Mohnish Prabrai and Guy Spier performance

[Vish_ram]

The way people react to this reveals a lot about the content of their character, ethics and their moral compass.

 

Most investors hold Munger & Buffett in high esteem. What is revolting to me is to see someone use these two as props and make $ off of it. That too by selling an inferior product While marketing it as superior.

 

What if Prem Watsa sold stock and raised money for his firm by showing smoke & mirrors returns and constantly posting pics of Munger? Does it cross the ethical line? Absolutely yes.

 

How do you hide 17 years of massive S&P underperformance yet issue a statement in your report that “Our long term performance is intact”?

 

Mr Chou Has underperformed S&P. Is anyone here questioning about Chou’s moral compass? I’ve never seen Chou promise any returns, doesn’t sugar coat past returns. So no one in this forum bothers to question him.

 

Where is the money for all that philanthropy coming from? Is it earned in the right way? I’m sure Madoff was generous in his gift giving.

 

This is my last post about this topic. I’m done. God bless his heart.

[Rod]

Most investors hold Munger & Buffett in high esteem. What is revolting to me is to see someone use these two as props and make $ off of it. That too by selling an inferior product While marketing it as superior.

 

 

I wouldn't worry about Munger. He is a personal friend of Mohnish and would seem not to feel he is being used as a prop.

[Parsad]

The way people react to this reveals a lot about the content of their character, ethics and their moral compass.

 

Most investors hold Munger & Buffett in high esteem. What is revolting to me is to see someone use these two as props and make $ off of it. That too by selling an inferior product While marketing it as superior.

 

What if Prem Watsa sold stock and raised money for his firm by showing smoke & mirrors returns and constantly posting pics of Munger? Does it cross the ethical line? Absolutely yes.

 

How do you hide 17 years of massive S&P underperformance yet issue a statement in your report that “Our long term performance is intact”?

 

Mr Chou Has underperformed S&P. Is anyone here questioning about Chou’s moral compass? I’ve never seen Chou promise any returns, doesn’t sugar coat past returns. So no one in this forum bothers to question him.

 

Where is the money for all that philanthropy coming from? Is it earned in the right way? I’m sure Madoff was generous in his gift giving.

 

This is my last post about this topic. I’m done. God bless his heart.

 

The irony is you worry about Munger, but Munger is Mohnish's friend.  How bizarre!  Munger is the friend of such a hypocritical, blatantly lying money manager who has underperformed for nearly two decades. 

 

If Munger was dead, he would be rolling around in his grave by your hypothesis...yet the living Munger takes Mohnish's calls and has dinner with him.  Munger must be as big a fool as those that invest with Mohnish!  Cheers!

[Parsad]

The way people react to this reveals a lot about the content of their character, ethics and their moral compass.

 

Most investors hold Munger & Buffett in high esteem. What is revolting to me is to see someone use these two as props and make $ off of it. That too by selling an inferior product While marketing it as superior.

 

What if Prem Watsa sold stock and raised money for his firm by showing smoke & mirrors returns and constantly posting pics of Munger? Does it cross the ethical line? Absolutely yes.

 

How do you hide 17 years of massive S&P underperformance yet issue a statement in your report that “Our long term performance is intact”?

 

Mr Chou Has underperformed S&P. Is anyone here questioning about Chou’s moral compass? I’ve never seen Chou promise any returns, doesn’t sugar coat past returns. So no one in this forum bothers to question him.

 

Where is the money for all that philanthropy coming from? Is it earned in the right way? I’m sure Madoff was generous in his gift giving.

 

This is my last post about this topic. I’m done. God bless his heart.

 

The irony is you worry about Munger, but Munger is Mohnish's friend.  How bizarre!  Munger is the friend of such a hypocritical, blatantly lying money manager who has underperformed for nearly two decades. 

 

If Munger was dead, he would be rolling around in his grave by your hypothesis...yet the living Munger takes Mohnish's calls and has dinner with him.  Munger must be as big a fool as those that invest with Mohnish!  Cheers!

 

That must also make Li Lu, Prem and Francis idiots, because they are friends of Mohnish's.  Buffett too.  That Mohnish...always pulling the wool over people's eyes! 

