Insights

In Hidden Investment Treasures, Daniel Gladiš presents a timely argument that the widespread shift toward passive strategies has inadvertently created a "golden age" for active investors by leaving specific opportunities largely unexamined. We loved the book’s detailed case studies—dedicating full chapters to companies like Asbury Automotive, Alimentation Couche-Tard, Markel Group, and NVR. While these companies are compelling due to their unique business models and corporate cultures, it is the fact that they are ignored by passive flows and hold negligible weight in major indices that allows them to trade at attractive valuations. The book's foreword eloquently captures the reality of this discipline, describing the process as "years of quiet growth, occasional setbacks and the profound reward of seeing one's foresight vindicated overtime." For institutional investors, this passionate defense of stock picking offers both a validation of the active approach and a practical framework for finding value where the crowd isn't looking.

John Malone’s memoir, Born to Be Wired, offers a riveting insider’s account of the cable industry’s formative chaos, including TCI’s near-bankruptcies and his high-functioning autistic-driven analytical prowess, while weaving in colorful tales of deal making with titans like Rupert Murdoch, Ted Turner, the Roberts family, and Barry Diller. As one of the eight exceptional CEOs profiled in one of our favorite investing tomes, The Outsiders, Malone exemplifies the capital allocation genius we seek, with his risk philosophy—“knowing with certainty that the risk won’t kill you is what liberates you to take it”—mirroring our own disciplined risk controls that empower us to step into “risky” situations. His pioneering emphasis on EBITDA as a valuation metric, creative tax-avoidance maneuvers via tracking stocks, and eclectic stakes in assets from Charter to Formula One and even thoroughbred horses (a chapter revealing the gritty parallels to value stock-picking) underscore a consistent logic for compounding value, though he underplays emerging threats like fiber and fixed wireless that now pressure cable multiples. For value investors, this book is an essential and enjoyable read, sharpening the art of spotting undervalued opportunities through relentless curiosity and asymmetric risk-taking.

Dan Wang’s Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future, alongside Patrick McGee’s Apple in China and Marc Dunkelman’s Why Nothing Works, underscores the critical importance of preserving process knowledge—intangible know-how and institutional memory—for sustained excellence, a principle vital for value investing firms and once a hallmark of American manufacturing. Wang argues that the U.S. has lost this craft-driven edge amid China’s state-fueled engineering surge, while McGee details Apple’s transfer of manufacturing expertise to China, and Dunkelman dissects how progressive reforms prioritizing inclusivity have paralyzed American progress. Breakneck and Apple in China highlight China’s manufacturing ascent through disciplined execution and scale, while Why Nothing Works reveals the bureaucratic and democratic hurdles stalling U.S. revival. For investors, these books provide a deeper understanding of U.S. and China dynamics, helping to better anticipate geopolitical developments and their market implications.

One of our all-time favorite books about investing. Many non-investors view the world of investments as either extremely boring or overly complicated. For investors like us, we can’t think of anything else we’d rather do, and the author does a wonderful job of simplifying the process of investing. This is not to say that it’s easy, as the majority of investors have proven unable to beat their benchmarks. He takes an entertaining trip through the asset classes and what to look for in a manager, as well as a few tips for managers themselves. My favorite “tip” is his “eccentric rule” to look at performance only once each month – if performance is good, it can lead to complacency, and if it’s bad, it can result in ”neurosis.”

Benjamín Labatut’s The Maniac is a thrilling fictionalized biography that weaves entertainment with insights resonating widely. It traces John von Neumann’s brilliant life through the eyes of family and peers like Einstein, Gödel, Wigner, and Barricelli—some of history’s greatest minds—chronicling his work on the atomic bomb, game theory, and AI’s foundations before his 1957 death. His AI vision inspired milestones like DeepMind’s 2016 defeat of Lee Sedol in Go, a 3,000-year-old game more complex than chess, with the stunning Move 37. Today, GPU advancements enable vast parallel calculations, fueling AI’s growth, while hyperscalers invest hundreds of billions to push its boundaries. For value investors, AI’s ability to rapidly analyze industries and companies maximizes focus, a potential all should embrace. Labatut’s vivid storytelling makes The Maniac unmissable.

We thoroughly enjoyed this quick and easy read about the author’s career in distressed investing. The author is French, female and consistently funny. For example, she writes, "I am French, which is to say, relative to the average hedge fund comrade, a raging Socialist.” She clearly enjoys the craft of investing and walks through interesting examples, particularly her experience during the financial crisis. We found her story inspirational and well worth reading.

Alex Morris’s Buffett & Munger Unscripted distills three decades of wisdom from Berkshire Hathaway’s shareholder meetings into a clear, well-organized guide for value investors. Drawing from over 1,700shareholder questions, the book offers timeless insights on competitive advantages, management quality, and disciplined investing, presented in an engaging and accessible format. It captures Buffett and Munger’s rational, long-term approach, a philosophy that drove Berkshire’s remarkable success, as Buffett announced his retirement as CEO at the 2025meeting, transitioning to Chairman while Greg Abel takes the helm. This book provides robust support for fully embracing the value investing approach, offering practical wisdom to stay disciplined in volatile markets.

"The Little Book of Big Bubbles" by Edmund Simms offers value investors a concise framework for spotting financial bubbles, a vital skill in navigating market excesses. Through ten historical case studies, from Roman land speculation to Dutch tulip mania and the 2000s US tech bubble, Simms clearly illustrates the patterns of irrational exuberance that drive unsustainable price surges. His engaging analysis of these "collective insanity" episodes provides valuable insights into market psychology and speculative behavior. For value investors, this book is a worthwhile read, enhancing their ability to recognize overvaluation and stay disciplined in volatile markets.