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The Education of a Value Investor: My Transformative Quest for Wealth, Wisdom, and Enlightenment Hardcover – September 9, 2014
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Guy Spier has run the Aquamarine Fund for the last 17 years. An ardent disciple of Warren Buffett, Guy launched the fund with $15 million in assets, closely replicating the structure and approach of Buffett's original partnerships. Guy received his education at Oxford University, where he was a tutorial partner of the current British Prime Minister David Cameron and came top of his class in economics. After a stint in management consulting, he attended Harvard Business School, then worked as an investment banker before starting his own fund. He is a regular commentator in the media, having appeared on CNN, CNBC, Bloomberg Television, and Fox Business News.
More About the Author
Guy Spier is a Zurich based investor. In June 2007 he made headlines by bidding US$650,100 with Mohnish Pabrai for a charity lunch with Warren Buffett.
Since 1997 he has managed Aquamarine Fund, an investment partnership inspired by, and styled after the original 1950′s Buffett partnerships.
Prior to starting Aquamarine Fund, Spier worked as an investment banker in New York, and as a management consultant in London and Paris.
Mr. Spier completed his MBA at the Harvard Business School, class of 1993, and holds a First Class degree in PPE (Politics, Philosophy and Economics) from Oxford University. Upon graduating, he was co-awarded the George Webb Medley prize for the best performance in that year in Economics. While at Oxford he was a contemporary of David Cameron at Brasenose and attended economics tutorials with him.
Spier is the CEO of the Spier family office. He also serves on the advisory board of Horasis, and is a co-host of TEDxZurich.
Spier is a member of YPO, EO, Zurich Minds and the Latticework Club.
Aquamarine has offices in New York, London and Zurich where Mr. Spier currently resides with his wife Lory and their three children, Eva, Isaac and Sarah.
Since 1997 he has managed Aquamarine Fund, an investment partnership inspired by, and styled after the original 1950′s Buffett partnerships.
Prior to starting Aquamarine Fund, Spier worked as an investment banker in New York, and as a management consultant in London and Paris.
Mr. Spier completed his MBA at the Harvard Business School, class of 1993, and holds a First Class degree in PPE (Politics, Philosophy and Economics) from Oxford University. Upon graduating, he was co-awarded the George Webb Medley prize for the best performance in that year in Economics. While at Oxford he was a contemporary of David Cameron at Brasenose and attended economics tutorials with him.
Spier is the CEO of the Spier family office. He also serves on the advisory board of Horasis, and is a co-host of TEDxZurich.
Spier is a member of YPO, EO, Zurich Minds and the Latticework Club.
Aquamarine has offices in New York, London and Zurich where Mr. Spier currently resides with his wife Lory and their three children, Eva, Isaac and Sarah.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 34 people found the following review helpful
By
Andy Wallace
VINE VOICE on August 21, 2014
Format: Hardcover
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I am a retired financial advisor, and a long time value investor. When I ordered this book, I expected the author to share some ideas that would enhance my understanding of value investing. I guess I should have read the product description of the book posted on Amazon. That would have clued me in to the fact that this book is more of a memoir of the life and personal growth of a fallen Master of the Universe.
It was a quick read, and I enjoyed read of some of the life lessons Spier learned on his transformative quest for wealth. I have shared this book with 2 of my sons, just starting out in their careers. Spier offers some good advice that I wish I had learned early in my career. I believe my sons can learn a lot from this book, if only they'd put down their damn smart phones and pick up a book!
It was a quick read, and I enjoyed read of some of the life lessons Spier learned on his transformative quest for wealth. I have shared this book with 2 of my sons, just starting out in their careers. Spier offers some good advice that I wish I had learned early in my career. I believe my sons can learn a lot from this book, if only they'd put down their damn smart phones and pick up a book!
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15 of 19 people found the following review helpful
By
investingbythebooks
on September 10, 2014
Format: Hardcover
1 Comment
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“Hang out with people better than you, and you cannot help but improve”. This book by one of the most prolific second-generation Buffetteers is about building the appropriate investment foundation, about setting up the right environment, about the triumphs of an inner scorecard over an outer one (or as Buffett would have put it: “Would you prefer to be considered the best lover in the world and know privately that you are the worst – or the other way around?”). First and foremost however, it is about the importance of finding the right role models. Guy Spier has – in collaboration with William Green who has evidently done a masterful job with the prose – written one of the most personal books in the financial arena ever. It can be found in the same corner of the room as Tony Robbin’s Awaken The Giant Within, Edwin Lefèfre’s Reminiscences of a Stock Operator and Poor Charlie’s Almanack, openly sharing lessons learned and human misjudgements, with curiosity and authenticity.
