Outro

Want to go deeper on real companies with simple, long-term investing guidance? Subscribe to the Value Spotlight Newsletter, where Dave and Andrew share stock ideas, valuations, and lessons from real businesses straight to your inbox.

In this episode, Dave and Andrew welcome Tobias Carlisle—Principal and CIO at Acquirers Funds and co-host of the Value After Hours podcast—to discuss his book The Soldier of Fortune: Warren Buffett, Sun Tzu, and the Ancient Art of Risk Taking.

The conversation centers on one big theme: avoiding ruin. Tobias explains why “survive first” is the foundation of long-term compounding, how Buffett’s discipline shows up in what he doesn’t do, and why frameworks, selectivity, and understanding conditions matter as much as valuation math.

Key Topics Covered:

• Who Sun Tzu was (and why the text stands on its own)

• Defensive investing first: debt, fragile business models, and position sizing

• Wu-wei / effortless success and investing with tailwinds vs. headwinds

• Moral law, reputation, and why honesty matters in management

• Via negativa / inversion: avoiding dumb mistakes vs. trying to be brilliant

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro

01:16 – Who Sun Tzu was

05:18 – Why The Art of War clicked in 2020

06:11 – Ergodicity: why avoiding ruin matters more than “winning”

12:41 – Seasons, cycles, and tailwinds

15:11 – Buffett’s discipline in COVID

21:21 – Munger’s influence

29:48 – Derivatives as “weapons of mass destruction”

32:15 – What Buffett doesn’t do

35:02 – Avoiding bad actors

38:15 – “Don’t go where you’ll die”

40:10 – Codifying management analysis

41:48 – Why small/value matters

46:12 – ZIG and DEEP

47:05 – Sign-off

Resources Mentioned:

The Value Spotlight Newsletter: https://einvestingforbeginners.com/value-spotlight-newsletter/

Acquirers Podcast (Spotify): https://open.spotify.com/show/4XKvjmFiZLxWZ58vBfT4v9?si=81f548cf76d94325

The Soldier of Fortune (book): https://a.co/d/ib7E08v

Acquirers Funds: https://acquirersfund.com/

Have questions or want your story featured? Email the show at newsletter@einvestingforbeginners.com or comment below. Your feedback shapes the podcast!

Remember, invest with a margin of safety—emphasis on the safety. Have a great week, and we’ll talk to you next time.

Timestamps are generated by artificial intelligence, and are not 100% accurate depending on the platform used for listening.

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