further to this succinct barrel-aged collection of financial benchmarks, pithy sayings, anecdotes, self-forgetful honesty, clever humor, and pure white-hot truth from two of America���s most successful businessmen. Such nuggets as ���Derivatives are like hell: easy to get into and tough to get out of���, ���The meek will always inherit the earth, but will they stay meek?��� (on the hiring of CEOs) and ���Our competitive advantage is that we have no competitors��� abound, prompting thought well beyond one���s initial appreciation of their wit and business acumen.
It is the wise stockholder���s sip of 40-year Macallan, neat; enjoy it responsibly!
JV
For 30 years Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger have met with their disciples once a year, to distill for them 12 months of their gleeful, disciplined rampage through the world of risk and reward. Those of us who have never made the pilgrimage to hear the Oracle of Omaha (and probably never will) can still benefit from Pecaut and Wrenn���s impressive attempt to refine that intellectual annuity down still further to this succinct barrel-aged collection of financial benchmarks, pithy sayings, anecdotes, self-forgetful honesty, clever humor, and pure white-hot truth from two of America���s most successful businessmen. Such nuggets as ���Derivatives are like hell: easy to get into and tough to get out of���, ���The meek will always inherit the earth, but will they stay meek?��� (on the hiring of CEOs) and ���Our competitive advantage is that we have no competitors��� abound, prompting thought well beyond one���s initial appreciation of their wit and business acumen.
It is the wise stockholder���s sip of 40-year Macallan, neat; enjoy it responsibly!
JV
5 star review for University of Berkshire Hathaway: 30 Years of Lessons Learned from Warren Buffett & Charlie Munger at the Annual Shareholders Meeting via Amazon.com: ������What we learn from history is that people do not learn from history.������ Warren
I believe this book is well worth reading���for those involved in the world of investment. But I���m not an investor ��� ���never had the money to invest, for one thing. ���Never studied it, for another. And consequently, ���don���t understand many of the technical terms and concepts used here.
Is there a lot of repetition in what both Warren Buffett and Charles Munger have to say? Yes���the note to the contrary (in Appendix V) notwithstanding. That said, these gentlemen have valuable information to impart���and Daniel Pecaut has done an admirable job in imparting it. Imagine a bystander feverishly scribbling notes at The Sermon on the Mount, and you get the picture. The countless jokes may be more Nebraskan or Iowan in sound and sense than Aramaic, but no one will grow worse for the Cornhusker or Hawkeye wear.
As just one example of the value of this book, I���ll give you a brief section from pp. 188 ��� 189, which teaches a couple or three elementary things (out of the mouths of W. Buffett and C. Munger)���viz., that investment should be carefully watched and nurtured: (1) in oneself; (2) in good business managers; and (3) in companies with a sound business plan and policy. Unlike most of what is taught at the MBA level, Warren Buffet likes to keep it simple and direct. To wit:
���Warrenomics 101
���(Warren) Buffet loves to teach college students.
���Buffett noted that he had eight sessions last year with students from 49 different universities.
���His two courses, if he were to run a business school, would be 1) How to Value a Business, and 2) How to Think About Markets. That would be it.
���In valuing businesses, it is important to understand the language of accounting, to stay within your circle of competence, and to focus on what is meaningful and sustainable.
���In thinking about markets, it is important to remember that markets are there to serve you, not instruct you. The key here is emotional stability, to have an inner peace about your decisions. It is important to think for yourself and to make good decisions over time.���
���It is simple, but not easy.
���The key with markets is that you cannot allow yourself to be forced to sell (from using too much leverage) and that you must not sell in a panic mode, emotionally pulling the rug out from under yourself.
���(Charles) Munger added that there is so much that is false and nutty in modern banking, investing and academia that the most one can hope for is to reduce the nonsense. If someone has an IQ of 150 but thinks that it is 160, it leads to disaster.
���Buffet imagined himself an economics teacher, professing the efficient market hypothesis: ���Everything is priced properly.��� And mused, ���What do you do for the rest of the hour?��� And this is the stuff of Nobel Prizes!
���Buffett concluded with Max Plank���s observation of the inexorable evolution of science despite the strong resistance to new ideas by even the best and brightest of his peers: ���Science advances one funeral at a time.������
And speaking of (economic or business) crises, note this suggestion, note this word of advice Buffett had for Goldman Sachs���s CEO, Lloyd Blankfein: ���Get it right. Get it fast. Get it out. Get it over��� (p. 203). All other things being equal, we like Buffett���s pith.
