Category: Investment & Business Models
“Strategy Follows Structure” — John Bogle on Investment Funds
Investment Fund Structures “You are what you eat” is the common phrase about nutrition. With investing, I think a corollary should be “you are where & how you get your capital”. This is particularly true with any type of investment fund as John Bogle, the… Continue reading
Economies of Scale — Fundamentals Through Graphics
The Experience Curve Revisiting fundamental business concepts is helpful. Old concepts often have new meaning when viewed after new experiences. Or, as we say at the school where I am a co-owner, “See it with today’s eyes and hear it with today’s ears.” One important,… Continue reading
Elusive Moats of Competitive Advantage — Definition by Morningstar
Moats of Competitive Advantage Investors look for “moats” or competitive advantages that create more certainty and more growth in revenue and margins. In managing or investing in businesses, it is helpful to understand what moats other companies have been able to build and why. This… Continue reading
Investment Strategy – Sell Fixed Income
Pension Funds Buying Fixed Income As investors and business owners, it is problematic to make decisions for the future with too much of an emphasis on the past. In reading a recent issue of Grant’s Interest Rate Observer, they mentioned an eye-popping statistic from the… Continue reading
Thoughts on the Berkshire Hathaway Meeting 2012
The Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting Below are a few words of advice from Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger yesterday at the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. Business owners and investors should make a point to attend a Berkshire annual meeting sometime. There are not that many… Continue reading
Enlightenment about Investor Alignment
Obtaining alignment among the various parts of a company, particularly between company founders and investors, is a never-ending topic. Two items have caught my eye this month that relate to this issue and may help spread some enlightened thinking about investor alignment. First, Fred Wilson, a… Continue reading
Company Founder Regrets Sale to Traditional Private Equity
Be careful to whom you sell your company, said the founder of Jimmy Choo footwear, Tamara Mellon. In the Financial Times, Mellon was quoted, “What happens in private equity is they come in and they say we’re going to be a great partner. We want… Continue reading
Construct a Perfect Business, Financially Speaking
Designing the financial model (in a real-world sense, not a spreadsheet sense) of your business is worth every minute that you can dedicate to it. We should craft the financial model of our business with as much care as a fine architect and craftsman would… Continue reading
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