I hope this finds you well and that you are enjoying the summer months. This is hopefully a slower, less structured period that allows for more reading, thinking, reflecting, and recharging. I have found that even though I cherish my daily routine, leaving that highly structured environment for some time brings new ideas and generates new impulses. It is a long-term benefit in every way possible.

This past weekend, during my vacation in Croatia, I watched the final of the 2017 Water Polo World Championships, held in Hungary. The host country, a long-time water polo power, faced the team from Croatia, another country with a long tradition in the sport. Croatia emerged victorious, adding a title to an impressive list that also includes gold at the 2012 London Olympics.

One fact struck me: The core group of players from the Croatian team comes from Dubrovnik, a seaside town with 40,000 inhabitants. From this town, essentially, springs the world’s best water polo team. People in Dubrovnik are not fundamentally different than anyone else in terms of physical assets. However, when the team returned home to a large celebration, it became clear why it reigns supreme. With almost equal enthusiasm as the crowd celebrated the players, it celebrated the entire coaching staff and even players from teams past, who were also called on stage one by one.

A few things became clear: First, the coaching staff is almost as large as the roster of players. For every imaginable facet of the sport, including psychology, there is a dedicated coach. Second, the recognition the team received upon returning home undoubtedly made them feel valued and special. Finally, the calling up of former players, some of whom had played decades ago but all of whom had stayed close to the sport, showed the tradition of knowledge transfer that continues within the team. It likely includes the kind of tactical and competition-related expertise that cannot be found anywhere else (an Amazon search for water polo-related books turned up surprisingly few relevant titles).

MOI Global aims to create a similar ecosystem as Croatia has created in support of its water polo team. First, we seek to enable world-class performance. Our members should have the tools, wisdom, and encouragement to trail no one in the pursuit of outstanding performance over the long term. Second, we aim for a community of sharing and support. The value investing community is a small subset of the global asset management sector. We support each other in competition against alternatives we know to be inferior from a client’s perspective—products peddled by institutional marketing machines, or high-cost hedge funds jumping on the latest investment fad. Finally, we want to recognize and bring into the community the “greats” who have come before or are still active investors. The kind of knowledge transfer that is possible one-on-one or in small group settings is highly complementary to what is available in written form.

We closed the doors to new members several months ago as we focus exclusively on serving the incredible group of investors who have joined The Manual of Ideas (now MOI Global) over the years. I am grateful for your membership. The Manual of Ideas remains an exclusive source of great content—you are looking at it on these pages. The mission of MOI Global is broader, as outlined above. We look forward to building the “Dubrovnik” of the investment world.

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