The Inoculated Investor: Notes from the Final Conversation with Charlie Munger

Monday, July 4, 2011

Notes from the Final Conversation with Charlie Munger

Dear Readers,

I surmise that many of you have heard the unfortunate news that last Friday's event at the Pasadena Convention Center will most likely represent the last opportunity for the value investing community to have a semi-intimate conversation with Charlie Munger. Now that Wesco is a part of Berkshire Hathaway and given that Charlie is hoping that we will find a new cult hero, those of us who long to hear words of wisdom from Charlie will have to make the trek to Omaha for the Berkshire Annual Meeting.

For those of you who could not make it out to Pasadena this year, I was fortunate enough to attend the event and have compiled my notes. As usual, they were taken in real time without the use of a recording device. Therefore, I cannot promise that I was able to capture everything that Munger said. However, my goal with the notes is to recreate the narrative in a way that both provides context and captures the sentiment of Charlie's remarks. I apologize in advance for any errors or ommisions.

I have embedded a Scribd version of the document to this post to retain the formatting. But, I understand that many people have trouble accessing Scribd for a variety of reasons. As such, I have also created a Google Doc that can be accessed by clicking this link. However, I am also happy to email a PDF copy to anyone who contacts me at inoculatedinvestor@gmail.com.

I apologize in advance for any delay in responding. A new and exciting thing in my life is starting tomorrow and I hope you will stay tuned to my blog for details regarding this endeavor.

Thanks again for following this site and I hope you enjoy the notes.

Sincerely,

Ben Claremon

The Inoculated Investor

Conversation With Charlie Munger

5 Best Value Investing Quotes

Seth Klarman: “It turns out that value investing is something that is in your blood. There are people who just don’t have the patience and discipline to do it, and there are people who do. So it leads me to think it’s genetic.”
Seth Klarman: “It sounds kind of crazy, but in times of turmoil in the market, I’ve felt a sort of serenity in knowing that I’ve checked and re-checked my work, one plus one still equals two regardless of where a stock trades right after I buy it.”
Howard Marks (Oaktree Capital): “For forty years I’ve seen the manic-depressive cycle of investor psychology swing crazily: between fear and greed – we all know the refrain – but also between optimism and pessimism, and between credulity and skepticism. In general, following the beliefs of the herd – and swinging with the pendulum – will give you average performance in the long run and can get you killed at the extremes.”
Bruce Greenwald (First Eagle Funds): "There are no bad days in the market. When the market is down, you’ve got bargains, and it’s lovely to think of what you are buying at low prices. When the market is up, the bargains have gone, but you’re rich.”
Mohnish Pabrai (Pabrai Funds): “Warren Buffett has said many times that people either get value investing in five minutes or they won’t get it in five years. So, there is something in the human brain, that for some of us, makes all the difference in the world right away and the patience it requires is part of the wiring process.”

The Inoculated Investor

Monday, July 4, 2011

Notes from the Final Conversation with Charlie Munger

The Inoculated Investor Has Moved

The Inoculated Investor

Blog Archive

Labels

5 Best Value Investing Quotes