We are delighted to share with you Season 1 Episode 14 of This Week in Intelligent Investing, featuring Chris Bloomstran of Semper Augustus Investments Group, based in St. Louis, Missouri; Phil Ordway of Anabatic Investment Partners, based in Chicago, Illinois; and Elliot Turner of RGA Investment Advisors, based in Stamford, Connecticut.
Your host is John Mihaljevic, chairman of MOI Global.
Enjoy the conversation!
In this episode, John hosts a discussion of:
The implications of automation: Elliot Turner examines the megatrend of automation from both a societal and investment perspective. We discuss how automation is accelerating in new areas today. We explore the key investment implications and highlight several public companies.
The concept of value traps: Phil Ordway shares his perspective on the widely used term “value trap” and explains why investors may want to focus more on cash flow and less on stated earnings. We discuss what differentiates an undervalued business from a value trap and examine IBM as a case study.
Recap of stock market index data: Chris Bloomstran looks at the major U.S. stock market indices and their composition at the end of Q3, noting that the top five constituents of the S&P 500 Index have risen 38% YTD, on average, while the bottom 495 stocks have declined 5%, on average. We discuss the nuances of the unprecedented concentration of market cap in the largest companies.
Related Links
Value traps segment:
- The Rise and Fall of American Growth, by Robert J. Gordon
- The future of work and innovation, a debate
- “Techno-optimist” Erik Brynjolfsson Takes on Robert Gordon, by WSJ
- Boom or Gloom, by Thomas B. Edsall in The New York Times
Automation segment:
- More Than You Know, by Michael Mauboussin
- The Structures of Everyday Life, by Fernand Braudel
- Nick Sleep’s chart of what to pay for Walmart for a 10% return:
Follow Up
Would you like to get in touch?
Follow This Week in Intelligent Investing on Twitter.
Engage on Twitter with Chris, Elliot, Phil, or John.
Connect on LinkedIn with Chris, Elliot, Phil, or John.
This Week in Intelligent Investing is available on Amazon Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Podbean, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, and YouTube.
If you missed any past episodes, you can listen to them here.
About the Podcast Co-Hosts
Christopher P. Bloomstran, CFA , is the President and Chief Investment Officer of Semper Augustus Investments Group LLC. Chris has more than 25 years of investment experience with a value-driven approach to fundamental equity and industry research. At Semper Augustus, Chris directs all aspects of the firm’s research and portfolio management effort. Prior to forming Semper Augustus in 1998 – in the midst of the stock market and technology bubble – Chris was a Vice President and Portfolio Manager at UMB Investment Advisors. While at UMB Investment Advisors, Chris managed the Trust Investment offices in St. Louis and Denver. Among his investment duties at the firm, he managed the Scout Balanced Fund from the fund’s inception in 1995 until 1998, when he left to start Semper Augustus. Chris received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he also played football. He earned his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 1994. Chris is a member of the CFA Society of St. Louis and of the CFA Institute. He has served on the Board of Directors of the CFA Society of St. Louis since 2002, where he was elected to sequential terms as Vice President from 2005 to 2006, President from 2006 to 2007 and Immediate Past President from 2007 to 2009. Chris has judged the Global Finals and the Americas Finals several times for CFA Institute’s University Global Investment Challenge. Chris served for a number of years as a member of the Bretton Woods Committee in Washington DC, an institution championing and raising awareness of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization. He has also served on various not-for profit boards in St. Louis. His resides in St. Louis with his wife and two children.
Philip Ordway is Managing Principal and Portfolio Manager of Anabatic Fund, L.P. Previously, Philip was a partner at Chicago Fundamental Investment Partners (CFIP). At CFIP, which he joined in 2007, Philip was responsible for investments across the capital structure in various industries. Prior to joining CFIP, Philip was an analyst in structured corporate finance with Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. from 2002 to 2005. Philip earned his B.S. in Education & Social Policy and Economics from Northwestern University in 2002 and his M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in 2007, where he now serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Finance Department.
Elliot Turner is a co-founder and Managing Partner, CIO at RGA Investment Advisors, LLC. RGA Investment Advisors runs a long-term, low turnover, growth at a reasonable price investment strategy seeking out global opportunities. Elliot focuses on discovering and analyzing long-term, high quality investment opportunities and strategic portfolio management. Prior to joining RGA, Elliot managed portfolios at at AustinWeston Asset Management LLC, Chimera Securities and T3 Capital. Elliot holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation as well as a Juris Doctor from Brooklyn Law School.. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Emory University where he double majored in Political Science and Philosophy.
The content of this podcast is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security in any jurisdiction. The content is distributed for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice or a recommendation to sell or buy any security or other investment, or undertake any investment strategy. There are no warranties, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or results obtained from any information set forth on this podcast. The podcast participants and their affiliates may have positions in and may, from time to time, make purchases or sales of the securities or other investments discussed or evaluated on this podcast. [dkpdf-remove]
About The Author: MOI Global Editorial Team
The MOI Global Editorial Team, led by John Mihaljevic, CFA, includes community builders, event organizers, writers, editors, research associates, security analysts, and fanatical member support advocates. Our sole purpose is to serve the members of MOI Global as well as we possibly can in order to help them learn, invest intelligently, and build lifelong friendships with like-minded people.
Who is MOI Global? In recent years, The Manual of Ideas has expanded to become more than simply “the very best investing newsletter on the planet” (Mohnish Pabrai). We are now a thriving global community of intelligent investors, connected through great ideas, thought-provoking interviews, online conferences, live member events, and much more.
Members of MOI Global enjoy complimentary access to a growing array of resources and content related to the art of intelligent investing. Members also enjoy preferential access to selected offline events as well as exclusive access to other events hosted by MOI Global, including the Zurich Project Summit, the Latticework Conference, and Ideaweek.
More posts by MOI Global Editorial Team