We Study Billionaires - The Investors Podcast

In this episode, William Green chats with Bryan Lawrence, a highly successful hedge fund manager who runs an investment firm called Oakcliff Capital. Bryan almost never gives interviews, so this is a rare opportunity to hear him speak in depth about the advantages of a concentrated value strategy, how he finds new investments, what 6 questions he asks when analyzing any stock, what he’s learned from Buffett & Munger, & how to build a happy life. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 05:42 - What Bryan Lawrence learned from his hugely successful father. 16:30 - What Charlie Munger taught Bryan.  33:07 - How Shelby Cullom Davis turned $200,000 into $800 million. 39:14 - How Bryan has consciously built an investing edge. 43:25 - What he learned from meeting Warren Buffett. 47:15 - Why Bryan looks for three specific characteristics in any business. 59:18 - How to beat the market by making infrequent bets.  1:08:19 - Why he’s obsessed with identifying where he’s wrong. 1:10:17 - How he searches for new inve

On today’s episode, Clay is joined by François Rochon to discuss how he’s managed to vastly outperform the market over the past 30 years. Since he started the Rochon Global Portfolio in 1993, his annual returns net of fees have been 13.6%, versus 9.2% for the benchmark. François’s investment approach is firmly rooted in three principles — patience, humility, and rationality — which are discussed in depth during this conversation. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 02:17 - What led François to hiring Jean-Philippe Bouchard. 06:19 - The foundational investment principles of Giverny’s approach. 10:23 - How François realized so early in his career that you can’t predict the stock market. 19:53 - The tribal gene that sets 5% of investors apart from the rest. 29:29 - How we can be prepared for declines in the stock market. 35:37 - Why his biggest investment mistakes are mistakes of omission. 40:54 - How François views Berkshire Hathaway’s role in his portfolio. 45:27 - How François assesses the strength o

Join us as Peter McCormack shares insights on blending Bitcoin with football business. We delve into his club's dual promotions, strategic investor impacts from the Winklevoss twins, and the broader influence on Bedford, including a new Universal Studios park. Learn how Bitcoin plays a role in these developments and discover actionable strategies for integrating innovative concepts into local enterprises. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 06:20 - The strategic role of Bitcoin in advancing the success of a local football club. 08:11 - The impact of high-profile investors like the Winklevoss twins on the club. 08:11 - Highlights from the "Cheat Code" Bitcoin conference and its integration with local business. 13:05 - How the club manages competitive growth and future challenges with spending caps. 17:53 - Insights into Peter McCormack's journey of owning and promoting his football team. 22:07 - The significant developments in Bedford, including plans for a Universal Studios theme park. 32:08 - Lesson

Stig has invited legend investor Chris Bloomstran from Semper Augustus to teach us how to value Berkshire Hathaway on today's show. Semper Augustus has an outstanding track record with a compounded annual growth rate of 11.5% on equities since his fund's inception on 2/28/1999, compared to 7.6% for the S&P500.  IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 01:37 - The impact of holding cash on your portfolio returns.   24:07 - How to understand the five different components that make up stock market returns. 33:14 - How to estimate the expected return of being invested in the S&P500. 40:57 - What the intrinsic value of Berkshire Hathaway is. 45:51 - How Berkshire Hathaway has allocated capital since 2018. Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences. BOOKS AND RESOURCES Join the exclusive TIP Mastermind Community to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Stig, Clay, Kyle, and the other community members. Stig’s 2023 masterclass with Chris B

On today’s episode, Clay discusses various financial crises from the past as discussed in the book This Time is Different by Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff. As the saying goes, from a historical perspective, there is nothing new except what is forgotten. Today’s episode will help shed light on where our world might be heading in light of studying history. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 06:48 - The primary types of financial crises. 08:13 - When the debt levels of a country reach an unsustainable level. 27:00 - An overview of currency debasements and currency devaluations. 27:24 - How countries tend to handle unsustainable debt levels. 30:36 - An overview of the Great Financial Crisis. 47:32 - How the interests of governments and currency holders are at odds with each other. Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences. BOOKS AND RESOURCES Join the exclusive TIP Mastermind Community to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions wit