 

Normally, I wouldn't be this defensive...but when you start making comparisons to Madoff...I think you're pushing it way past rationality.  A money manager who has underperformed, but is good at marketing himself...equals Madoff!  Really stupid!  Cheers!

[rranjan]

The way people react to this reveals a lot about the content of their character, ethics and their moral compass.

 

Most investors hold Munger & Buffett in high esteem. What is revolting to me is to see someone use these two as props and make $ off of it. That too by selling an inferior product While marketing it as superior.

 

What if Prem Watsa sold stock and raised money for his firm by showing smoke & mirrors returns and constantly posting pics of Munger? Does it cross the ethical line? Absolutely yes.

 

How do you hide 17 years of massive S&P underperformance yet issue a statement in your report that “Our long term performance is intact”?

 

Mr Chou Has underperformed S&P. Is anyone here questioning about Chou’s moral compass? I’ve never seen Chou promise any returns, doesn’t sugar coat past returns. So no one in this forum bothers to question him.

 

Where is the money for all that philanthropy coming from? Is it earned in the right way? I’m sure Madoff was generous in his gift giving.

 

This is my last post about this topic. I’m done. God bless his heart.

 

There is a fair criticism and then there is this.  Madoff? Seriously?

[rranjan]

The way people react to this reveals a lot about the content of their character, ethics and their moral compass.

 

Most investors hold Munger & Buffett in high esteem. What is revolting to me is to see someone use these two as props and make $ off of it. That too by selling an inferior product While marketing it as superior.

 

What if Prem Watsa sold stock and raised money for his firm by showing smoke & mirrors returns and constantly posting pics of Munger? Does it cross the ethical line? Absolutely yes.

 

How do you hide 17 years of massive S&P underperformance yet issue a statement in your report that “Our long term performance is intact”?

 

Mr Chou Has underperformed S&P. Is anyone here questioning about Chou’s moral compass? I’ve never seen Chou promise any returns, doesn’t sugar coat past returns. So no one in this forum bothers to question him.

 

Where is the money for all that philanthropy coming from? Is it earned in the right way? I’m sure Madoff was generous in his gift giving.

 

This is my last post about this topic. I’m done. God bless his heart.

 

As opposed to Mohnish promising certain returns? Please cite the source.

 

How come the fee charged after 6% compound returns get compared to Ponzi scheme run by Madoff?

 

 

 

 

[John Hjorth]

Vish_ram,

 

What's your basis [source]  for your last post in this topic? - I'm listening.

[stahleyp]

I personally think Lynch was lucky. The last few years he ran Magellan he didn't beat the S&P 500 by a whole lot. I'm assuming he probably saw the writing on the wall. I also don't think his outperformance would have been nearly as much if he would have started in say 2007-2020.

 

Markets are way more efficient now. Fidelity also benefited big time before the time of Regulation FD. If I had to guess Lynch may have beaten the market by 2%-3% - which is still outstanding.

 

With that being said, I still think he's an elite investor - though not Buffett level.

 

As far as Pabrai is concerned, if you have a personal goal of 26% that's fine.  I don't have an issue with that. If you are trying to sell people on the idea (and it certainly seems that way given his marketing video!), that's a different story.

 

Come on Paul. I agree with you on this topic, sometimes. However I do think you get carried away at other times. You bash the heck out of everyone who underperforms, and then the few guys who outperform are "lucky"? Because he stopped? Or had a "few" years individually where he didnt beat the index? Come on! There's no winning I guess. Granted, I dont lose sleep feeling bad for guys who've made 7 and 8 figures trading paper, but still.

 

haha. I don't think I bash everyone that underperforms. I do tend to bash people who are brag a lot and underperform for long periods of time though. Overall, I think luck plays a huge, huge role in the investment world. I question the wisdom of people making such huge fortunes when luck plays such a huge factor.

 

As I said, I think Lynch is an elite manager but I just don't think he could do today what he did in the 1970s/1980s. For the record, I don't think Buffett would be doing as well either.

