Breaking Points
Many successful investors are known to have capitalised on the opportunities provided by the inevitable dislocations in financial markets. However, here is a perspective from Ted Lamade on how a segment of allocators are now constrained from benefiting from such events, thanks to a structural and significant shift in their allocations towards private markets over […]
The strange case of the cricket match that helped fund Imran Khan’s political rise.
From the time Abdul Rahman Bukhatir took Indian and Pakistani cricketers to play one-day matches in Sharjah in the 1980s, sub-continental politicians, cricket and money of the wrong colour have been umbilically linked. This long read in the FT narrates the colourful story of what Imran Khan and Pakistani tycoon Arif Naqvi got upto a […]
Book review of ‘The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War’ by Malcolm Gladwell.
There are three very good reasons why theoretical arguments and ideological dilemmas are worth discussing in-depth and at length: (a) these arguments impact the lives of millions of people in the real world; (b) your and my wealth & wellbeing can hinge on which side of the argument we take; and (c) events in the […]
Maximise the ‘Signal’, Minimise the ‘Noise’
An investor looking to compound her wealth through equity investments faces two key risks: (a) the risk from short term fluctuations in stock prices (i.e. noise); and (b) the risk of long-term capital erosion/weak returns due to investments in sub-standard companies. To mitigate these risks, the investor can utilize two tools. Tool#1 is to increase […]
Meet Keyence, consultant to the world’s factories
Every now and then we come across global companies which are dominant in their niche but few of us would have heard of as they quietly ply their trade efficiently in the background. We have featured the Dutch semiconductor lithography monopoly ASML here in the past. This piece in The Economist features Keyence, a Japanese […]
Why Are People Across China Refusing to Pay Their Mortgages?
In events which are reminiscent of what happened in America in 2007-08, millions of Chinese homebuyers are refusing to make the monthly instalment payments on their mortgages. The piece in Bloomberg is studded with useful graphics on the scale of the problem: “A wave of disgruntled homebuyers are refusing to pay mortgages for unfinished or stalled […]
The biggest risk in business (and investing)
We are grateful to those of you who reciprocate with interesting reads that you come across. Whilst we receive a few periodically, it was astonishing to see many of you recommending the same read within 24hrs of the blog being published. Such has become the following for Anand Sridharan’s blogs, which are a tutorial of […]
Howard Marks’ Memo: I Beg to Differ
It is that time of the quarter when we refresh ourselves of some of the ‘most important things’ in investing – when the legendary Howard Marks’ memo lands in your inbox. As timeless as they are, Marks’ way of delivering these insights make them that much more effective. In this memo, Marks touches upon some […]
Why Storytelling Is Part of Being a Good Doctor
We try to write a book a year but truth to be told, we find that to be a struggle given our workloads and our young families. Hence, we found this piece in the New Yorker – which highlights that many prominent writers (including Anton Chekov) were active medical professionals – to be inspirational. The […]
Positive feedback: the science of criticism that actually works
Most of us have grown up in our jobs being told that giving constructive feedback and receiving feedback without flaring up is the way forward in life. This long piece in the FT questions this entire corporate construct based around ‘feedback’. Broadly speaking, this piece raises three sets of issues around which the edifice of […]
The Evolutions Underpinning the Revolution
Structural changes in the economy (formalisation, access to low-cost technology, market share consolidation due to slowdowns & disruptions), significant reinvestments into the business (product, distribution, capacities, technology & expansion in addressable markets) and single-minded promoter focus/institutionalisation have enabled the Little Champs to sustain earnings growth through tough macro cycles over the last ten years. Further, […]
America’s External Sustainability Is at Risk
The US Dollar has been on a tear off late rising against most global currencies, most famously regaining parity with the Euro last week. With the US experiencing inflation higher than most countries in the rich world, many have been surprised by this stupendous dollar rally. One explanation has been that the Federal Reserve has […]
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