In our latest episode, we dive deep with Carlos Toriello into how Bitcoin’s OP_Return is pioneering election audits. We discuss transforming election skepticism into Bitcoin advocacy, highlighting Digital Witness's groundbreaking audit of Guatemala’s 2023 elections. Learn about Simple Proof, the OpenTimeStamps Protocol, and how these tools offer tamper-evident, verifiable documents, fostering trust and transparency. Join us in envisioning a future where digital integrity reshapes democracy. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 01:42 - The transformative potential of Bitcoin’s OP_Return for auditing elections and ensuring transparency. 02:08 - How Digital Witness became the first to verify all available election documents in Guatemala, promoting trust. 02:08 - The role of Simple Proof and Peter Todd’s OpenTimeStamps Protocol in creating tamper-evident election documents. 02:08 - Insights into the 2019 Guatemalan elections, showcasing real-world applications of blockchain for combating election fraud. 1

Kyle Grieve chats with Annie Duke about her own story of quitting and how it helped sparked the idea for one of her books, the importance of base rates in helping us make better decisions, how to improve our investing processes when we have long feedback loops, the importance of using kill criteria to quit an investment or hypothesis, how to use a quitting coach to help you quit things we hold onto for too long, the importance of dissociating ourselves from our most cherished ideas, and a whole lot more! IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 02:28 - Annie's own story of quitting and how it got here to where she is today. 15:50 - Why expected value is so crucial for investors to manage risk best. 20:15 - The importance of understanding base rates. 20:15 - How we can use base rates to help us best understand expected values of our investments. 24:55 - How we can reframe our analysis of a business to close feedback loops on long-term investments. 32:40 - How we can get transfer from one skill to another f

On today’s episode, Clay sits down with Joseph Shaposhnik to discuss his high quality investing approach. Since its inception in 2015, the TCW New America Premier Equities fund has compounded at 15.8% per year versus the benchmark of 12.0%. Joseph is the Portfolio Manager of TCW New America Premier Equities, Global Premier Sustainable Equities, and Global Space Technology Equities portfolios. According to Nasdaq eVestment, the TCW New America fund has outperformed 99% of its peers. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 03:25 - The two types of recurring revenue. 13:37 - Why certainty is an essential part of a quality investing framework. 25:02 - How Joseph thinks about portfolio allocation by industry. 28:02 - Value accretive versus value destructive capital allocation decisions. 36:09 - How understanding incentives can make us better investors. 36:53 - Why we should ignore Buffett’s advice of buying businesses so great that an idiot can run it. 46:33 - How Joseph developed his own investment approach

In this episode, Max Kei from Hodl Hodl and Debifi, explores the future of Bitcoin lending and borrowing. From industry insights to Debifi's innovative approach, discover the benefits of Bitcoin collateral, multisig security, and fiat loan expansion. Gain valuable perspectives on navigating risks and seizing opportunities in decentralized finance. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 01:48 - Insights into the evolution of Bitcoin borrowing and lending platforms. 01:48 - Understanding the importance of peer-to-peer fully collateralized lending in the cryptocurrency space. 13:56 - Exploration of the risks and benefits associated with borrowing and lending using Bitcoin as collateral. 28:18 - Overview of Debifi's approach to decentralized lending and its unique features. 31:05 - Explanation of the concept of "super collateral" and its significance in Bitcoin lending practices. 31:05 - Understanding how multisig solutions enhance security in Bitcoin lending and borrowing. 55:02 - Preview of the expansion

Kyle Grieve chats with Lawrence Cunningham about Lawrence’s fascination with Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway, why corporate governance is so crucial for shareholders to understand, the power of transparency, accountability, and ethical decision-making, how Warren Buffett created his shareholder letters to create a competitive advantage, a list of some incredible businesses to research to understand best top-notch corporate governance, the makeup of a successful incentive program and a whole lot more! IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 02:02 - How corporate governance protects shareholders. 06:53 - Why Warren Buffett has created a competitive advantage by writing his shareholder letters the way he does. 09:54 - A few businesses that have excellent corporate governance that investors should research. 13:35 - Lessons from Charlie Munger and Philip Fisher that helped Warren better understand quality. 29:39 - How Warren's alignment with shareholders is such a competitive advantage. 30:07 - Why Berk

