Talking Billions with Bogumil Baranowski

Luca Dellanna is a management advisor focused on increasing revenue through better people and operations management. After a master’s degree in automotive engineering, Luca spent the first part of his career working for DuPont’s consulting unit in Frankfurt, Germany. There, he focused on managerial excellence projects in a variety of manufacturing industries all across Europe. In 2015, Luca moved back to his hometown of Turin, Italy, and opened a private consulting practice serving clients worldwide. He has also published books about management, human behavior, and economics that earned him appearances on the most important conferences and podcasts in his field, Nudgestock and EconTalk, respectively. Luca lives with his wife Wenlin and dog Didi and divides his time between Turin and Singapore. Luca writes regularly on Twitter (@DellAnnaLuca). His personal website is www.luca-dellanna.com Last time we discussed Luca’s excellent book - Ergodicity, I highly recommend the episode; you can look it up and hear his thoughts on game-overs, do-overs, and the idea that not the fastest skier wins the race, but the fastest completes all the races without breaking a leg. Today, we’ll talk about three other books that Luca wrote. First, we discuss his 100 Truths You Will Learn to Late. Luca explains how: “Most frustration and unhappiness in your life will come from disrespecting the rules of whatever game you are a participant of, be it love, business, health or social life.” Then we discuss how: “Few successful people took a direct path to success. Successful people know what they want but not what it will look like”. Luca has interesting thoughts about willpower; he says, “Willpower is best used to create a short burst of activity whose purpose is not to achieve a result but to create the conditions for sustainable results.” Luca tells me that “Happiness is not a place we can reach and rest in. Instead, happiness is a direction we can walk along.” Finally in his book about life’s truth he writes: “discipline is freedom,” life is about cultivating independence.” In The Control Heuristic, Luca writes about why we sometimes take actions that are clearly bad for us. He also writes about optical illusions, how we see narratives where there are none, and how we estimate the truth. We further talk about the ego and past experiences and take a different look at pain. Luca also wrote a book about Managing Remote Teams; we had a lively discussion about the future of work, emphasizing relearning how to work, clarity of communication, and the need for trust between the employer and employees. I always learn so much from Luca, and I hope you do too. NEVER INVESTMENT ADVICE.

Victor Haghani, ex-LTCM partner, discusses missing billionaires and wealth management. Topics include active vs passive investing, book 'The Missing Billionaires', multigenerational fortune challenges, asset allocation, position sizing, and maintaining wealth. Insightful exploration of financial decisions and managing wealth for long-term stability.

Brendan Hughes, with over a decade of industry experience, discusses his book 'Markets in Chaos: A History of Market Crises Around the World' in this podcast. Topics include the market chaos during the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of hyperinflation on economies, consequences of borrowing in foreign currency, the shift in global trade dynamics, challenges and risks in the market, and insights from a legendary investor.

Brian Feroldi is a financial educator, YouTuber, and author. He has been intensely interested in money, personal finance, and investing ever since he graduated from college. If you walk away with one big idea from this conversation, let it be this quote from Brian’s book: “The stock market is the greatest wealth creation machine of all time.” Brian started investing in 2004. In the beginning, he had no idea what he was doing and got his teeth kicked in. His returns improved dramatically as his experience and knowledge about the stock market grew. Brian’s career mission statement is “to demystify the stock market.” He loves to help other people do better with their investments. He has written over 3,000 articles on stocks, investing, and personal finance for the Motley Fool. In 2022, Brian’s best-selling book Why Does The Stock Market Go Up? was published. It was written to explain how the stock market works in plain English. Brian lives in New England with his wife and three kids. We talked about: 1. Childhood and Career Path: 2. Stock Market as a Wealth Creation Machine: 3. Money – A Taboo Topic: 4. Value and Price in the Stock Market: 5. Determining the Right Purchase Price: 6. Pumpkin Spice Latte and Salted Caramel Frappuccino and Daily Price Moves 7. Why the Stock Market Always Recovery 8. Investing During Economic Downturns 9. The Importance of Saving: 10. Investing Isn’t Just for the Affluent: 11. Stay tuned until the end when Brian reveals the biggest edge over Wall Street that investors have. https://www.brianferoldi.com/about/ https://www.brianferoldi.com/newsletter/ NEVER INVESTMENT ADVICE.

