Munger speaks (and writes!)

IP — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 21:08:37 +0000

Wesco was 80% owned by Berkshire but was still listed, which gave Charlie Munger, Wesco’s Chairman, a nice stage in which to shine by himself (in Berkshire meetings Buffett does much of the talking). When Berkshire bought the rest of Wesco it raised the question: would we lose the “direct channel” to Mr. Munger? He has held the meeting anyway on July 1st, but has said that it was probably the last of them. We thank Ben Claremon for another very detailed set of notes and the Farnam St. blog for publishing a “fable” that Mr. Munger apparently distributed to those who went to the meeting, “explaining” the 2008 global financial crisis and admonishing accountants for not doing a better job – and for not repenting after the fact. His P.S. in the text says it all: it’s a fable, ignoring other players and interactions. For more on Charlie Munger’s wisdom, see our links inside.

LINKS:

Classic articles: Munger’s “Psychology of Human Misdjudgement” speech at HBS in 1995 – May 28th, 2010 – Must-read. If you read this yearly you’ll be a smarter human being. Seriously.

Li Lu describes Charlie Munger – Feb. 14th, 2011 – Li Lu met provides a great account of Mr. Munger in a way that even Buffett hasn’t done yet.

The Woodstock of Capitalism, 2011 – May 3rd, 2011 – Links regarding Berkshire’s 2011 shareholders’ meeting, including an 18-minute video with Mr. Munger that we found very interesting.

Munger and Buffett talks – September 9th, 2010 – There’s plenty of material on Buffett, but there’s also a good talk by Munger at the University of Michigan.

Misdirection/ disorientation – May 13th, 2010 – In defense of misdirection and disorientation – or more accurately in defense of stepping outside your comfort zone, learning something every day and being multidisciplinary in your approach to pretty much everything. That’s how Munger views his life even at his age. He’s learning astrophysics at 88 years of age!

Charlie Munger interview – March 2010 – Rare interview, so enjoy it.

“Tweets” from the 2009 Berkshire meeting – to get a sense of Mr. Munger’s “performances” at BRK’s meetings.

Buffett pearl: 1998 speech

IP — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 20:21:31 +0000

In this speech to University of Florida MBA students Buffett was particularly expansive regarding his processes and methods, and this alone makes this video worth the time (some 90 minutes). The fact that it was October 1998, a pivotal time in the dot-com boom and just after the LTCM imbroglio makes it even more interesting. And there’s a download link to guarantee this doesn’t go away anytime soon, but you can watch an embedded version right here if you read on.

We don’t have any intention to be the “ultimate source for all things Buffett”, as a lot of people already do a great job at this and we thank them for uncovering these pearls. But this video is special. The parts on “moats” add up to some of his most detailed comments yet on the subject.

We don’t think it’s any exaggeration to say that Buffett has transcended the investment realm and that this is interesting for people in all walks of life. We’re certainly making backup copies.

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Munger speaks (and writes!)

Buffett pearl: 1998 speech