Lessons from Market Crises

Find me on Substack: https://bogumilbaranowski.substack.com/

Oliver Mueller is Chief Investment Officer at Acresco Investment Management in Mauritius, a seasoned value investor with 25+ years at JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch, and Deutsche Bank who uniquely combines traditional value investing principles with sustainable investing practices.

3:00 - Oliver's German Mittelstand upbringing shaped his relationship with money; parents bought house, rising interest rates created financial strain, taught him value of careful planning

6:00 - First jobs at 15: wastewater treatment plant to buy Hi-Fi system, construction work for interrail trip through Europe - learned physical value of earning money

9:00 - Deutsche Bank apprenticeship sparked passion for investing; mandatory social service with elderly taught him "wealth is not just about money, but dignity, time, empathy"

12:00 - Move to Mauritius in 2014 driven by work-life balance: "When I left house she was sleeping, when I came home she was sleeping" - needed presence as father

18:00 - Key influences: Hungarian investor Kostolani's encouragement, Aswath Damodaran's valuation course, Paul Polman's stakeholder capitalism vision

25:00 - Sustainable value investing philosophy: Start with quality financials, add responsibility filter, then seek margin of safety - "responsibility as source of returns, not constraint"

35:00 - Crisis lessons from dot-com, 2008, COVID: "When narrative drifts from fundamentals, gravity always wins" - reinforced belief in simplicity over financial engineering

50:00 - Tai Chi principles mirror investing: true power comes from stillness and patience, explosive "Fajin" moments when opportunity appears

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