This book provides a comprehensive look at Peter Cundill's life, including his investment philosophy and personal experiences. It draws heavily from Cundill's journals, offering insights into his disciplined approach to value investing and his eclectic interests beyond finance.
Routines and Orgies is a comprehensive biography of Peter Cundill, one of the most influential value investors of his time. The book draws from Cundill's meticulously kept daily journals, offering insights into his investment strategies, personal life, and philosophical views. It provides a unique perspective on Cundill's approach to value investing and his experiences as a global investor.
This autobiography by Roy Thomson, written at the age of 81, reflects on his life after sixty. It highlights his journey from buying Scotland's leading newspaper, The Scotsman, to establishing Scottish Television and acquiring other prominent publications like The Times. The book offers insights into his business strategies and personal reflections on success and life.
In 'Beyond the Mexique Bay', Aldous Huxley recounts his travels through the Caribbean to Guatemala and southern Mexico, offering insightful observations on culture, history, and the landscapes he encountered. The book is notable for its critique of totalitarianism and fascism, reflecting Huxley's broader concerns with societal trends of his time.
Written in a bright and funny style, 'Supermoney' provides a view inside institutions, professionals, and the nature of markets. The book introduces Warren Buffett as an outstanding money manager and discusses various aspects of finance, including the use of advanced mathematical models to manage risk, the concept of 'Supermoney' as capitalized income, and the impact of market mechanisms on American business. It also reflects on capitalism in the 1970s, touching on topics such as environmental limits of growth and the effects of capitalism on labor and management.
First published in 1934, Security Analysis is a seminal work in the field of finance that lays the intellectual foundation for value investing. The book, written by Benjamin Graham and David L. Dodd, distinguishes between investing and speculating, emphasizes the importance of thorough financial analysis, and introduces key concepts such as the 'margin of safety.' The sixth edition includes commentary from leading Wall Street money managers and a foreword by Warren E. Buffett, who has praised the book for its enduring relevance in modern markets.
What I learned from reading Routines and Orgies: The Life of Peter Cundill, Financial Genius, Philosopher, and Philanthropist by Christopher Risso-Gill.
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Excellence as a goal in itself had been drummed into him from early boyhood.
I’m convinced that to achieve real greatness a person needs above all to have passion but at the same time immense discipline, concentration, patience and an unshakeable determination to become a master of his craft.
There is a choice of courses in life: either to seek equilibrium or to enjoy the heights and suffer the depths.
You need to get into some situations which make your gut tight and your balls tingle.
Do the unappealing things first.
Once you have done your homework properly and are absolutely convinced that an investment is right you should not hesitate or wait for others to share the adventure. The price at which you start buying will almost invariably be imperfect but that should never discourage you.
Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act but a habit. (Aristotle)
The more that I think about the way the Greeks, especially the Spartans, regarded the subject of exercise and the necessity of maintaining peak levels of physical fitness, the more I am convinced that the health of the mind and the spirit are either bolstered or hampered by the condition of the body.
Concentrate with absolute clarity on one thing at a time.
The mantra is patience, patience, and more patience. Think long term and remember that the big rewards accrue with compound annual rates of return.
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