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Special Report

Life 2.0: The Unfinished Books

April 30, 2016

After failing the 5th class exam for the third time, the two best friends Ram and Shyam got really depressed. Having to repeat the year in the same class for the fourth time wasn’t very comforting even though they would have each other’s company.

Shyam proposed, “I can’t take this humiliation anymore. Let’s end this suffering. I am thinking of suicide.”

Ram responded, “Are you crazy? If we die now, we’ll have to start all over again from kindergarten in the next life!”

Perhaps you didn’t find the joke so funny but it had me rolling on the floor laughing. When I came to my senses I realized I had been doing the same thing in my life as far as reading books was concerned.

Whenever I lost interest in a book midway, an emotion of guilt arose, especially if the book was recommended by an important person or someone whom I respect. Having read 10-20 percent of a book, it would become really difficult to leave it in between and move on the next one even though I wasn’t enjoying the book. Why?
[Read more…] about Life 2.0: The Unfinished Books

Super Investor: Bill Ruane

April 30, 2016

In 1969, Warren Buffett decided to close down his 100-member investment partnership and offered to return the money to the investors. However, for those who wanted to stay invested in stock market, Buffett advised them to take their cash to Sequoia Fund run by Bill Ruane.

Warren Buffett recognizes Ruane as one of the Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville. He wrote, “When I wound up the Buffett Partnership, I asked Bill Ruane if he would set up a fund to handle all of our partners, so he set up the Sequoia Fund…Bill was the only person I recommended to my partners.”

Bill Ruane and Buffett knew each other from the time they studied under Benjamin Graham at Columbia University. Ruane was also Buffett’s stock broker in the 1960s.

Ruane is one of his generation’s most successful money managers. Sequoia fund has recorded one of the best long-term track records on Wall Street since its inception. In the 45-year period from its inception in 1970 to 2015, the fund earned an annualized return of 14.7% versus the S&P 500’s annualized return of 10.9%. It’s one of the very few funds which has managed to outperform the S&P 500 for four decades.

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  • InvestorInsights: Interviews with experienced value investors, learners, and deep thinkers
  • StockTalk: Thorough analysis of business models of companies (without any recommendations)
  • Behaviouronomics: Deep analysis of human behaviour and how it impacts investment decision making
  • BookWorm: Reviews of the best books on Value Investing and related subjects
  • Free Course – Financial Statement Analysis for Smart People (otherwise priced at Rs 5,900)
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Life 2.0: The Most Powerful Currency

March 30, 2016

Do you know the most powerful currency in the world? Well, it is not what you think – it’s not US Dollars (USD).

But if you had enough USD in your bank, you could buy anything you want. That’s what the purpose of currency is, right? Yeah, that way it is USD but I am talking metaphorically here.

“Meta …what?”, You would probably say with a confused look.

Currency gives you an option to exchange it for whatever you want. So the most stable, sought after, and accepted way of exchanging wealth should be the most powerful currency. Isn’t it?

But the world is changing fast. Today we’re turning to a new economy where the most powerful currencies isn’t money. Not anymore.
[Read more…] about Life 2.0: The Most Powerful Currency

Life 2.0: Experimenting with Water

February 28, 2016

Scientists say that water constitutes 70% of human body. Of course a quantum physicist would argue that 99.99% of our bodies is nothing but empty space. But I guess whatever is left out from that empty space, 70% of that is water.

From a great skin to fat loss, the benefits of drinking adequate water are universally known. I am not going to harp on the benefits of drinking sufficient water every day. There is enough information on the Internet and hundreds of books have already been written, read and forgotten on this subject.

In this post I am going to share my finding based on a 3-months long personal experiment to increase my daily water intake.

According to one scientific study you should drink 0.033 of a litre of water per day for every kilogram of bodyweight. So if you weigh 65 kg, that is 65 * 0.033 = 2.145 litre of water per day. But that’s bare minimum.

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Benefits to VIA Members
 
  • Spotlight: Big ideas from Value Investing and why applying them in your investment decision making will be a great deal
  • InvestorInsights: Interviews with experienced value investors, learners, and deep thinkers
  • StockTalk: Thorough analysis of business models of companies (without any recommendations)
  • Behaviouronomics: Deep analysis of human behaviour and how it impacts investment decision making
  • BookWorm: Reviews of the best books on Value Investing and related subjects
  • Free Course – Financial Statement Analysis for Smart People (otherwise priced at Rs 5,900)
  • Archives: Instant access to our huge archive from the past three years
Become a VIA Member. Click to Subscribe

BookWorm: How to Get Lucky

February 28, 2016

A wise man once said “I am a great believer in luck. The harder I work, luckier I get.”

I am sure you’ve heard of this saying a number of times in the past. It’s usually quoted by those who belong to the meritocratic school of thought which says, “If you’re good, you don’t need luck.”

If you’re successful it’s a natural human tendency to assume the credit for your success. After all you must have worked hard for it and you surely deserve it. But when I think of my life, I have seen and met many individuals who always worked harder and yet they sadly remain unsuccessful.

Goes with saying that I have also met those who achieved great heights with significantly less effort. These are the people who manage to attract much more than their fair share of luck. Usually we look down on such people with disdain. It’s assumed that any success founded on element of luck is inherently undeserving.

Do you know someone who always manages to find himself in the right place at the right time? Before you label him as lucky, ask yourself – do you think his luck is out of pure randomness? May be he has a knack for reaching to the right place at the right time.

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Want to Read More? This content is exclusive for members of Value Investing Almanack. Login to read if you are a member. Else, click here to subscribe.

Benefits to VIA Members
 
  • Spotlight: Big ideas from Value Investing and why applying them in your investment decision making will be a great deal
  • InvestorInsights: Interviews with experienced value investors, learners, and deep thinkers
  • StockTalk: Thorough analysis of business models of companies (without any recommendations)
  • Behaviouronomics: Deep analysis of human behaviour and how it impacts investment decision making
  • BookWorm: Reviews of the best books on Value Investing and related subjects
  • Free Course – Financial Statement Analysis for Smart People (otherwise priced at Rs 5,900)
  • Archives: Instant access to our huge archive from the past three years
Become a VIA Member. Click to Subscribe
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