I spent last summer reading three of Daniel Crosby’s books: The Behavioral Investor, The Laws of Wealth, You Are Not That Great – today, we spend an hour discussing some of the biggest lessons from his writing, work, and research – we learn what we can do to get out of our own way, and make better investment decisions. Dr. Daniel Crosby is a psychologist and behavioral finance expert who helps organizations understand the intersection of mind and markets. Dr. Crosby's first book, Personal Benchmark: Integrating Behavioral Finance and Investment Management, was a New York Times bestseller. His second book, The Laws of Wealth, was named the best investment book of 2017 by the Axiom Business Book Awards and has been translated into 12 languages. His latest work, The Behavioral Investor, was Axiom's best investment book of 2019 and is a comprehensive look at the neurology, physiology and psychology of sound financial decision-making. When he's not decoding market psychology, Daniel is a father of 3, a fanatical follower of the St. Louis Cardinals, an explorer of the American South, and an amateur hot sauce chef. We talk about: 1. Brain's Perception of Money: Brain's wiring in relation to valuing money, liquid happiness. 2. Impact of Early Investing Lessons: How early market experiences shape future investing decisions. 3. Crowd Behavior in Investing: Wisdom of the crowd vs. individual insights, and thinking for yourself. 4. Unique Investor Behavior: The human tendency to fit in vs. the need to stand out in investing & a rat experiment 5. Importance of Slowing down reflexive responses for better financial outcomes. 6. Tropical Disease vs. Wealth Habits: Shocking comparison and the lessons derived. 7. Fallibility in Investment Behavior: Human fallibility as both an advantage and an impediment in wealth accumulation. 8. Role of Investment Advisors: Value of the right advisor in preventing major mistakes & The long-term benefits of seeking expert advice. 9. Performance Measurement: Comparing performance to personal needs vs. market indices. Find Daniel Crosby on Amazon. ---- NEVER INVESTMENT ADVICE.

Hraday Jhala, a 15-year old Singapore-based investing enthusiast, author, and podcast host sits down with me, Bogumil Baranowski for a two hour conversation. Hello everyone, and thank you for tuning in. This episode is a bit different. As you might have noticed, now, and then I share here interviews that I give on other podcasts with full credit to the hosts, and with their permission. This is an interview I gave in late August 2023. The host is Hraday Jhala, a 15 year old investing enthusiast based in Singapore. I had a rare opportunity to read an early copy of his book the Worldly Wisdom. Please keep an eye out for it, when it comes out. I find it very inspiring to see someone at such a young enjoy not only studying investing, but writing a really good book about everything has learned so far. I recently wrote an essay called, a letter to a younger self, where I share what I would tell my younger self – you can look it up on my substack. Talking to Hraday felt a lot like talking to a younger myself. It’s a longer interview, save it, listen over time or in one sitting, it’s a really special conversation, as you are about to see. I share some stories you might have heard elsewhere in the podcast, but many are new, and different, especially around discovering the stock market as a teenager, I share my experience being a podcast host as well. I also talk about some of the lessons I learned from a number of guests on my podcast, including Lucas Miller, and Daniel Crosby – on the topic of how brain work, how our behavior can get us in trouble investing. I discuss my self-imposed selective ignorance in the way I collect information, and filter a lot out. I share with Hraday the importance of the right work environment for an investor. We talk about early investing mistakes, and dangers of bankruptcies. I share my crisis investing, pandemic era experience, which I write about in my recent book – Crisis Investing. We have a lively conversation about envy. I bring up Guy Spier, William Green, and other guests from my podcast. I mention the importance of spending your attention, and time well. I explain how I think our childhood, and upbringing might have a big bearing on how we think of money, and investing, I share some examples from my podcast, Talking Billions. We talk about the variety of market participants, and a variety of stocks available to buy. We also chat about Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett, and Omaha. I explain the difference between getting rich, and staying rich. That’s where you can learn more about Hraday: https://hradayjhala.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@worldlywisdomofvalueinvestment ---- NEVER INVESTMENT ADVICE.

