A “Buffet Style” Approach to ER

On the buy side what mutual funds and on the sell side ER divisions are the most focused on “Buffet Style” in their research (e.g. reading annual reports rather than quantitative [esp. Modern Portfolio Theory based] modeling)? Additionally, do you know of any mutual funds or buy side ER divisions that combined this with global macro investing?

 
Best Response

What kind of buffet are you interested in? Chinese can be good, but can also end in the squirts. Really, I'm happy as long as they have shrimp.

MPT is largely full of shit. A few notches above EMH on the legitimacy ladder, but still quite lacking.

Buyside and equity research are somewhat of an oxymoron. Funds obviously have research analysts, but typically ER is spoken of from a sell-side (publishing) perspective.

There are plenty (1000's) of plain vanilla mutuals that do the type of research you describe, but "global macro" almost by definition will have a heavy quant element due to the derivative strategies employed by such funds.

As for Mr. Buffett, you could be a billionaire too if GS called you up with the deal he got. Or if you got to go on TV at your leisure. Certainly he's had brilliant moments, but these days he just talks his own book. And who can blame him?

 
Cartwright:
you could be a billionaire too if GS called you up with the deal he got
That's not the way it goes. First you build a track record (and perhaps make some $bns) and then people knock on your door with the deals of the decade. He didn't get these deals in his partnership and early Berkshire years and that's when he built his wealth.

The way he handles the whole GS thing is an entirely different story, I agree. Interesting to see that Munger seems to disagree with him on this one.

 

As I said, he's had brilliant moments and is obviously a pioneer, but these days (that includes long before the GS deal) he shows up, says some hokey saying like, "when the snake falls in love with the spaghetti, it's time to buy a new hat", talks his own book, lets self-fulfilling prophecy work it's magic.

It's a brilliant model really.

 

Buffett has a huge information edge.

In projecting future performance of companies (e.g. earnings), industries (e.g. growth), or even economies (e.g. unemployment), he has actual raw data before most people from a variety of companies.

IMO, Buffett is more like a Private Equity investor. In that sense, he's closer to activist hedge funds.

 

His true secret: incredibly cheap cost of capital by investing the cash (float) from his massive insurance/reinsurance operations. He doesn't need the capital markets.

********************************* “The American father is never seen in London. He passes his life entirely in Wall Street and communicates with his family once a month by means of a telegram in cipher.” - Oscar Wilde
 
********************************* “The American father is never seen in London. He passes his life entirely in Wall Street and communicates with his family once a month by means of a telegram in cipher.” - Oscar Wilde
 

Qui delectus eum laboriosam est at atque dignissimos. Rerum voluptate a nam quisquam placeat molestiae. Sint harum ea non. Eveniet dolorem voluptatum porro et velit nisi qui. Voluptas et quos labore. Eius nihil ea voluptas illum et natus. Doloribus aperiam earum consequuntur provident.

Corrupti quo officiis ex quia. Eaque necessitatibus quia et sint id quisquam rerum. Maiores dolorem aliquid ipsum voluptate voluptates iure ut. Qui necessitatibus consequuntur itaque fuga nihil et. Modi enim vitae voluptatibus repudiandae eum vero a et. Distinctio enim repudiandae accusamus ex voluptatem quam.

Ab temporibus consequatur eos cum molestiae sit. Quidem quo voluptatem quidem inventore dicta. Maxime praesentium quo non vero ipsum ut facere.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”