Charlie Munger attends Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting in Los Angeles, California. May 1, 2021.
gerald miller
As Charlie Munger’s admirers around the world mourn the passing of one of the most influential investors in history, we express our deep gratitude and appreciation for his unparalleled business acumen and uniquely virulent tongue. is expanding.
Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Munger died on Tuesday, one month shy of his 100th birthday, but his long and productive life left a mark on generations of investors in many ways. Ta.
First and foremost, Munger’s investment philosophy influenced none other than Warren Buffett, creating the mega-conglomerate that is today Berkshire, worth about $800 billion.
Early in his career, Munger broadened Buffett’s investment approach, ultimately helping the younger Buffett avoid buying deep-discount “cigar butt” companies that might still have some smoke left in them, and instead Focused on quality companies selling at fair prices.
“As Berkshire shareholders, we certainly owe Berkshire a debt of gratitude, because the sooner we make the right decision, the better,” Bill Stone, Glenview Trust’s chief investment officer, said in an interview. Ta. Such timing causes a “compounding” effect, he said.
evaluate good business
Matt McLennan, co-head and portfolio manager of the global value team at First Eagle Investments, a longtime Berkshire investor, recalled a meeting with Munger more than 15 years ago in which Munger said: , asked Buffett how he spent his time in light of his claims. They made an investment decision in just a few minutes.
“Charlie answered ‘reading,’ but his amazing ability to build mental models about how the world works and use those models as a priori basis for efficient decision-making I thought this was very appropriate given his capabilities,” McLennan told CNBC.
Mr. Munger has long emphasized the importance of evaluating good business before it becomes widely recognized, and has done so many times during his storied career.
He made a smart bet on Chinese electric car maker BYD and ended up winning big. Berkshire first acquired BYD in 2008, and its stake has since grown into a multibillion-dollar position in the world’s largest electric vehicle maker.
Mr. Munger is also a staunch supporter of Costco Wholesale Corporation, calling Costco one of the best investments of his life. He invested in the retailer before merging with Price Club in 1993.
never follow the crowd
Unlike Mr. Buffett, who often glossed over some of his criticisms into vulgar stories, Mr. Munger tended to be frank, peppering his remarks with memorable sarcasm.
A longtime cryptocurrency skeptic, he never minced words when it came to his criticism, calling digital currencies a vicious combination of fraud and delusion. He also called Bitcoin “shit” and “worthless synthetic gold” and said trading digital tokens was “just dementia.”
When SPACs (special acquisition purpose companies) enjoyed a brief boom in 2021, Munger said, “The investment banking profession will only sell as long as it sells.”
“What I really appreciated was that he was very candid,” said Mr. Stone of Glenview Trust. “It was very refreshing, because most people around the world are a little bit more cautious about what they say or just want to be liked. He had something special about him, and I didn’t want it to be malicious.” I never thought there would be one.”
John Rogers, co-chief executive officer of Ariel Investments, respected Munger’s no-nonsense “irreverence” to the end.
“He was a true contrarian. He didn’t care what other people thought,” Mr. Rogers said this week. CNBC CFO Council Summit. “I think it’s important to not follow the crowd to be a successful investor. You can think independently. And he was someone who really did that.”
