Investing -- Rambling -- November 29, 2023

Locator: 46203INV.

I'm now spending much more time watching CNBC each day -- this will last for awhile before I become bored again and move on to something else.

Some idle chatter:

The best hour of the day on CNBC, the "Halftime Report."

It becomes tedious: all day long, "we're" told that the run-up in the market is due to seven stocks. Most of the time -- all of the time? -- it is said as if that's "bad news." Why would that be bad news? All day long one is hearing where one might want to invest. One can lead a horse to water, but ...

My take on Charlie Munger's success that applies to all of us when it comes to investing (not trading):

• never quit reading
• develop a plan    
• stick to it
• tweak the plan at least annually
• don't take unnecessary risks
• why invest in a questionable equity when there are so many great options out there
• have a very, very close friend or investing colleague with whom one can discuss investing ideas
• have an investing revenue stream
• live to be at least 85 years of age
• have a succession plan
  

I used to think Jamie Dimon was brilliant, but the more I listen to him, the more he sounds like a banker

Understand the difference between investing and trading.

Josh Brown: it's amazing. If you want, you could hire him to be your financial advisor but most of us probably couldn't/can’t afford his fees. But one can listen to him on CNBC day in, day out for "free." 

Go back and look at Peter Lynch when he was active and Warren Buffett's early years. They both had one thing in common.

There's way too much talk about recession, inflation, cost of living: one can't do anything about any of that. Give me that data at the start of each day, like a weather report, and then move on to things about which I can control. Like where to invest, and why.

Along that same line: all that talk about another rise in the Fed rate. Absolutely won't matter. And one can't do anything about that anyway. I doubt Charlie Munger thought about Fed rates when investing for the long term.

Dinner is ready. More later.

Back to Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett. When did they become rock stars? I don't know but it's pretty amazing to be a rock star for twenty-five years. If Charlie and Warren became famous twenty-five years ago, they were .... 75 years old.

The Beatles: began as a group in 1960. Their last studio album? 1969 or 1970. Barely ten years.

Peter Lynch: a rock star for thirteen years. 

Louis Rukeyser? His show ran for 32 years, but peaked around 15 years on air. 

Way, way overrated: the concept of “dry powder.” Tech companies need huge cash hoards; BRK does not. Mom-and-pop retail investors don’t need huge cash hoards. Exception (perhaps): if MMFs pay interest rates greater than what we’ve seen recently.

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Flathhead Lake, Montana

From my sister from her McMansion on Flathead Lake, today: