When you're trying to learn about an unfamiliar industry as part of your investing process, expert networks can be an incredibly helpful tool for getting started. These networks offer the opportunity to connect with people who have deep knowledge and experience in the industry, providing valuable insights into market trends and key players. However, you're not guaranteed to get completely reliable or unbiased information, so it's important to stay prudent and do your own research to make well-informed investment decisions. The knowledge and advice coming from the person you speak to can ..read more

Do you ever find yourself in the process of research and realize that you’re only looking for information that supports your hunches? That’s confirmation bias, and it’s a trap that value investors must learn to dodge as they investigate the next business to buy into. With billions of dollars on the line at times, there’s no limit to what some people will do to see their companies achieve success, regardless of the ethics involved. Therefore, one of the best tools we can have in our toolbox is knowing how to spot red flags and steer clear of the deception and fraud that can fool even ..read more

To be a well-informed investor, it's crucial to read widely across various topics. This broad knowledge base enhances your ability to make strategic investment decisions by understanding industry dynamics, economic trends, and global events. Investing involves betting on the future of the country where you place your money, making a comprehensive worldview essential for success. While some may dismiss those without formal education in a specific field, unconventional thinking can offer unique and valuable insights in the investment world. On this week’s episode, Phil and Danielle take a look ..read more

Despite all the mystique around investing, it essentially boils down to understanding the business you’re investing in and viewing it as owning a part of a real company, not just buying a stock. This tends to hold true no matter the company, the industry, or the state of the market as a whole. Few investors have understood this as well as Warren Buffett and his team at Berkshire Hathaway. With Munger having recently passed and Buffett offering insights into his twilight years as the world’s premier value investing superstar, what does the future hold for BH with the potential for a huge ..read more

Summer is here, and the season of barbecues, block parties, and swimming pools may actually have more to offer for your investing practice than just a nice break from sitting in front of the computer. In this week’s truncated “tidbit episode,” Danielle reminds us that every conversation can be an opportunity to dig a bit deeper into an unfamiliar subject, and that a good value investor keeps their eyes, ears, and mind open to the wealth of knowledge and perspective that comes from the people in their life. To get a handle on your own investing practice for all 4 seasons, don’t miss out on yo ..read more

The world’s best investing minds have made fortunes that most people can barely dream of in their lifetimes, but having a successful portfolio doesn’t require the highest IQ, an office full of analysts, or access to top secret information. Understanding your own strengths and being able to identify the fields that are of interest to you are crucial components of a fruitful investing practice, and maintaining a limited scope in your research and analysis can help you maintain focus and avoid wasting energy on superfluous data. This week, Phil and Danielle take a look (and listen) to the lates ..read more

InvestED Episode #467: More Ulta Issues As investors the world over grapple with the rapidly changing financial landscape, where ETFs, meme stocks, and cryptocurrencies are all carving out their own space in a well-established ecosystem, how do value investors gauge the future of a business? While some might see these changes as a massive disruption to the market at large, there are others who, from a Buffett perspective, see the same cycle of boom/bust/reset playing out as it’s done so many times in the past. This week, Phil and Danielle continue from their jumping off point of the cosmeti ..read more

The digital age, with all of its monopolies and consolidation across various markets, has also seen a rise in innovation and small companies seeing success by having unprecedented access to consumers through new channels of commerce and communication. With market stability and consumer confidence taking hits in recent years, small luxuries like makeup continue to do well despite the struggles of luxury brands in general.  With the success of some niche brands in this highly competitive and specialized sector of cosmetics, what does the weather look like for some of the more established p ..read more

How important is investing to the economy at large? While companies don’t see a direct increase on their bottom line from the secondary market, it can be very important in helping to determine the value of a business and the drive interest in the primary market. For value investors, having a strong understanding of a business’s weather, i.e. their moat, competitive advantage, and other factors that determine their long-term success, is paramount to generating returns on a multi-year timeline. From the Rule #1 perspective, that’s the key difference between investing and simply gambli ..read more

How important is investing to the economy at large?  While companies don’t see a direct increase on their bottom line from the secondary market, it can be very important in helping to determine the value of a business and the drive interest in the primary market. For value investors, having a strong understanding of a business’s weather, i.e. their moat, competitive advantage, and other factors that determine their long-term success, is paramount to generating returns on a multi-year timeline.  From the Rule #1 perspective, that’s the key difference between investing and simply gamb ..read more