The Intellectual Investor – Value Investing by Vitaliy Katsenelson

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/intellectualinvestor/304_-_Your_Sophist_Filter3A_On_CEOs2C_Cynics2C_and_the_Voice_in_Your_Head.mp3 Around 155 BC, Athens sent the philosopher Carneades to Rome to plead for a fine to be lifted. He delivered a brilliant speech and swayed the audience. The next day he returned to the same square and delivered an equally impassioned speech making the opposite point, and swayed them all over again. Cato the Elder was in the crowd this time, and Athens paid the price. This essay is an excerpt from my book Soul in the Game. It’s about building what I call a Sophist filter: the discipline of stripping the emotional coloring off other people’s words, and off your own. In ancient Greece, Sophists taught oratory as a weapon of persuasion through emotion and reason. Stoics were wary of them. They believed the words you use to persuade others end up shaping how you think, since you don’t have one brain for the world and another for yourself. Marcus Aurelius would describe Basil Honey Glazed Wild Alaskan Salmon as “the dead body of a fish, with herbs and honey.” Epictetus would swap “our ship is lost far at sea” for “we are at sea, and we don’t know where we are.” I walk through why this matters in my day job. I talk to CEOs and listen to dozens of conference calls a month, and after some of them I want to mortgage my house and hand over the money. I discuss what the filter looks like for executives, for cynics who sound smarter than optimists, for arguments smuggled in through jokes, and for people who advertise their own virtues. The full essay is at investor.fm. _________________________________________________________ 🔗 LINKS MENTIONED: Review on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/review/create-review/?ie=UTF8&asin=0857199072 _________________________________________________________ 📩 Join 100,000+ readers on Vitaliy’s FREE weekly newsletter: https://investor.fm/sign-up/ 📚 Vitaliy’s books: Soul in the Game – https://amzn.to/43CF73v The Little Book of Sideways Markets – https://amzn.to/3QWTlqZ Active Value Investing – https://amzn.to/3u8zn3A 🌐 Follow Vitaliy: X/Twitter – https://x.com/vitaliykLinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/katsenelson/ Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/vitaliyk/ Website – https://investor.fm/ _________________________________________________________ WHO AM I: Vitaliy Katsenelson is the CEO of Investment Management Associates (IMA) and an award-winning writer. Forbes Magazine called him “The New Benjamin Graham.” His work has appeared in the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Fortune, Institutional Investor, and Foreign Policy. He is the author of three books, including Soul in the Game: The Art of a Meaningful Life. _________________________________________________________ Please read the following important disclosure: https://investor.fm/disclosure/ View IMA’s regulatory filings — including ADV Part 2A & 2B, Form CRS, firm brochure, conflicts of interest disclosures, sample quarterly letters, and privacy policy — at imausa.com. The post Your Sophist Filter: On CEOs, Cynics, and the Voice in Your Head – Ep 304 appeared first on The Intellectual Investor - Value Investing by Vitaliy Katsenelson.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/intellectualinvestor/303_-_My_New_Daughter.mp3 On August 30, 2026 we gained a daughter. My son Jonah married Molly after eight years and one week of dating, and the Wedding Politburo gave me exactly three minutes for a speech. (I kept it to 40.) This episode is the speech I gave at Jonah and Molly’s wedding, along with the story of the rabbi who married them and my 12-year-old Mia Sarah’s contribution to the evening. In the speech, I tell Jonah about the chess tournament he won at ten years old and then handed to his friend Kevin. I tell the story of how he talked his way into the St. Julien in Boulder for the price of a Motel 6, and how his Toyota ended up parked next to the Ferraris. I trace how he went from a 1.3 GPA in 11th grade to graduating with honors from CU Boulder, and why Molly deserves most of the credit. To Molly, I explain why she is every writer’s worst nightmare. I talk about her parents Josh and Eddie, her decision to leave a comfortable job for a master’s in mental health counseling, and the one word I kept repeating throughout the night. I also share what makes Rabbi Ray Zwerin, 89 years old and the founder of Temple Sinai and the Denver Jewish Day School, the kind of person whose one-hour meetings turn into three-hour ones. Plus Mia Sarah’s speech, and the bouquet story that has me ready to lock her up. The full essay is at investor.fm. _________________________________________________________ 🔗 LINKS MENTIONED: Operation Molly article https://investor.fm/operation-molly/ Rabbi Zwerin essay’s https://zwerin.substack.com/ The Letter to Rabbi Zwerin https://investor.fm/a-letter-to-rabbi-zwerin/ _________________________________________________________ 📩 Join 100,000+ readers on Vitaliy’s FREE weekly newsletter: https://investor.fm/sign-up/ 📚 Vitaliy’s books: Soul in the Game – https://amzn.to/43CF73v The Little Book of Sideways Markets – https://amzn.to/3QWTlqZ Active Value Investing – https://amzn.to/3u8zn3A 🌐 Follow Vitaliy: X/Twitter – https://x.com/vitaliykLinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/katsenelson/ Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/vitaliyk/ Website – https://investor.fm/ _________________________________________________________ WHO AM I: Vitaliy Katsenelson is the CEO of Investment Management Associates (IMA) and an award-winning writer. Forbes Magazine called him “The New Benjamin Graham.” His work has appeared in the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Fortune, Institutional Investor, and Foreign Policy. He is the author of three books, including Soul in the Game: The Art of a Meaningful Life. _________________________________________________________ Please read the following important disclosure: https://investor.fm/disclosure/ View IMA’s regulatory filings — including ADV Part 2A & 2B, Form CRS, firm brochure, conflicts of interest disclosures, sample quarterly letters, and privacy policy — at imausa.com. The post My New Daughter – Ep 303 appeared first on The Intellectual Investor - Value Investing by Vitaliy Katsenelson.

