Unless you’re doing business with him, there are three ways to meet Warren Buffett. You can buy a Berkshire Hathaway share and attend his annual shareholder meeting, along with 40,000 other people. You can bid on the lunch he auctions off once a year for charity. Last year’s went for US$3.3 million. Or you can … Continue reading Meeting Warren Buffett
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Rory Sutherland
The best thinkers are those able to cross disciplines, deploying theories from one area into others. One man who does this exceptionally well is Rory Sutherland. As Vice Chairman of Ogilvy in the UK he is an ad-man. But he is also a student of behavioural economics, evolutionary psychology and complexity economics, which he prospects … Continue reading Rory Sutherland
My Favourite Theorem (Spoiler: It’s Bayes)
Thirty years ago, I was invited to interview for a place at Oxford University. I travelled down from my hometown of Liverpool and at the allotted time entered a fusty room at a storied college. Inside, sitting around a horseshoe table, were seven men. As the interview progressed it became clear that, like the seven … Continue reading My Favourite Theorem (Spoiler: It’s Bayes)
Bank Valuation
I gave a presentation to London Business School students on how to value bank equity. It looks at how Bridgewater analysed banks during the financial crisis, how Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan looks at his own stock, and how to think about Deutsche Bank now. Plenty more, besides. Here it is:
Luck and Skill in Financial Markets and Beyond
In the heat of the financial crisis Philip Falcone, billionaire hedge fund manager, testified in front of Congress. He said: “I take great pride in my upbringing, and it is important for the committee and the public to know that not everyone who runs a hedge fund was born on Fifth Avenue. That is the … Continue reading Luck and Skill in Financial Markets and Beyond
Angel Investing: Perspectives of a Stock Market Operator
I have been involved in the stock market on a professional basis for over 20 years, but in recent years my attention has additionally been drawn to private investing. In total I have made around 12 private investments — across various industries, but with a focus on financial technology. My transition from public to private investor is … Continue reading Angel Investing: Perspectives of a Stock Market Operator
Fantasy Football and Investing
The official English Premier League fantasy football game, FPL, is currently played by over 7.2 million people, globally. Among the millions of mini-leagues that players organise themselves into, there is one that stands apart. Like many others it’s a work league of sorts, but unlike those others its members weren’t necessarily football fans before they … Continue reading Fantasy Football and Investing
Future of Work: Philosopher, Nurse or Brewer?
My son is at that age when he needs to decide what he is going to do next. For the past fourteen years he has ratcheted through the school system without having to make a big decision. Now he has to decide whether to go to university and what to study, with an eye on … Continue reading Future of Work: Philosopher, Nurse or Brewer?
Lehman Brothers Ten Years On: Reminiscences of a Hedge Fund Manager
September 2018 marked the 10th anniversary of the collapse of Lehman and the beginning of the crisis that it heralded. At the time I was managing an investment fund focussed on the global financials sector, and together with my colleagues, we were in the thick of it. Back in 2006 we had identified that something … Continue reading Lehman Brothers Ten Years On: Reminiscences of a Hedge Fund Manager
Why I Went Back to School
In 2017 I spent a year back in full-time education at the London Business School. It was a fabulous experience. Yet over the course of the year many people asked why I was doing it. They wondered why, after 20+ years in the workplace, go back to school, to learn about — the workplace. Two clear reasons … Continue reading Why I Went Back to School