I listened to an old episode of "invest like the best" podcast with Aswath Damodaran. Below are my notes and key takeaways for those interested.

• There are two types of inflation for companies: detrimental inflation, which cannot be predicted, and predictable inflation that can be passed on to consumers. The best approach for companies is to make their products less discretionary by adopting models like subscriptions or introducing consumable needs.
• ROIC (Return on Invested Capital) can be easily manipulated by companies and is nearly meaningless for early-stage growing companies. It should only be considered as one part of many factors when evaluating investments.
• Companies that focus on their cost of capital or decide to alter their cost structures are likely past their best days and becoming mature. While they may still be good investments, they are less likely to achieve extraordinary results.
• A company must be able to convey a consistent vision for the future. If the story keeps changing, it loses credibility and is assigned less value. Understanding the narrative that drives a company is vital, going beyond just ratios and numbers. Our investment decisions should be based on our own story, not someone else's. Once you have your story (it will always be wrong), but you can use your story to come up with a value to attribute to that company based on the outcomes of your story. Numbers and metrics are not the source of edge on the market, everyone has access to these, there is no edge in this. You need to know what your edge is and stick to it.
• The right price is crucial when considering an investment. Any company can be a good or terrible investment depending on the price paid for it.
• Investing is based on assumptions, but we should strive to minimize assumptions and make them realistic with a margin of safety when valuing a company. While the valuation will never be exact, this approach narrows the margin of error.
• Seeking alpha (market-beating returns) should not come at the expense of increased risk. It is better to achieve consistent alpha with less risk than to take outsized bets on riskier investments.
• Recognize the role of luck in investing and be mindful of skill and luck in both rising and falling markets. Learn from your performance, regardless of the outcome.
• Study businesses, not just investors. While we can learn from different investors, understanding various businesses is essential to becoming a good investor.
• Avoid letting recent history overly influence your forecasts. Use historical data to gain perspective when evaluating companies and trends.
• Be open-minded to critiques and alternate views about a business. Assess new information rationally and be willing to admit when you are wrong, as those are the most valuable words in investing. Don’t be afraid to say the three most valuable words in investing "i was wrong".

This is a great listen. Nice one @Wini

https://www.sharesforbeginners.com/blog/merewether-capital

After being mentioned on The Baby Giants Investing podcast last week, i listened to an interview with Stanley Druckenmiller see here for the spotify link.

The episode was extremely interesting, but i thought Id share the "Drucks Nuggets" which he explains their reasoning. Below is my notes i took, please note this isnt verbatim.

1. Do not invest in the present.

Most investors are buying in the present conditions and at most looking 12 months out or shorter. So to have an edge you always have to imagine the world in the way its going to be in 18-24 months. If you buy based on the now, youll be buying into every fad amd generally near tops of the market. Whereas you should try and envision the future and how will be reflected into security prices.

2. Put all your eggs in one basket and watch it very carefully.

The best investors dont have 200 big positions. They take massive positions im something they really believe in. If you know something really well and believe in it, why should you diversify away from that? It also imparts discipline, if you have a massive position in something, youre not going to have any "lazy longs". Which are small positions that you dont really put the effort in because its not really going to hurt you as much if it goes down. If you have a position that will really hurt you if it goes down, its human nature that you will watch more carefully.

3. Invest quickly study it more later.

George Soros calls it "invest and then investigate". We are in a world of fast moving information and security prices reflect it. Things are much more competitive in the investing industry now with more smart people and more widely available information with the internet. If you actually get an idea and wait 2 or 3 weeks while you analyse it to death, a lot of times the stock will already move. And then even if after moving it remains a good idea, you are susceptible to price anchoring based off where kt was when you first had the idea. So if you have a good idea / concept, buy it, then do the work and if after doing the work you dont like it, just get out/sell.

4. Look at leading and lagging industries

This describes his macro approach. Where you look at businesses as opposed to statistics like unemployment numbers etc. Find the leading industries of an economic cycle and if the businesses in the leading industries are strong the economy is probably about to do very well. And vice versa for the lagging industries.

5. Be imaginative around what could go wrong.

Drucks first boss used to say "Whats obvious is obviously wrong and is already reflected in security prices." If everything is rosy, its already in the stock price and everyone is already in the market, theres no one left to buy. You have to constantly be evaluating what can go wrong. But the reverse is also true. You also have to evaluate what can go right. Its not am accident that every bottom happens during a recession or during lousy earnings, and every top happens with confidence high. The world is constantly changing, and youre only going to  notice change if you are opening your mind to how things can be different, whether its better or worse.

6. Be dispassionate about decisions.

Its ok and human to feel emotions regarding decisions, you have to learn to move on. But in actions you must be cold blodded. If you can control your actions, as opposed to what you're feeling, thats the only thing that matters.

I enjoyed this Equity mates one with Julian McCormack/Platinum Asset Management.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3UAsMnGOFSl8iKNBWzAAvS?si=7ebba553599449a1