The Demise of Silicon Valley Bank
Over the past two weeks, bank stocks have taken a beating across the globe triggered by the bankruptcy of a couple of US banks, most notably Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Plenty has been written and plenty more will be written over the coming weeks. But this piece from Marc Rubinstein, a former hedge fund manager, […]
Producer of original ‘All Quiet’ saved hundreds of Jews from the Nazis
In case you have not watched the latest version of ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’, we would strongly recommend that you read Erich Maria Remarque’s book by the same name which was first published in 1929. Remarque, a German veteran of World War I, describes in the book the German soldiers’ extreme physical and […]
Atiq Ahmed was shipped out of UP. But this is how he ran his empire from Gujarat jail
People like us who live in modern India’s bustling megapolis’ sometimes tend to forget that the old, corrupt, feudal India continues to thrive in the midst of all the tech fuelled Unicorns and UPI and the much hyped ‘India stack’. This evocatively written piece from The Print describes how infamous gangsters from the Hindi speaking […]
What they don’t tell you about high P/E stocks
P/E multiples are deceptively damaging for anyone seeking long term gains from equity investments. If we take the 21 stocks which have had consistently “high P/Es” over the past 13 years, their median compounded returns have been 17% p.a. (vs the Nifty’s total return of 11% p.a.). Furthermore, if we were to look at a […]
MeritorQ: A Deeper In-Depth Look At MeritorQ’s Forensic Model
MeritorQ uses forensic ratios to evaluate the accounting quality of Indian companies. As we highlighted in our February newsletter – Forensic Accounting Using Quant Methods Boosts Returns – our accounting checks can identify accounting frauds well in advance of the actual drawdown event. Using the specific examples of two companies in this newsletter, we discuss how accounting […]
The politics of deglobalisation favours the robots
As the West reindustrialises by re-shoring production that it had outsourced to China, demand for robots – all of which seem to be made in Japan – is booming says this piece in the FT: “…the pressure on companies to build multiple supply chains and reduce dependency on China creates new constraints on the ability to […]
WPL – a league long overdue, and already making dreams come true
One of the biggest shortcomings of Economics post World War II has been to overstate the role of the state in the creation of an economy and underplay the role of free market agents. Those of us who earn our living in the giant free market economy that is modern India, have seen first hand […]
Viceroys to Rekha to Yash Chopra—Ushnak Mal silk saris a hot favourite for over 100 yrs
As we continue loading up on Hermes in our Global Compounders Portfolio and on Titan in our Indian Consistent Compounders Portfolio, we have developed a newfound appreciation of the skill and persistence required to build lasting lucrative luxury brand. This piece in The Print describes the evolution of a legendary sari brand that would be […]
How does the brain age across the lifespan? New studies offer clues.
Whilst neuroscience has progressed meaningfully over time, there is still an awful lot that we don’t understand about our brain, especially its development or even degeneration with age. This article in the Washington Post refers to some new studies which help improve that understanding. Whilst the article talks about the changes in the brain across […]
Short-Seller Nate Koppikar Has Taken on Blackstone, Facebook, and the Tiger Cubs. He’s Had an Amazing Year.
Short sellers don’t often get the respect they deserve. Indeed, the activist types even tend to be branded villains by most who prefer to see stocks only going up. Yet, short sellers are important for price discovery and especially in catching fraudulent companies. But it is a hard profession. Whilst it does take a lot […]
Why did Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata build the Taj Mahal Hotel in Bombay?
In the unlikely event that anyone living in India was unfamiliar with the Taj Mahal Hotel in front of the Gateway of India, the tragic events of 26/11 and the bravery shown by the staff of this storied hotel has made this establishment an integral part of modern India’s fabric. In his bestselling book ‘Tata […]
CCP valuation multiples correct 30% whilst fundamentals continue to compound at over 20% per annum
CCP portfolio companies’ valuations have become 30-35% cheaper over the last 12 months. Given that Free Cashflows of these companies have compounded at 5-7% higher run-rate compared to their earnings consistently over the last 5-10 years, their current valuations (on a Price to Free Cashflow basis) are significantly cheaper than where they were 3 or […]
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