Bill Ackman: If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?

Embedded below is hedge fund activist Bill Ackman's 43 minute presentation that he did a little while back for the Floating University.  Initially students or those interested in the video had to pay to see it, but it was just released into public domain on Youtube in it's entirety   The title is "Everything You Need to Know About Finance and Investing in Under an Hour."  Hmmm...somehow I doubt Ackman covers everything, but he has proven himself to be one of the contemporary greats of the activist/value investment world.  Since you'll learn everything you need to know about finance and investing in under an hour, Ackman speaks in broad strokes, but still an educational way to spend some time gleaning insights from a Pro.

A sockless Bruce Berkowtiz interview at University of Miami

Bruce Berkowitz and Fairholme had a rough year in 2011 -to put it mildly- yet has significantly outperformed so far in 2012.  During 2011, Berkowitz continued to hold concentrated positions in AIG, Sears, and Bank of American which led him to dramatically trail the market.  In 2011, I noticed various talking heads proclaiming the Berkowitz had lost his touch, that he was reckless, and that he was so far under he could not liquidate his positions to meet fund redemptions.  Clearly he had lost his touch. Obviously he started taking stupid pills.  The pundits were right...wait a minute - no they weren't!  Berkowitz remained in his circle of competence, and continued to hold his positions which have produced a 36% return YTD.


Embedded below is a recent interview with Bruce Berkowitz at the University of Miami where he is the "Executive in Residence".  He speaks a bit about his General Growth Properties position, his charitable work at the Fairholme Foundation, and his work with the Secret Millionaires Club which creates cartoon webisodes to promote financial literacy for children.

Howard Marks latest memo: A Fresh Start (Hopefully)

Below is the latest memo from the ever insightful Howard Marks at Oaktree Capital.

A Fresh Start (Hopefully)
by Howard Marks

That link goes to the Oaktree site where the PDF can be downloaded or read.  All of Marks' past memos are posted on that page as well.  Marks is one of the few who imparts pearls of investment wisdom that remain relevant through various market and economic periods.  His memos are all there for free, or you can read the cliff notes version in his excellent book: The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor.

GMO's Jeremy Grantham: "On the Road to Zero Growth" Q3 2012 Letter

The latest from Jeremy Grantham of GMO, with additional commentary from Ben Inker.


"On the Road to Zero Growth" - Grantham pgs. 1-17

"Help, Help, I'm Being Repressed" - Inker pgs. 18-20

GMO3Q12 Letter