 

Pabrai probably wouldn't bother me so much if he didn't consistently imply that he earned 26% There are things I like about him (his fee structure and charitable work) but this just really rubs me the wrong way. I think the fact that he is so outspoken and still threatens people for sharing his letters is also off.

 

With all of that said, Pabrai is much richer than I am and will probably do a lot more in for charities than I will.

 

 

[shamelesscloner]

I suspect the only reason any of us have heard of Mohnish Pabrai is because he got lucky gambling on dot coms in the late 90s as a beginner and parlayed that into a successful money management career. During which time he has had a long sub-par record. I see nothing to indicate that Mohnish is a superior investor. But I would guess that 99% of the people who watch his talks believes he is a highly superior investor.

 

Absolutely 99% of the people who watch his talks believe he is a great investor. If some of the stock market geniuses on this thread were putting out content educating the masses about how to invest properly, we wouldn't have to settle for Pabrai! Most of the investing content on YouTube is pure gambling so anything that Pabrai puts out will nudge aspiring investors in the right direction. Am I disappointed by his lack of transparency regarding recent returns? Yes.

[Parsad]

I suspect the only reason any of us have heard of Mohnish Pabrai is because he got lucky gambling on dot coms in the late 90s as a beginner and parlayed that into a successful money management career. During which time he has had a long sub-par record. I see nothing to indicate that Mohnish is a superior investor. But I would guess that 99% of the people who watch his talks believes he is a highly superior investor.

 

Absolutely 99% of the people who watch his talks believe he is a great investor. If some of the stock market geniuses on this thread were putting out content educating the masses about how to invest properly, we wouldn't have to settle for Pabrai! Most of the investing content on YouTube is pure gambling so anything that Pabrai puts out will nudge aspiring investors in the right direction. Am I disappointed by his lack of transparency regarding recent returns? Yes.

 

Actually, the reason people are interested in Mohnish, isn't because he's a good money manager, preaches Buffett & Munger or markets himself so well.  I think when you get down to the nuts and bolts around Mohnish, it's no different than Munger and Buffett...he's open to making himself better and constantly reads to understand the world around him better. 

 

Whatever you may say about Mohnish, I think even his detractors will agree that he exposes himself to a ton of interesting reading material, and often gleans very useful, adaptable ideas...not solely about investing, but everything.  He didn't simply donate cash to any interesting non-profit he stumbled across, but decided that he would as the parable states..."teach a man to fish." 

 

In Mohnish's case with Dhandho, he's taught so many men AND women, that many people would have passed over or simply thrown away.  These young minds were given an opportunity to not only find their place in the world through education, but help their families, their villages, their community...their country!  The  reach isn't linear...it's exponential.  That's the coolest and most interesting thing about Mohnish.  I'm Mohnish's friend, and I know I'm a better pure value investor than he is.  But it's everything else he brings to the table that makes him a better human being than me!  I've never bought into Mohnish, the great investor mantra...but I've always bought into Mohnish, the extraordinary mind and humanitarian.  Cheers!

[shamelesscloner]

I suspect the only reason any of us have heard of Mohnish Pabrai is because he got lucky gambling on dot coms in the late 90s as a beginner and parlayed that into a successful money management career. During which time he has had a long sub-par record. I see nothing to indicate that Mohnish is a superior investor. But I would guess that 99% of the people who watch his talks believes he is a highly superior investor.

 

Absolutely 99% of the people who watch his talks believe he is a great investor. If some of the stock market geniuses on this thread were putting out content educating the masses about how to invest properly, we wouldn't have to settle for Pabrai! Most of the investing content on YouTube is pure gambling so anything that Pabrai puts out will nudge aspiring investors in the right direction. Am I disappointed by his lack of transparency regarding recent returns? Yes.

 

Actually, the reason people are interested in Mohnish, isn't because he's a good money manager, preaches Buffett & Munger or markets himself so well.  I think when you get down to the nuts and bolts around Mohnish, it's no different than Munger and Buffett...he's open to making himself better and constantly reads to understand the world around him better. 

