Aquamarine Fund Diary

Interview with John Mihaljevic

2009-07-31T17:08:37Z

My interview with John Mihaljevic, the Managing Editor of The Manual of Ideas

Read the interview

Navigating between Fear and Greed Using Checklists

2009-07-14T21:15:34Z

Notes on Guy Spier’s presentation Navigating Between Fear & Greed Using Checklists given at the Value Investing Seminar in Italy on July 14, 2009 were posted on the Manual of Ideas web site.

Slides from Guy’s presentation can be seen here

Reaction - A Conversation with Warren Buffett

2009-06-25T05:15:12Z

Video of my conversation with Betty Liu of Bloomberg outside Smith and Wollensky.

Ever since I joined Toastmasters, my ability to speak in front of various different kinds of audience has gotten a lot better. In particular, I joined Pacers toastmasters, which meets twice a month at the Sony Building in mid-Town.

Reaction - A Conversation With Warren Buffet - Bloomberg

Penal tour de France

2009-06-21T13:34:17Z

You gotta love the French. And, after all, why not if it is effective in rehabilitating the prisoners.

Iranian Election Protests - women all over the world should be proud.

2009-06-20T23:59:46Z

It has been hard to follow the Iran protests via twitter - because there is so much noise. As usual, Wikipedia provides an excellent summary of events / timeline.

But one important part of the story that has not been widely covered is the leading role played by Iranian women.

Here is what one student wrote in a letter to the Jerusalem Post:

Girls are extremely active in all these rallies (a little less in night riots where patches of young men are more visible). They courageously charge anti-riot police, chant slogans in front of them, lead the crowd, etc., but they are equally beaten too.

And here is what Roger Cohen of the New York Times has to say about the topic:

I also know that Iran’s women stand in the vanguard. For days now, I’ve seen them urging less courageous men on. I’ve seen them get beaten and return to the fray. “Why are you sitting there?” one shouted at a couple of men perched on the sidewalk on Saturday. “Get up! Get up!”
Another green-eyed woman, Mahin, aged 52, staggered into an alley clutching her face and in tears. Then, against the urging of those around her, she limped back into the crowd moving west toward Freedom Square. Cries of “Death to the dictator!” and “We want liberty!” accompanied her.

Women of Iran, if any suffragettes are watching, you must be making them proud!

Watching Barack Obama play identity politics in a supposedly post-racial, post gender world kind of makes me sick. But seeing the bravery of women in Iran, now that is the kind of feminism that I can believe in.

Get Smarter - The Atlantic

2009-06-20T23:17:04Z

I like this article which appeared The Atlantic . It updates the reader on the new technologies that will enhance our brains - starting with various drugs that target specific brain functions, all the way to the point at which we will be able to "upload" our brains onto computers.

Outlandish? That's what I thought untill I read Ray Kurzweil's "The Singularity is Near". Also worth checking out is his Blog/Website - KurzweilAI.net

I was unwilling to take ritalin at the time that it was prescribed for my ADD. Now I find myself curious about modafinil.

Zurich - City of your Dreams

2009-06-19T18:01:53Z

How interesting that Tyler Brule just wrote an article about Zurich for the FT.

Actually though, this article gives London a backhanded compliment, and Zurich a backhanded slap. Here is what he writes:

As for London, my home, it didn’t make the top 25 for many of the same reasons New York was omitted. So why am I still here? I can’t argue with the findings of the Monocle survey. Indeed, I once considered Zürich my dream city, with its speedy trains connecting me to skiing and Milan, its wonderful lake and bathing clubs, its pretty hillsides and solid Swiss apartments. Yet, when I eventually tried living there, I lasted less than a year. No matter how much the city had to offer, I couldn’t stand my narrow-minded neighbours. Zürich might have been a liveable city then but it wasn't a welcoming one.

As I have said to my friends - I am really interested to find out what I am saying about Zurich in a couple of years.

Aquamarine Fund Inc. ranked #6 for April 2009 by BarclayHedge

2009-06-15T22:00:06Z

Aquamarine Fund has been ranked #6 in the Equity Long-Bias category for the month of April, 2009 by BarclayHedge.

This fund was ranked based on Barclay's hedge fund database

Take the MBA Oath

2009-06-14T02:47:27Z

When I left HBS, there was a controversy over the stealing of an election for the HBS Finance Club. At the time, I thought that it would be a good idea if HBS could retroactively rescind the MBA if someone behaved badly. For example, the MBA could be automatically rescinded if the person in question was convicted of a felony.

Now HBS MBA's have created the business school student's equivalent of the Hippocratic Oath.

For my part, I found Warren Buffett, and spent a good part of my life studying him. I susepct that studying Buffett is a good deal more productive. That said, there is nothing wrong with taking the oath as well. A bit like the Lord's Prayer, there is little in it that any rational human being would disagree with.

I suppose that it does leave me wondering whether these students feel that they had their ethical muscle excercised enough during the 2,000 or so cases that they will have studied over their two years in Cambridge. Perhaps not.

Therefore I promise:
I will act with utmost integrity and pursue my work in an ethical manner.
I will safeguard the interests of my shareholders, co-workers, customers and the society in which we operate.
I will manage my enterprise in good faith, guarding against decisions and behavior that advance my own narrow ambitions but harm the enterprise and the societies it serves.
I will understand and uphold, both in letter and in spirit, the laws and contracts governing my own conduct and that of my enterprise.
I will take responsibility for my actions, and I will represent the performance and risks of my enterprise accurately and honestly.
I will develop both myself and other managers under my supervision so that the profession continues to grow and contribute to the well-being of society.
I will strive to create sustainable economic, social, and environmental prosperity worldwide.
I will be accountable to my peers and they will be accountable to me for living by this oath.
This oath I make freely, and upon my honor.

Proud of Israel

2009-06-11T05:44:06Z

From time to time, I come across something that makes me really proud of Israel.

How many of the best human qualities to you need to think of making a mechanical snake for military use?

Israel seems to produce those qualities in spades.

http://israelmatzav.blogspot.com/2009/06/israels-robot-snake-with-video.html

Israel: Military Robot Snake - 06-10-09

Zurich's allright

2009-05-28T23:27:33Z

Here is what an Australian traveller writes:

if I were raising three kids and a dog, Zurich would be very high on my list of places to do it

Zurich Quality of life

2009-05-27T04:50:42Z

Zurich,Quality of Life, Et Al

Zurich,Quality of Life, Et Al Procyonm The Swiss could teach the world a few good things, the act of preservation is so central to their life.

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Humanities Research why is the quality o

At the Bridge Table, Clues to a Lucid Old Age

2009-05-22T13:53:32Z

There is mounting evidence that Bridge is much more than just a game.

Not only does Warren Buffett play the game, he encourages Berkshire Shareholders by setting up a bridge area outside Borsheims at the annual shareholder meeting.

Now this New York Times article adds what I have already been learning: Bridge is extremely effective at delaying the onset of all sorts of age related mental deterioration.

So far, scientists here have found little evidence that diet or exercise affects the risk of dementia in people over 90. But some researchers argue that mental engagement — doing crossword puzzles, reading books — may delay the arrival of symptoms. And social connections, including interaction with friends, may be very important, some suspect. In isolation, a healthy human mind can go blank and quickly become disoriented, psychologists have found.
“There is quite a bit of evidence now suggesting that the more people you have contact with, in your own home or outside, the better you do” mentally and physically, Dr. Kawas said. “Interacting with people regularly, even strangers, uses easily as much brain power as doing puzzles, and it wouldn’t surprise me if this is what it’s all about.”
And bridge, she added, provides both kinds of stimulation.

At the Berkshire meeting, I met and talked to a physician's assistant, who gave anecdotal evidence: In her view, bridge players - even more than chess players, do better as they age. Apparently, bridge excercises more mental pathways in the brain than even chess.

The Master of Money - review of Snowball by Michael Lewis in The New Republic

2009-05-21T15:49:52Z

I think that Michael Lewis provides the best review yet of Snowball. Indeed, I think that it builds on Alice Schroeder's work & gives some perspective on the book itself.

Education from China to Brazil

2009-05-14T12:46:27Z

Here is a copy of my presentation on Education from China to Brazil

Value Investing Congress Presentation

View more presentations from aquamarine.