Blog on Value Investing | Safal Niveshak

Latticework of Mental Models: Lollapalooza Effect

August 13, 2018 | 10 Comments

Value Investing Workshop in Bangalore (9th Sept), Chennai (23rd Sept), Mumbai (30th Sept). Click here to register now. Few seats remain!

Why were Warren Buffett and his creation, Berkshire Hathaway, so unusually successful?

In 2007 Wesco Annual Meeting, someone asked the above question from Charlie Munger. He replied –

If that success in investment isn’t the best in the history of the investment world, it’s certainly in the top five. It’s a lollapalooza.

Lollapalooza in the conventional sense means something outstanding of its kind. A person, a thing or an event that is particularly impressive, or extraordinarily attractive. But being multidisciplinary learners, we shouldn’t be satisfied with the conventional definitions, should we? Moreover, Charlie Munger doesn’t use lollapalooza just for its dictionary meaning.

Here’s the definition of Lollapalooza taken from the book Poor Charlie’s Almanack –

Lollapalooza is, as personified by Charles Munger, the critical mass obtained via a combination of concentration, curiosity, perseverance, and self-criticism, applied through a prism of multidisciplinary mental models.

When Charlie Munger uses the word lollapalooza, he often attaches the word “effects” (as in “lollapalooza effects”) which means that multiple factors are acting together in ways that are feeding back on each other. [Read more…] about Latticework of Mental Models: Lollapalooza Effect

The Dangers of Persistence

August 9, 2018 | 17 Comments

Value Investing Workshop in Bangalore (9th Sept), Chennai (23rd Sept), Mumbai (30th Sept). Click here to register now. Few seats remain!

A few months back, during my lecture to a class of MBA students, I asked them to finish a sentence. The sentence was – “If you play a slot machine in a casino long enough, eventually you will ………” *

The class yelled out in unison “WIN!”

As most people reading this know, that is exactly the wrong answer. Slot machines are engineered to make everyone but the casino a loser in the long run. But MBA kids don’t know that, and they are never taught that. I assumed they confused the benefits of persistence with the actual odds of succeeding.

Anyways, I met a couple of my neighbours in the gym today, who smiled – as if mocking me – when I told them about my work that is to teach people to make lesser mistakes with their money and also learn to make sensible investment decisions for the long term.

Be Water, My Friend

July 30, 2018 | 2 Comments

Value Investing Workshop in Bangalore (9th Sept), Chennai (23rd Sept), Mumbai (30th Sept). Click here to register now. Few seats remain!

“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change. ~ Charles Darwin

The thing that separates us humans from other animals is that we constantly change into new forms, new avatars. We are sad, we are happy, we are emotional, and we are angry. We communicate through different languages, we do different kinds of work, and we deal with different kind of people differently. Effectively, we keep on changing ourselves as per the demands of time and situation.

In fact, success in life depends largely on whether we are able to change ourselves with changing times.

[Read more…] about Be Water, My Friend

Whatever the Chatter, Corn Keeps Growing

July 26, 2018 | 23 Comments

Value Investing Workshop in Bangalore (9th Sept), Chennai (23rd Sept), Mumbai (30th Sept). Click here to register now. Few seats remain!

As students of value investing, we’ve all read about numerous businesses that Warren Buffett has invested in the last fifty years.

A number of these names regularly appear in Buffett’s annual letters. Especially the ones which he continues to hold – Coca-Cola, See’s Candy, Nebraska Furniture Mart, GEICO, etc. Buffett never gets tired explaining why these companies are great businesses to own.

Each of his investment is an instructive story with valuable lessons to learn. But whenever asked about his best investment, he’s quick to point out that it wasn’t a stock. He says –

Of all the investments I ever made, buying Ben’s book (The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham) was the best (except for my purchase of two marriage licenses).

Value Investing Workshop – Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai

July 25, 2018 | 1 Comment

Happy to announce the 2018 edition of our Value Investing Workshop in Mumbai, Bangalore, and Chennai. Here are the details –

Mumbai
Date & Time: Sunday, 19th August 2018 | 10 AM to 6 PM
Venue: The Sahil Hotel, 292, Bellasis Road, Mumbai Central, Mumbai – 400008

Bangalore
Date & Time: Sunday, 9th September 2018 | 10 AM to 6 PM
Venue: Hotel Shilton Royale, 9, 100 Feet Inner Ring Road, Koramangala, Bengaluru, Karnataka – 560047

Chennai
Date & Time: Sunday, 23rd September 2018 | 10 AM to 6 PM
Venue: Regenta Central Deccan Chennai, 36, Royapettah High Rd, Jagadambal colony, Sripuram, Teachers Colony, Royapettah, Chennai – 600014

Registration fee is Rs 8500, and includes FREE subscription to our Financial Statements Analysis course and Mental Models e-book, together priced at Rs 6400.

What is more, first 20 registrants in each city can claim Rs 300 early bird discount, group registrations can claim Rs 500 per person discount, and women participants can claim Rs 2000 discount.

Click here for detailed curriculum, and click here to register.