A provocative case for gold emerges from America’s mounting deficits, soaring debt costs, political instability, and threats to Federal Reserve independence. The discussion explores how sanctions weaponized the dollar, military inefficiencies, China’s manufacturing strength, rare earth vulnerabilities, and privileged access to political posts could erode trust in markets. Gold is presented as a portfolio position, not a cure-all.

Rising Treasury yields trigger an unsettling look at government intervention, fiscal stress, inflation, and confidence in the US dollar. A watchmaking comeback inspires a framework for sudden shifts in market narratives. The discussion also explores stocks in inflationary periods, unusual S&P 500 correlations, and the widening divide between AI-driven companies and the broader economy.

A wealthy client’s death prompts a reckoning with the cost of relentless work and the family time it can quietly consume. A son’s moving letter, the fleeting years of childhood, and the startling mathematics of time with parents bring the stakes into focus. The conversation also explores ambition as an addictive game and the lasting responsibility that comes with building a family, business, and life.

A father rediscovers chess after his daughter’s obsession sparks weekly meetup nights. Colorful regulars populate a Red Robin table: a mild-mannered aerospace engineer, a board-collecting electrician, a gadget-loving organizer, and a dapper vintage dresser. Competitive, social games and lively post-match analysis fuel a new chapter of family ritual and personal focus.

A look at the current AI buildout as a mashup of 1999-style capacity mania and 2008-style credit risk. Discussion of massive data center spending, GPU and memory profit booms, and fast-growing but loss-making AI firms. Examination of opaque financing tools, vendor-backed debt, and possible taxpayer exposure. Portfolio moves mentioned: smaller positions, software, international diversification, and higher cash.

A homeowner’s remodel becomes a metaphor for hiring financial help. Learn why narrow focus and obsession with craft matter more than being a jack-of-all-trades. Hear simple tests to spot incentives, conflicts, and competence. Practical tips include reading SEC disclosures and using AI to uncover fine print.

A dinner conversation about how to actually start writing and why showing up beats inspiration. The struggle of staring at blank pages and why quantity leads to better craft. The messy truth that refining drafts makes ideas shine. A look at finding your voice by imagining real readers and deciding if you want to write or just to have written.

A reflection on how bull markets inflate confidence and hide real risk. Tales of rereading losing investments to stay humble. A warning about the buy-and-forget mindset and why sell discipline and valuation targets matter. Thoughts on resisting herd instincts and making rational decisions against evolutionary biases.