I’ve been an avid reader of Sean’s articles for many years. Sean and his team have a very thoughtful way of presenting sometimes not so intuitive or easy investment concepts. Sean together with Todd Wenning have been regularly sharing their experience and knowledge through writing. I highly recommend checking the episode notes for links, and looking up their work and articles. Sean Stannard-Stockton is president and chief investment officer of Ensemble Capital, which he co-founded in 2004. Ensemble manages $1.5 billion on behalf of approximately 240 high net worth families and institutions. Their core equity strategy is a focused portfolio of 20 to 25 competitively advantaged companies. • We talked about Sean's childhood and upbringing, exploring how it influenced him and paved his career path. • We discussed Sean's article on Value, Growth, Intrinsic Investing. • Sean shared insights into the intriguing concept of the equity anxiety premium, explaining how "premium returns come from the successful management of anxiety." • We touched upon the idea of equity duration. Sean elaborated on how stocks can be viewed as bonds, and lessons from the Nifty Fifty stocks of the 1970s. • Sean shared his experiences with COVID-era pandemic investing, reflecting on the unique challenges and insights from his perspective during this time. • Sean shared his thoughts on an interesting theme he's touched upon in his writings: the consistent underpricing of wonderful companies in the market. • We discussed portfolio construction in detail, exploring topics like the number of stocks, sizes, turnover, holding period. • We also talk about remote work, and Sean’s firm’s experience working remotely. • To conclude, we talked about Sean's personal and professional definitions of success, getting a deeper understanding of what drives and motivates him. • Stay tuned until the end, when we discuss benchmarks and outperformance. Company site: https://ensemblecapital.com/ Blog: https://intrinsicinvesting.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/IntrinsicInv ---- NEVER INVESTMENT ADVICE.

50th EPISODE! Every conversation with William Green is an adventure, so was today’s hour and half where we talk about everything from investing to kindness, spirituality, the pursuit of freedom, and more – His book Richer, Wiser, Happier: How the World’s Greatest Investors Win in Markets and Life is a must read for anyone serious about investing, and everyone curious to learn from some of the greatest minds not only about getting richer, but living better lives. William is also a host of The Richer, Wiser, Happier collection of podcast episodes featured on We Study Billionaires, the flagship podcast of The Investor’s Podcast Network. Over the last 25 years, William has interviewed many legendary investors—everyone from Sir John Templeton to Charlie Munger, Jack Bogle to Bill Miller. That experience led him to write a landmark book, Richer, Wiser, Happier: How the World’s Greatest Investors Win in Markets and Life. In the Richer, Wiser, Happier podcast, William draws on this unparalleled access to the world’s most successful investors, so you can listen to—and learn from—the very best. Over the last quarter of a century, he has interviewed many of the world’s best investors, exploring in depth the question of what qualities and insights enable them to achieve enduring success. Green has written for many leading publications in the US and Europe. Green has collaborated on several books as a ghostwriter, co-author, or editor. Born and raised in London, Green was educated at Eton College, studied English literature at Oxford University, and received a Master’s degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. He lives in New York with his wife, Lauren, and their children, Henry and Madeleine. Today we talk about: Authenticity and Quality. The Praise of Slowness. Contradictory Truths. Contrasting investment strategies of Guy Spier and Mohnish Pabrai. Emotions. When to persist, when to quit. Kindness. Right habits in times of crisis. Return on Life. Spirituality: Pursuit of Freedom Luck and Gratitude ---- NEVER INVESTMENT ADVICE.

