What We're Reading ~ 8/10/16

When you don't know what you don't know [Medium]

The mirage of relative performance [ai-cio]

On investing and getting comfortable with being uncomfortable [Cordant Wealth]

Jim Grant: negative interest rates will end badly [CFA Institute]

Mark Hart bets China's currency will collapse [Bloomberg]

Interview with Daniel Kahneman [The Big Picture]

Daniel Dennett's most useful critical thinking tools [Farnam Street]

A look at Jefferies [Dealbook]

Coho Capital's pitch on Amazon [ValueWalk]

Think Amazon's drone delivery is a gimmick? Think again [NYTimes]

An e-commerce business' experience with the Amazon behemoth [Medium]

What happens to tons of jobs with autonomous vehicle disruption? [NPR] 

Why we pine for manufacturing [New Yorker]

Mark Zuckerberg on the next 10 years [The Verge]

Playing the long game inside Tim Cook's Apple [FastCompany]

Google and Facebook killed free media [Bloomberg]

What disruption really means [Hardbound]

ValueAct Capital Buys More CBRE Group Shares

Last week, we highlighted how Jeff Ubben's activist firm ValueAct Capital added to its CBRE Group position.  They've filed another Form 4 indicating they acquired some more shares recently.

The filing notes ValueAct bought 182,060 CBG shares on August 4th at a price of $28.50.  This brings their total ownership up to over 34.62 million shares.

Per Google Finance, CBRE Group is "a holding company that conducts all of its operations through its subsidiaries. The Company is a commercial real estate services and investment company. The Company operates through the segments: The Americas; Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA); Asia Pacific; Global Investment Management, and Development Services. It offers services to occupiers, owners, lenders and investors in office, retail, industrial, multifamily and other types of commercial real estate. It offers commercial real estate services under the CBRE brand name, investment management services under the CBRE Global Investors brand name and development services under the Trammell Crow Company brand name. It is focused on several competencies, including commercial property, corporate facilities, project and transaction management, tenant/occupier and property/agency leasing, capital markets solutions, real estate investment management, valuation, development services and proprietary research." 

Tybourne Capital Ups Boston Beer Stake

Eashwar Krishnan's hedge fund firm Tybourne Capital has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of Boston Beer (SAM).  Per the filing, Tybourne now owns 10.1% of SAM with 911,613 shares.

This is an increase of 152,202 shares since the end of the first quarter.  The filing was made due to activity on July 31st.  This is the second time Tybourne has upped its SAM stake in recent months.

Prior to founding Tybourne, Krishnan worked at Lone Pine Capital.

Per Google Finance, Boston Beer is "a craft brewer in the United States. The Company is engaged in the business of producing and selling alcohol beverages primarily in the domestic market and in international markets. The Company operates through two segments: Boston Beer Company segment and A&S Brewing Collaborative segment. The Boston Beer Company operating segment comprises of the Company's Samuel Adams, Twisted Tea and Angry Orchard brands. The A&S Brewing Collaborative operating segment comprises of The Traveler Beer Company, Coney Island Brewing Company, Angel City Brewing Company and Concrete Beach Brewing Company. It sells over 60 beers under the Samuel Adams and the Sam Adams brand names, over 10 flavored malt beverages under the Twisted Tea brand name, over 10 hard cider beverages under the Angry Orchard brand name and approximately 40 beers under over four of the brand names of its subsidiary, A&S Brewing Collaborative LLC, under its trade name Alchemy & Science."

Ten Attributes of Great Investors By Michael Mauboussin

Michael Mauboussin and Credit Suisse have put out a piece entitled "Reflections on the Ten Attributes of Great Investors."  It's basically a clinic on being an investor, it's fantastic.

There are so many quotable passages that you really should just read the whole document.  Each underlying attribute has multiple paragraphs of rationale behind it.  But here's a quick summary:

Mauboussin's 10 Attributes of Great Investors

1.  Be numerate (and understand accounting).

2.  Understand value (the present value of free cash flow).

3.  Properly assess strategy (or how a business makes money).

4.  Compare effectively (expectations versus fundamentals).

5.  Think probabilistically (there are few sure things).

6.  Update your views effectively (beliefs are hypotheses to be tested, not treasures to be protected).

7.  Beware of behavioral biases (minimizing constraints to good thinking).

8.  Know the difference between information and influence.

9.  Position sizing (maximizing the payoff from edge).

10.  Read (and keep an open mind).     


Embedded below is Mauboussin's 10 Attributes of Great Investors:





Mauboussin is an excellent resource for investors looking to refine their approach and process.  We highly recommend his books such as, The Success Equation: Untangling Skill and Luck in Business, Sports, and Investing as well as Think Twice: Harnessing the Power of Countertuition.

Market Strategist Jeff Saut's Latest Commentary: "Deja Vu"

It's been a while since we checked in on market strategist Jeff Saut of Raymond James.  His latest piece is entitled "Deja Vu."  In it, he touches on the fact that many market participants are flagging various bearish signals and expecting a big pullback.  He lays out his response given that he's been bullish since the February low this year.

Embedded below is Jeff Saut's latest market commentary, Deja Vu:



You can download a .pdf copy here.

Third Point Discloses Kadmon Holdings Equity Stake

Dan Loeb's hedge fund Third Point has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding its position in Kadmon Holdings (KDMN).  Per the filing, Third Point now owns 17% of the company with over 7.61 million shares.

This is a newly disclosed equity position for the fund and the filing was made due to activity on July 26th.  The company recently completed its initial public offering (IPO).

Third Point was originally a 'second lien' debt holder of Kadmon prior to its IPO.  This debt converted into common shares at an 80% discount to the IPO price.  Third Point was the largest holder of second lien debt.

For more on this hedge fund, head to Third Point's Q2 letter which talks about some of their latest investments.

Per Google Finance, Kadmon Holdings is "a biopharmaceutical company, which is engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of small molecules and biologics. The Company is developing product candidates within autoimmune and fibrotic diseases, oncology and genetic diseases. The Company offers KD025, Tesevatinib in Oncology, Tesevatinib in polycystic kidney disease (PKD) and KD034. It offers tablets and capsules, such as Ribasphere RibaPak, Ribasphere tablets, Ribasphere, Qsymia, Tetrabenazine and Valganciclovir. KD025 is its candidate in its rho-associated coiled-coil kinase 2 (ROCK2) platform, which is an oral, selective ROCK2 inhibitor. Tesevatinib is an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) designed to block molecular drivers of tumor growth, metastases and drug resistance. KD034 is its portfolio of formulations of trientine hydrochloride, a chelating compound for the removal of excess copper from the body, for the treatment of Wilson's disease."

Wall Street Journal 50% Discount Expires Tonight

Just a reminder that the big Wall Street Journal 50% discount expires tonight (Sunday, August 7th).  It applies to whatever format you want: print, digital, or both. 

Here's the link to the offer: Save 50% off The Wall Street Journal

If you're interested, be sure to sign up before it expires tonight!