Every year, my friends and I get together for a few casual drinks the friday before the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting in Omaha. I thought it could be fun this year to open things up to AIC subscribers. In the past, we have chosen a local bar. Depending on the number of people coming, we may have to find a larger venue. Please RSVP ... Read More

From time to time, one of my friends really out-thinks a topic. Rather than trying to paraphrase someone else’s thoughts, I bring them to you as written. If you enjoy the following, check out capitalistexploits.com for more of the same. With that said, I pass the microphone to my friend Chris…..   I’ve been troubled by China and how to best invest for some time now. ... Read More

Investing is about indentifying trends before others do and capitalizing upon them. You don’t need to catch the bottom or the turn. You want to find a trend already in motion and latch on with everything you have. You need a trend that can go on for years and most importantly, you need to be early. The thing about trends is that they always ... Read More

Most analysts are too stupid to actually analyze financials; therefore mining stocks are usually valued on a multiple of current cash flow. Two decades ago, mining companies had an epiphany. Exploration costs money. If you explore, it reduces cash flow and hence your valuation. Rather than spend your own money, it’s better to overpay for junior miners who have found something as share dilution ... Read More

I am always amazed at how value investors tend to fixate on backwards looking metrics and conclude that a business is undervalued. Investing in a business is all about the future. When I invest, I always want the wind at my back. I know that I sometimes make mistakes and I want to be sure that the macro backdrop will bail me out of ... Read More

I am writing from somewhere over the US as I fly home from a very productive three week trip. I spent time canoeing with my dad, witnessed a close friend get married and visited a whole lot of companies along the way. Normally, when the last flight out of Toronto is three hours late, you can expect to miss your connecting flight. A better ... Read More

I just spent a week canoeing with my father. When you share a canoe, you get to talk about all sorts of things. I always try to keep my father involved in my investment thinking. He’s a great resource because he has good business sense, yet has never been involved in the investment world. He once told me a great story about when he ... Read More

On Saturday, I went to the Red Bull Flugtag in Miami. This is an event where teams construct powerless planes and then try to ‘fly’ them off a ramp into the bay. Like most things in Miami, the planes are big on flair and short on actual substance—engineering or otherwise. Let’s just say that most of the planes flopped over the side of the ... Read More

I’m writing to you from a plane somewhere over the Nullarbor in Western Australia. The original plan was to meander our way from Sydney to Adelaide, then north to Uluru (Ayers Rock) with stops along the way at points of interest. Then we were going to back track southwards and finally cut west through the emptiness of the Outback to my meetings in Perth. ... Read More