Rarely has a book about investing been more highly touted pre-publication, at least within financial circles. A 2008-lunch with Buffett, stellar investment results over 17 years and a well-read piece in Wall Street Journal by Jason Zweig will do that. A plea to those of you ready to move on to more contrarian pastures: please stay around. Mr. Spier’s journey – chaptered in chronological order – is one of rebooting himself from his own version of Dante’s Inferno and not only paying lip service to good advice, but also physically enacting them. End result: a truer value investor in every sense of the words. The author writes about “a meaning that goes beyond money, professional advancement, or social cachet”.Read more ›
Rarely has a book about investing been more highly touted pre-publication, at least within financial circles. A 2008-lunch with Buffett, stellar investment results over 17 years and a well-read piece in Wall Street Journal by Jason Zweig will do that. A plea to those of you ready to move on to more contrarian pastures: please stay around. Mr. Spier’s journey – chaptered in chronological order – is one of rebooting himself from his own version of Dante’s Inferno and not only paying lip service to good advice, but also physically enacting them. End result: a truer value investor in every sense of the words. The author writes about “a meaning that goes beyond money, professional advancement, or social cachet”.Read more ›
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By
M. Jensen
on September 20, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
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I found this to be a rather odd book. The author apparently had no moral or ethical role models in his youth because a lot of this book is about how amazed he was to learn about Warren Buffett and Mohnish Pabrai and discover that one can succeed in business by behaving in an upright moral and ethical manner. If you actually believe being deceitful and underhanded is a legitimate long term approach to success in business then this book may be of some value to you by showing you an alternate path. I'd guess though that the majority of people in the value investing game already get this. As far as actual value investing advice goes, it offers tidbits like: don't invest in a company whose CEO is going through a bitter divorce. The author came to this conclusion when he took the CEO out to lunch and the CEO began screaming at him. He later found out the CEO was going through a divorce. If you think tips like that might be useful to your investing career, then, again, this book might be of value to you. He also explains how, in an effort to improve his investment results, he moved to Zurich to get away from the madness of New York and turned off his Bloomberg terminal in order to reduce information overload. I doubt most readers will have a Bloomberg terminal to shut off, nor will moving to an expensive foreign city be a viable option in their own quest for "alpha."
To be fair, the book is decently written and mildly entertaining. I found the author's telling of his decision to write thank you notes every day, and the benefits he reaped from this exercise, to be inspiring.
But overall, for me personally, I found it very difficult to relate to this guy or draw a whole lot of meaning from the life experience that he shares.
To be fair, the book is decently written and mildly entertaining. I found the author's telling of his decision to write thank you notes every day, and the benefits he reaped from this exercise, to be inspiring.
But overall, for me personally, I found it very difficult to relate to this guy or draw a whole lot of meaning from the life experience that he shares.
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20 of 28 people found the following review helpful
By
Sidarta Tanu
TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE VOICE on August 1, 2014
Format: Hardcover
Vine Customer Review of Free Product
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The Education of a Value Investor by Guy Spier is a fun value investing book to read. He talks about his life, his career, and the pursuit of happiness/peacefulness. He explains how meeting and learning from Warren Buffett and Mohnish Pabrai changes his perspective on life and makes him a better investor. He candidly talk about his failures and believe those moments are where he learn the most and shapes the person he is today. The book also covers case studies of some of his investments (such as CarMax, Farmer Mac, Tupperware, etc), including the investment thesis, the outcome, and the lesson learned. His goal is no longer to be Gordon Gekko or Warren Buffet, but to be the best version of Guy Spier that he can be. :)
Here are some of my takeaways from this book:
- Authenticity and self-awareness are keys for success
- Align interest with investor (set fair compensation structure)
- Don't live beyond our means or fall into debt
- Live by your internal scorecard (have independent mind)
- Maximizing return is not everything
- True value investor is more than just about investing (It's also a way of life)
- Keep an open mind and learn from others (think what Warren would do)
- Never do anything that will taint our reputation
Sidarta Tanu
Here are some of my takeaways from this book:
- Authenticity and self-awareness are keys for success
- Align interest with investor (set fair compensation structure)
- Don't live beyond our means or fall into debt
- Live by your internal scorecard (have independent mind)
- Maximizing return is not everything
- True value investor is more than just about investing (It's also a way of life)
- Keep an open mind and learn from others (think what Warren would do)
- Never do anything that will taint our reputation
Sidarta Tanu
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