The Intellectual Investor

My dear friend Guy Spier did an almost hour-long interview with CNBC’s Becky Quick. It is an interview I wish had never happened, or, if it did, for a different reason. Guy has been diagnosed with glioblastoma (GBM), one of the deadliest cancers. In January, Guy returned money to his investors, closed his fund, and wrote a must-read letter.

I first heard of Guy at Charlie Munger’s Daily Journal meeting, when a friend pointed to his silhouette and whispered his name with a deference that made me take note. Our friendship actually began a few years later in Trani, Italy, where my brother Alex met Guy first, both of them skipping the Value Investing Seminar to wander the streets. One of the first things Guy said to me was that he envied the relationship I had with Alex. Who starts a conversation like that? Guy does. He operates on a different wavelength.

In this piece I write about what I learned watching Guy in action: his inaugural VALUEx conference in Zurich, our CFA European Tour through Frankfurt and London, Bizet’s Pearl Fishers at the Zurich Opera House with his wife Lori, and the small moments that made me want to be more like him. I also share what Guy’s letter did to my son Jonah, who interned at Aquamarine and stayed in Guy’s home, and what Guy’s diagnosis has clarified for me about kindness, borrowed time, and the obituaries we are all already living.

The full piece, along with links to Guy’s letter and the Becky Quick interview, is at investor.fm.

_________________________________________________________ 🔗 LINKS MENTIONED: Guy’s interview with Becky Quick https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbQhb04P97o&t=1s

Guy’s letter to his investors https://aqfd.docsend.com/view/nip42bjerdisg63z

The pianist Maria João Pires performing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=300t2DS3VdQ

Photoshttps://investor.fm/guy-and-i/#photos

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_________________________________________________________ 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/

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