Perhaps a good place to conclude this review is with a citation from p. 266 under the chapter subtitle ���Five Things You May Have Missed:
���We have long noticed the paradox of craziness that surrounds Warren Buffet: no investor gets more media attention, and yet so little understanding flows out of that attention.
���We suppose it���s a problem of the short attention span/instant gratification culture bouncing off the wisdom of the ages.���
Yes, the same could be said for UNIVERSITY OF BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY. If readers will give it the full attention and concentration it deserves, there are, over time, nuggets to be mined���to use a Buffet/Munger-style metaphor.
RRB
Brooklyn, NY
26 December 2017
Is there a lot of repetition in what both Warren Buffett and Charles Munger have to say? Yes���the note to the contrary (in Appendix V) notwithstanding. That said, these gentlemen have valuable information to impart���and Daniel Pecaut has done an admirable job in imparting it. Imagine a bystander feverishly scribbling notes at The Sermon on the Mount, and you get the picture. The countless jokes may be more Nebraskan or Iowan in sound and sense than Aramaic, but no one will grow worse for the Cornhusker or Hawkeye wear.
As just one example of the value of this book, I���ll give you a brief section from pp. 188 ��� 189, which teaches a couple or three elementary things (out of the mouths of W. Buffett and C. Munger)���viz., that investment should be carefully watched and nurtured: (1) in oneself; (2) in good business managers; and (3) in companies with a sound business plan and policy. Unlike most of what is taught at the MBA level, Warren Buffet likes to keep it simple and direct. To wit:
���Warrenomics 101
���(Warren) Buffet loves to teach college students.
���Buffett noted that he had eight sessions last year with students from 49 different universities.
���His two courses, if he were to run a business school, would be 1) How to Value a Business, and 2) How to Think About Markets. That would be it.
���In valuing businesses, it is important to understand the language of accounting, to stay within your circle of competence, and to focus on what is meaningful and sustainable.
���In thinking about markets, it is important to remember that markets are there to serve you, not instruct you. The key here is emotional stability, to have an inner peace about your decisions. It is important to think for yourself and to make good decisions over time.���
���It is simple, but not easy.
���The key with markets is that you cannot allow yourself to be forced to sell (from using too much leverage) and that you must not sell in a panic mode, emotionally pulling the rug out from under yourself.
���(Charles) Munger added that there is so much that is false and nutty in modern banking, investing and academia that the most one can hope for is to reduce the nonsense. If someone has an IQ of 150 but thinks that it is 160, it leads to disaster.
���Buffet imagined himself an economics teacher, professing the efficient market hypothesis: ���Everything is priced properly.��� And mused, ���What do you do for the rest of the hour?��� And this is the stuff of Nobel Prizes!
���Buffett concluded with Max Plank���s observation of the inexorable evolution of science despite the strong resistance to new ideas by even the best and brightest of his peers: ���Science advances one funeral at a time.������
And speaking of (economic or business) crises, note this suggestion, note this word of advice Buffett had for Goldman Sachs���s CEO, Lloyd Blankfein: ���Get it right. Get it fast. Get it out. Get it over��� (p. 203). All other things being equal, we like Buffett���s pith.
Perhaps a good place to conclude this review is with a citation from p. 266 under the chapter subtitle ���Five Things You May Have Missed:
���We have long noticed the paradox of craziness that surrounds Warren Buffet: no investor gets more media attention, and yet so little understanding flows out of that attention.
���We suppose it���s a problem of the short attention span/instant gratification culture bouncing off the wisdom of the ages.���
Yes, the same could be said for UNIVERSITY OF BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY. If readers will give it the full attention and concentration it deserves, there are, over time, nuggets to be mined���to use a Buffet/Munger-style metaphor.
RRB
Brooklyn, NY
26 December 2017
December 21, 2017
5 star review for University of Berkshire Hathaway: 30 Years of Lessons Learned from Warren Buffett & Charlie Munger at the Annual Shareholders Meeting via Amazon.com: The Value of A Real-Life Education -
I sincerely, enjoyed meeting Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger, through this book. How did they get where they are? What did they think about? How did they treat people? Did they have a sense of humor and how did they use what they had - to make a point with shareholders? Once we get into the ShareHolders Meeting; it's all there concise & direct. But vividly about life as it was unraveling year to year. Historical certainly, but clearly two individuals who didn't look back - they understood that to grow, they had to keep looking into a better future.
This book provided some wicked great lessons, quotes and antidotes that can certainly be used outside the investment arena.
This book provided some wicked great lessons, quotes and antidotes that can certainly be used outside the investment arena.
