Marty Whitman Shareholder Letters

[Orchard]

Based on the recommendation of board members JEast and LC I have been spending time going through his shareholder letters. He references some letters dated prior to 2002, but unfortunately the Third Ave website only has the letters beginning in 2003. Does anyone know where to get the older ones from? I have read his Value Investing book and Aggressive Conservative Investor. Thanks!

[Grenville]

You can request a copy of a compiled book of his shareholder letters. I requested it back when I owned his mutual funds. I'm not sure how far back the letters go in that book. I couldn't find my copy.

 

Have you tried calling their offices?

[Orchard]

Thanks. I have not contacted them. I am not a shareholder.

[stahleyp]

Thanks. I have not contacted them. I am not a shareholder.

 

Consider yourself lucky. ;)

[rishig]

Based on the recommendation of board members JEast and LC I have been spending time going through his shareholder letters. He references some letters dated prior to 2002, but unfortunately the Third Ave website only has the letters beginning in 2003. Does anyone know where to get the older ones from? I have read his Value Investing book and Aggressive Conservative Investor. Thanks!

 

I have all their letters in hard copy going back to Jan 1998. If you are in Northern California or plan to visit, let me know.

[feynmanresearch]

Thanks. I have not contacted them. I am not a shareholder.

 

Consider yourself lucky. ;)

 

Why?

[stahleyp]

whitman doesn't manage day to day anymore. the inmates are running the asylum (maybe I'm being a little too harsh) but every single one of their funds (with the exception of the real estate) have been bad (or worse) over the past 5, 10 year periods. Their terrible performance in the meltdown would be a bit easier to swallow...if their comeback also wasn't so terrible.

[oddballstocks]

I owned one of the funds for a while, after years of under performance I dumped it.  This was in a retirement account for my wife.  I remember they are huge on Hong Kong real estate, or were for a while.

 

Conceptually I've liked how Whitman thinks.  But I can't stand how he writes (CSHHW) with all the crazy acronyms for everything.  Since CSHHW I have trouble reading his books without stopping at each acronym and thinking "what in the world does CSTBCNWC mean? (cheap stock trading below current net working capital)".

[feynmanresearch]

I owned one of the funds for a while, after years of under performance I dumped it.  This was in a retirement account for my wife.  I remember they are huge on Hong Kong real estate, or were for a while.

 

Conceptually I've liked how Whitman thinks.  But I can't stand how he writes (CSHHW) with all the crazy acronyms for everything.  Since CSHHW I have trouble reading his books without stopping at each acronym and thinking "what in the world does CSTBCNWC mean? (cheap stock trading below current net working capital)".

 

I agree. I struggled to read the Aggressive Conservative investor because of his writing style. Although that book definitely has some strong insights in it

[cobafdek]

I owned one of the funds for a while, after years of under performance I dumped it.  This was in a retirement account for my wife.  I remember they are huge on Hong Kong real estate, or were for a while.

 

Conceptually I've liked how Whitman thinks.  But I can't stand how he writes (CSHHW) with all the crazy acronyms for everything.  Since CSHHW I have trouble reading his books without stopping at each acronym and thinking "what in the world does CSTBCNWC mean? (cheap stock trading below current net working capital)".

 

I agree. I struggled to read the Aggressive Conservative investor because of his writing style. Although that book definitely has some strong insights in it

 

My favorite is SOTT (Something Off The Top), which makes me think of circumcision, but then I remember it's an investing book.  (Would this make Whitman LOL, or ROTFLHAO?)

[augustabound]

OMPI (outside passive minority investors) drives me nuts. I just don't read anything by him anymore.

Shareholders or minority shareholders should suffice.............. >:(

[futile]

Dear all,

Email me if you want the 1998-2002 Letters (pdf).

Best,

Eric

 

[KinAlberta]

I see that this thread hasn't been updated in a while.  (Always admired Whitman and used to read everything he wrote. Haven’t seen much in years though.)

 

Also a truly classic interview had him, in late 2008 or early 2009 I believe, talking about the irrationality of the market panic, credit and bank share pricing and critically, pricing that wasn't factoring in all the flexibility embedded in FASB’s SFAS 157 / 159 derivatives marking rules, specifically the observable / unobservable events criteria. Recall that at the same time others were talking about such creative FMV adjustments like 'mark to maturity'. :-)

Also note that John Hussman pins the 2009 market bottom as basically the day or so surrounding the change to the FASB rule.

 

Anyway, here's a missing reference:

 

Marty Whitman’s 2Q15 Letter: GAAP Vs IFRS

By VW Staff on June 10, 2015

http://www.valuewalk.com/2015/06/marty-whitmans-2q15-letter-gaap-vs-ifrs/

 

one more:

http://www.valuewalk.com/2014/09/marty-whitman-third-quarter-letter-to-shareholders/