 

Whatever you may say about Mohnish, I think even his detractors will agree that he exposes himself to a ton of interesting reading material, and often gleans very useful, adaptable ideas...not solely about investing, but everything.  He didn't simply donate cash to any interesting non-profit he stumbled across, but decided that he would as the parable states..."teach a man to fish." 

 

In Mohnish's case with Dhandho, he's taught so many men AND women, that many people would have passed over or simply thrown away.  These young minds were given an opportunity to not only find their place in the world through education, but help their families, their villages, their community...their country!  The  reach isn't linear...it's exponential.  That's the coolest and most interesting thing about Mohnish.  I'm Mohnish's friend, and I know I'm a better pure value investor than he is.  But it's everything else he brings to the table that makes him a better human being than me!  I've never bought into Mohnish, the great investor mantra...but I've always bought into Mohnish, the extraordinary mind and humanitarian.  Cheers!

 

Wow, thanks for sharing that Parsad! An important reminder that successful investing is a multi-dimensional pursuit.

[jobyts]

 

The irony is you worry about Munger, but Munger is Mohnish's friend.  How bizarre!  Munger is the friend of such a hypocritical, blatantly lying money manager who has underperformed for nearly two decades. 

 

If Munger was dead, he would be rolling around in his grave by your hypothesis...yet the living Munger takes Mohnish's calls and has dinner with him.  Munger must be as big a fool as those that invest with Mohnish!  Cheers!

 

Just trying to understand, Pabrai paid money to get the lunch with Munger/Buffett and became friends, right? It is not that they worked together or did some business deals together and got to know each other. When two people have large amount of money, it must be easier to become friends. I'm not being sarcastic, but seems like that's the way the world works. I feel the same way between the friendship between Buffett and Gates. Yes, they both have similar views on philanthropy/political/social, but if one of them were not so rich, they probably wouldn't have even met.

 

Does the living Munger call Mohnish for dinner, or it happens only the other way?

[Parsad]

 

The irony is you worry about Munger, but Munger is Mohnish's friend.  How bizarre!  Munger is the friend of such a hypocritical, blatantly lying money manager who has underperformed for nearly two decades. 

 

If Munger was dead, he would be rolling around in his grave by your hypothesis...yet the living Munger takes Mohnish's calls and has dinner with him.  Munger must be as big a fool as those that invest with Mohnish!  Cheers!

 

Just trying to understand, Pabrai paid money to get the lunch with Munger/Buffett and became friends, right? It is not that they worked together or did some business deals together and got to know each other. When two people have large amount of money, it must be easier to become friends. I'm not being sarcastic, but seems like that's the way the world works. I feel the same way between the friendship between Buffett and Gates. Yes, they both have similar views on philanthropy/political/social, but if one of them were not so rich, they probably wouldn't have even met.

 

Does the living Munger call Mohnish for dinner, or it happens only the other way?

 

Pabrai wrote to Buffett back in 1998 and asked to work for him.  Buffett turned him down at the time.  Pabrai went on and started his fund the next year.

 

Pabrai bought the lunch with Buffett, but Buffett referred him to Munger.  Munger and Pabrai became friends, and Munger invited Pabrai and his wife over for dinner at Munger's house.  Cheers!

[stahleyp]

 

The irony is you worry about Munger, but Munger is Mohnish's friend.  How bizarre!  Munger is the friend of such a hypocritical, blatantly lying money manager who has underperformed for nearly two decades. 

 

If Munger was dead, he would be rolling around in his grave by your hypothesis...yet the living Munger takes Mohnish's calls and has dinner with him.  Munger must be as big a fool as those that invest with Mohnish!  Cheers!

 

Just trying to understand, Pabrai paid money to get the lunch with Munger/Buffett and became friends, right? It is not that they worked together or did some business deals together and got to know each other. When two people have large amount of money, it must be easier to become friends. I'm not being sarcastic, but seems like that's the way the world works. I feel the same way between the friendship between Buffett and Gates. Yes, they both have similar views on philanthropy/political/social, but if one of them were not so rich, they probably wouldn't have even met.

 

Does the living Munger call Mohnish for dinner, or it happens only the other way?

 

Pabrai wrote to Buffett back in 1998 and asked to work for him.  Buffett turned him down at the time.  Pabrai went on and started his fund the next year.