On today’s episode, Clay shares his lessons from reading The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham. Benjamin Graham was a renowned value investor, lecturer, financial securities researcher, and mentor to billionaire investor Warren Buffett. Graham is widely regarded as the father of value investing. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 01:11 - Who Benjamin Graham was. 06:16 - How the intelligent investor seeks to capitalize on market fluctuations. 16:17 - The Intelligent Investor’s biggest advantage in the markets. 30:47 - The concept of the Margin of Safety. 34:55 - Benjamin Graham’s investment principles. 37:54 - A case study of Mr. Market’s mood swings in the 1999-2000 tech bubble. And so much more!  Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences. BOOKS AND RESOURCES Join the exclusive TIP Mastermind Community to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Stig, Clay, Kyle, and the other community members. Episode Mentioned: RHW004:

Jim Crider explores Bitcoin's impact on culture, future financial strategies, and the essence of money, highlighting its role in investment vs. speculative cycles, and ETF strategies. He also addresses financial planning with Bitcoin for different life stages, emphasizing the importance of understanding money beyond its face value. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 01:29 - The key aspects of Bitcoin that most people overlook and why they're crucial for understanding its value. 12:38 - How to educate clients on the true essence of money, combining its technical definition with its value-based aspects. 17:04 - How Bitcoin is expected to influence cultural and societal norms in the next two decades. 32:41 - Financial planning opportunities with Bitcoin for young families and retirees, highlighting commonly overlooked advantages. 36:57 - Strategies for integrating Bitcoin into fixed income portfolios to prepare for future financial shifts. 58:04 - The distinction between speculative and investment cycl

In today’s episode, Kyle Grieve discusses the book Cable Cowboy: John Malone and the Rise of the Modern Cable Business. He covers why and how John Malone was such a prodigious creator of value, how he aligned himself with shareholders, how he helped build his monopoly-like business, TCI, how he dealt with competitors and regulators, why he trained Wall Street to see value differently, why Malone despised paying taxes, how Malone engineered deals to enrich himself and shareholder simultaneously, and much more! IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 07:41 - Why John Malone chose to work for TCI at a significant discount 09:52 - How Malone kept costs down to maximize cash flow 16:24 - How John Malone used his knowledge of scale and leverage to build TCI 19:08 - How John created his accounting terms to best display TCI's abilities to create value 27:57 - How Malone used his scale advantages to secure better rates from programmers 36:34 - The monopoly-like power that TCI could yield that featured its bargai

On today’s episode, Clay and Stig discuss the performance of Stig’s portfolio over the past 10 years and what he has learned from managing his portfolio over that time. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 02:02 - How Stig’s portfolio has performed over the past 10 years. 06:29 - Why Stig invested with Mohnish Pabrai. 28:32 - How private investments fit into Stig’s portfolio. 33:53 - Stig’s biggest investment mistakes. 40:17 - Why investing in Alibaba was a mistake. 46:21 - Stig’s biggest winners. 58:32 - How his approach has changed over the years. 1:08:46 - Whether TIP will ever launch a fund. Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences. BOOKS AND RESOURCES Join the exclusive TIP Mastermind Community to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Stig, Clay, Kyle, and the other community members. Stig’s blog post on his portfolio and track record since 2014. Learn more about The Berkshire Summit. Track your portfolio with Sharesigh

Today's Bitcoin Fundamentals features Jeff Walton discussing MicroStrategy's finance strategies, including valuation and leveraging Bitcoin. We examine price actions, trading methods, and the impact of traditional finance on BTC futures, offering insights into the intersection of enterprise software and financial engineering. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 01:41 - The role of MicroStrategy in modern financial strategies. 07:41 - Game theory principles applied to market structure and investor behavior. 16:18 - How Jeff Walton evaluates MicroStrategy's valuation. 16:18 - Insights into leveraging Bitcoin as collateral in finance. 16:18 - The potential of enterprise software in financial engineering. 32:58 - The differences between trading strategies and investment philosophies. 50:45 - The dynamics behind the price action of MicroStrategy's stock. 56:02 - Understanding short squeezes and their impact on valuation. Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform

Kyle Grieve chats with Vitaliy Katsenelson about why we should align ourselves with what we love doing, how stoicism has helped Vitaliy deal with the volatility of negative emotions in the market and life, Vitaliy’s four favorite stoic tools, how to engineer our environments to improve our decision making and decrease costly mistakes, how we can utilize specific modes of communication to foster the learning process, why we should concern ourselves more with the truth and less on being right, how the markets have developed in the last decade pertaining to sideways markets, and a whole lot more! IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 02:04 - What soul in the game is and why it's so important to understand it if you want to truly excel at investing and other passions. 07:36 - Why meditation is such a powerful tool to help improve stress. 13:40 - How Vitaliy prioritizes areas of his life to ensure he's spending the right amount of time on high-priority areas. 19:13 - How stoicism has helped Vitaliy remove t

On today’s episode, Clay is joined by Dr. Robert Cialdini to discuss Charlie Munger’s favorite book – Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Dr. Cialdini is a New York Times Best Selling Author of Influence and Pre-Suasion. He is also CEO and President of Influence at Work where they focus on ethical training, corporate keynote program, and the Cialdini Method Certified Trainer program. He received his PhD from the University of North Carolina and post-doctoral from Columbia University. In acknowledgment of his outstanding research achievements and contributions in behavioral science, he is frequently regarded as the “Godfather of Influence.” IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 01:53 - The story of what led Charlie Munger to give a Berkshire A share to Dr. Cialdini. 03:57 - How Buffett and Munger use reciprocity to enrich the world and themselves. 10:36 - What Cialdini learned in his personal interactions with Munger. 18:55 - How the commitment & consistency bias can affect us as investors. 23:04

Join us as Parker Lewis & Will Cole delve into Bitcoin's role as property or currency, discuss Bill Ackman's views and Saylor's latest buy. We explore Bitcoin payments, the impact of high rates, and the future of digital authentication. This episode is packed with insights on the evolving cryptocurrency landscape and its broader economic implications. Tune in for a deep dive into the forefront of digital assets. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 11:03 - Bill Ackman's prediction on Bitcoin's cycle and its implications on the economy. 26:26 - Michael Saylor's strategic acquisition of an additional 12,000 BTC for MicroStrategy. 27:12 - The debate on whether Bitcoin should be considered digital property or a currency. 38:50 - The potential of Bitcoin payments and the innovative approach of Zaprite. 38:50 - Integration of fiat payments in the Bitcoin ecosystem, including the use of stablecoins and traditional currencies. 51:28 - The feasibility and implications of receiving lightning payments through a

In this episode, William Green chats with renowned hedge fund manager Guy Spier, who has run the Aquamarine Fund since 1997. This conversation has been split into two episodes. Here, in Part 2, Guy shares insights on how to succeed over the long run by avoiding dumb investment behavior, building the right relationships, and recognizing our weaknesses. This is an unusually candid conversation between William & Guy—old friends who collaborated on Guy’s classic book, “The Education of a Value Investor.” IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 01:36 - What dumb investment behavior Guy Spier strives to avoid 05:12 - What type of companies he shuns 07:05 - Why good relationships are a key to financial & personal success 07:25 - Why we should be especially wary of leverage 15:46 - Why it’s vital to find “friends along the path” who support us emotionally 29:34 - Why it’s helpful to shine a light on our own weaknesses 41:18 - How he handles painful, contentious conversations 51:24 - How to engage with people wh

In this episode, William Green chats with renowned hedge fund manager Guy Spier, who has run the Aquamarine Fund since 1997. This conversation has been split into two episodes. Here, in Part 1, Guy discusses the art of compounding wealth over decades, drawing on lessons he’s learned from Warren Buffett, downhill ski racers, & his own mistakes. This is an unusually candid conversation between William & Guy—old friends who collaborated on Guy’s classic book, “The Education of a Value Investor.” IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 04:07 - Why it’s so intense for Guy Spier & William Green to collaborate 10:19 - How telling the truth changed Guy’s life 17:53 - Why the Global Financial Crisis terrified him 24:52 - Why it’s hard to invest rationally in the real world of chaos & confusion 29:25 - How Guy deals with his emotions when making investment decisions 35:03 - Why his default position is to hold his stocks indefinitely & resist meddling 38:48 - Why he didn’t sell his stake in Alibaba 42:01 - Why he’