As investors, we keep looking for new advantages. A better use of our brain, a great gift that we already have, might be a very intriguing path worth pursuing. My guest today has incredibly insightful advice for all of us. Lucas Miller is a cognitive neuroscientist, author, and human performance researcher, as well as the youngest faculty at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. At Berkeley, Lucas teaches MBA students and is best known for his course called "Becoming Superhuman: The Science of Productivity and Performance". He also co-runs the Becoming Superhuman Lab, which conducts research on how to help busy leaders and their teams get their most important done, in less time, with less stress. We talk about: the mismatch between modern work habits and our brain's natural inclinations, why early rising isn't suitable for everyone, insights on long-term brain health, emphasizing the importance of sleep, regular sun exposure, and the power of meditation. https://www.becomingsuperhuman.science/ Show notes / references below (with specific timestamps). 6’34’’ -- Lucas’s book on Amazon - Beyond Brilliance: The Blueprint for Learning Anything: https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Brilliance-Blueprint-Learning-Anything/dp/1540421236 8’15’’ -- Becoming Superhuman MBA course at UC Berkeley: https://newsroom.haas.berkeley.edu/classified-becoming-superhuman-course-teaches-the-science-of-productivity-performance-and-wellness/ Lucas’ training and consulting company Becoming Superhuman: https://www.becomingsuperhuman.science/ 17’59’’ -- The impact of the ‘open’ workspace on human collaboration (Bernstein, 2018): https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2017.0239  20’18’’ -- Stanford researchers identify four causes for ‘Zoom fatigue’ and their simple fixes: https://news.stanford.edu/2021/02/23/four-causes-zoom-fatigue-solutions/  25’01’’ -- Brain Brain: The Mere Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity (Ward, 2017): https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/691462  44’00’’ -- Discover Your Chronotype: www.mychronotype.com Use code “TALKINGBILLIONS” (to bypass the paywall and access the assessment for free) 1:18’39’’ -- Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness (Lazar, 2005): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1361002/  Enhanced brain connectivity in long-term meditation practitioners (Luders, 2015): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1053811911006008  Stress reduction correlates with structural changes in the amygdala (Hölzel, 2010): https://academic.oup.com/scan/article/5/1/11/1728269?login=false  ---- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Crisis Investing: 100 Essays⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - My new book. NEVER INVESTMENT ADVICE.

If you are curious to learn more about analyzing business, and picking stocks, this episode is a fascinating look behind the curtain with a seasoned hedge fund analyst, who now teaches a variety of courses on the matter. Steve is the founder of Behind the Balance Sheet (https://behindthebalancesheet.com/), the premier investment training consultancy. The company runs Forensic Accounting Courses for leading institutions like Schroders and Baillie Gifford – since the first course in June 2018, over 500 investment professionals have taken the programme. More recently, courses have been made available to private investors online (https://courses.behindthebalancesheet.com/). Steve also produces bespoke research for a small group of institutional clients. Steve is regularly in the press, in the UK’s Investors Chronicle, in the Times and the Financial Times, on Times Radio and on leading investment podcasts, including Bloomberg Odd Lots and the Grant Williams Podcast, talking about accounting issues at quoted companies. Steve spent some 20 years as an equity analyst at different investment banks, covering various sectors, and was consistently rated in the top 10 in his sector in Extel, II and Reuters surveys. He moved to the buy-side in 2005 and was a partner and head of research at two multi-billion dollar hedge funds; he specialised in using a deep dive research approach to identify special situation opportunities. Steve trained as an accountant and lives in London; he enjoys reading, yoga, and skiing and is interested in investment theory, wine and classic cars. His book, the Smart Money Method https://behindthebalancesheet.com/the-smart-money-method) was a #1 Investing bestseller on Amazon in the UK, US and Australia. Stephen publishes a free weekly newsletter at https://behindthebalancesheet.substack.com/ and has a monthly podcast (https://behindthebalancesheet.com/podcasts) on all major platforms. • We dive into Steve's book, "The Smart Money Method, How to Pick Stocks like a hedge fund pro," the inspiration behind it, and its intended readership. • Steve elaborates on his belief that investors often waste time on fleeting information, emphasizing the importance of discernment in what we consume. • Steve delves into the significance of understanding the industry a stock operates in and what he specifically hunts for. • We discussed often-overlooked elements in company financials that Steve believes deserve more attention. • Moving beyond mere numbers, Steve shared his approach to evaluating company management, stressing its crucial role in investment success. ---- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Crisis Investing: 100 Essays⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - My new book. NEVER INVESTMENT ADVICE.