 

Pabrai bought the lunch with Buffett, but Buffett referred him to Munger.  Munger and Pabrai became friends, and Munger invited Pabrai and his wife over for dinner at Munger's house.  Cheers!

 

Is Pabrai friends with Buffett too?

 

I wonder why Munger didn't invest with Pabrai but did with Lu?

[Parsad]

 

The irony is you worry about Munger, but Munger is Mohnish's friend.  How bizarre!  Munger is the friend of such a hypocritical, blatantly lying money manager who has underperformed for nearly two decades. 

 

If Munger was dead, he would be rolling around in his grave by your hypothesis...yet the living Munger takes Mohnish's calls and has dinner with him.  Munger must be as big a fool as those that invest with Mohnish!  Cheers!

 

Just trying to understand, Pabrai paid money to get the lunch with Munger/Buffett and became friends, right? It is not that they worked together or did some business deals together and got to know each other. When two people have large amount of money, it must be easier to become friends. I'm not being sarcastic, but seems like that's the way the world works. I feel the same way between the friendship between Buffett and Gates. Yes, they both have similar views on philanthropy/political/social, but if one of them were not so rich, they probably wouldn't have even met.

 

Does the living Munger call Mohnish for dinner, or it happens only the other way?

 

Pabrai wrote to Buffett back in 1998 and asked to work for him.  Buffett turned him down at the time.  Pabrai went on and started his fund the next year.

 

Pabrai bought the lunch with Buffett, but Buffett referred him to Munger.  Munger and Pabrai became friends, and Munger invited Pabrai and his wife over for dinner at Munger's house.  Cheers!

 

Is Pabrai friends with Buffett too?

 

I wonder why Munger didn't invest with Pabrai but did with Lu?

 

Yes, Pabrai is friends with Buffett too...but he talks to Munger more.  Munger knows a lot of fund managers...great ones...but he hasn't invested with most of them.  Cheers!

[Read the Footnotes]

To the best of my knowledge, Munger claims to have only invested personal money with one manager, so it is not a very useful indicator of Munger's opinion, if he has one. Most indicators that only sound a positive response once per century are not going to be worthwhile as a handy litmus test.

 

My guess is that if you could buy a Pabrai fund when Pabrai is getting bashed on the internet and sell that fund when he is being lauded on the internet you would probably have one of the best investment track records of all time. This is a comment about the volatility of the funds, but it is also a comment on some other issues. I actually thought about doing this the last time this happened and I think he was up some ridiculous amount like 100% the next year.

 

One thing that I would like to complement Pabrai on that I personally observed was Pabrai's willingness to admit a mistake and to work hard to learn from it after he had a blow up. I am not surprised that he didn't do so publicly, but I was very impressed with what I saw that he was doing privately.

[Spekulatius]

Kicking the fallen ( investment managers) while they are down is our favorite activity here especially when the market is slow.

[AzCactus]

Kicking the fallen ( investment managers) while they are down is our favorite activity here especially when the market is slow.

 

Pabrai isn't being kicked because he's down.  He is being kicked because he markets himself in a way that is somewhat questionable to say the least.  It seems like he's an awesome philanthropist and a great human being.  However, as an investor his returns have been lackluster for a very long time. 

[Gregmal]

As a wise, famous investor, guy they made a movie about once said...."The way I looked at it, their money was better off in my pocket. I knew how to spend it better."

[BG2008]

The truth with Prabai is probably somewhere in between "he's a crappy fund manager, anyone can run a fund" to "Pabrai is a good investor." 

 

I would challenge anyone on this board to launch a fund business and see how quickly you can be overwhelmed with fund raising, admin, etc all while you are running it as an one man shop. 

[stahleyp]

The truth with Prabai is probably somewhere in between "he's a crappy fund manager, anyone can run a fund" to "Pabrai is a good investor." 

 

I would challenge anyone on this board to launch a fund business and see how quickly you can be overwhelmed with fund raising, admin, etc all while you are running it as an one man shop.

 

You're right in that he's probably somewhere in between. With that said, he isn't a one man shop. He actually has a few employees, I believe.