Bruce Berkowitz Interview

[ERICOPOLY]

You guys should relax.  You were expecting IKEA furniture? 

[Parsad]

I actually think Berkowitz has some great ideas and will likely be redeemed with his ballsy picks in the coming years.

 

Maybe the investor book backdrop was just a coincidence but I doubt it -- the interview was aimed at reassuring investors to stay the course.  I can't help thinking the books were supposed to persuade us he was someone to trust because he's such a brainy well read investor.

 

No, you're probably right there.  He might have a huge poster of Aerosmith on his other wall, so that probably wouldn't be the right choice.  ;D  Cheers!

[beerbaron]

Lol, what kind of weight can you put on a bookshelf when judging someone... my guess is it should be totally irrelevant. There is the operating metrics, then the intangibles and finally the silly things. A bookshelf does not even fit the third.

 

BeerBaron

[Myth465]

You guys should relax.  You were expecting IKEA furniture?

 

LOL that would have turned us on, and most other investors off. I think he made the right decision.

[rranjan]

I'm very important. I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany.

 

Seriously, that creeped me out too. It makes me distrust Berkowitz a little more. The same type of distrust I'd have for a CEO that insists on furnishing his office with expensive furniture and decor.

 

I couldn't help laughing that the interview took place in front of a bookshelf containing leather bound/Warren Buffett books.  He just came across as a bit pompous is all.  Am I the only one who thought it was a bit much, especially given Berkowitz's attitude?   

 

im puzzled by people saying things will turn out well for Berko.

 

He lost over 32% last year. To get back to breakeven, his fund has to move up 47%. If you really believe his fund will perform that well, you should be buying it hand over fist.

 

He has some very good books, which happened to be leather bound, in his library. He did interview using that as a backdrop and that makes him pompous? I don't get the logic here. I don't think it was bit too much at all. As others pointed out, we can't expect to see Ikea furniture and poster of rock stars. He might have chosen the backdrop intentionally but that's fine with me.

 

I think mutual fund structure is wrong choice for his investment style but he chose that structure knowing the pros and cons. Anyway, criticism should be focused on his ideas not about his furniture. You might try to use furniture, decor etc to draw some limited conclusion for someone unknown. He has long track record and also shared his thought process time to time. That should be enough to reach any conclusion about him without looking at his furniture and decor.

 

Him being down 47%... Well if you can not tolerate fluctuations then stock market is not for you. He does not buy the market so he is not going to move in lockstep with market. When people say that he will do fine over long term, it's due to his long track record and the way he does things. Check his track record exactly at the end of 2011 even after one of the worst period for him and see where he stands among mutual funds.

 

I have not owned his fund ever but going by some of the reactions on this board in last 6 months, I think mutual fund structure is wrong for him. Lumpy and bit higher returns does not suite everyone. At times he gets too concentrated for comfort for an average fund investor. He should invest with permanently locked in money.

 

 

[moore_capital54]

I couldn't help laughing that the interview took place in front of a bookshelf containing leather bound/Warren Buffett books.  He just came across as a bit pompous is all.  Am I the only one who thought it was a bit much, especially given Berkowitz's attitude?   

 

Hes not pompous hes just super confident because hes made $200mm personally doing exactly what he knows how to do. Some people think Munger is pompous too, in Damn Right there is a great part about Munger at a society party in Bel Air, California.

 

Sometimes successful people who have actually made tons of money have little interest in time wasting exercises. Time is money and not everyone is interested in educating the world or proselytising.

 

There is no rule that states that in order to be a successful value investor or investor, you have to be a super nice guy like Prem/Buffett.

 

Has anyone ever heard of Jeffrey Gundlach? Hes a total a-hole but hes one of the best bond investors alive. Has anyone ever heard of Charles Brandes? He cheats on his wife and gets divorced every other year, hes a total arrogant a hole but hes one of the best out there too.

 

The list goes on and on and on....

 

[Kraven]

I couldn't help laughing that the interview took place in front of a bookshelf containing leather bound/Warren Buffett books.  He just came across as a bit pompous is all.  Am I the only one who thought it was a bit much, especially given Berkowitz's attitude?   

 

It's probably just you.  I mean it's crazy, right?  Berkowitz has books, don't tell anyone.  It's a generational thing that many of them are leather bound.  Lots of guys in their 40s/50s and older have them.  Back when people could actually write "you" instead of "u", a nice bookshelf was something everyone wanted.  Deal books were leather bound and companies/banks used to actually pay for that for everyone.  Berkowitz comes out of that culture.  Sure, he's trying to make a certain impression, but I see nothing wrong with it.