Guy Spier explained why he and Charlie Munger invested in Alibaba along with what sustainable investing should be. Guy shared his advice on where and what to invest in during high inflation, debt, and geopolitical turmoil in 2022.
On March 8, 2022, Guy Spier gave a talk to students of the Helvetian Investment Club at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland.
Video Contents:
-Intro To Guy Spier’s Talk At The Universität St. Gallen, Schweiz
-Guy’s Best Places To Invest And Live
-Alibaba Investment Case
-Sustainable Investing Strategy
-Guy’s Best Assets To Invest In
-Guy On Tech Valuation & Network Effects
-My Conclusion On Costco’s Enduring Appeal
Geopolitics and investing are at the forefront of many of our minds where Guy Spier expressed strong emotive support for Ukraine.
He also described which 7 countries and areas you want to ideally live and invest in (and he’s excited about two developing countries). You have won the lottery if you are able to live and invest in one of these 7 places, he said. What has worked in investing in America doesn’t always apply in other countries as the US is uniquely endowed to benefit from its capitalistic system. But maybe other investing approaches will work better in other countries.
Guy explained what are the best assets to invest in during periods of high inflation and high debt, and which assets you should not want to be in if your money is depreciating a lot. He also explained how governments can get rid of the debt overhang through financial repression, a term he learned from American economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff.
Guy Spier spoke out against mainstream ESG (environmental, social, governance), saying that it is a marketing strategy. He explained what sustainable investing should really be about, which is where businesses should do more than maximize profits by striving to take care of their stakeholders in order to minimize risks.
His value investing philosophy based on Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger has been evolving to be able to do valuations on tech companies. Guy explored the power of network effects and how this type of moat adds to the staying power of certain tech companies.
Spier describes why Charlie Munger invested in Costco and Alibaba (BABA), and we can draw inferences from studying the investing moves of some of the best investors like Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett. Then we can decide which types of investment opportunities align with our values.
In the conclusion I explain how there is no American grocery or other store in Europe that I am aware of that is on the scale and level of Costco, as I believe its unique and wide selection of high quality goods and services is unmatched. I encourage people to experience the inflation-defying joy of Costco’s Kirkland hot dogs and pizza. Charlie Munger certainly enjoys the cheap and good quality products at Costco, and so do I!
If you’re interested in learning how to take control of your finances and start becoming an investor like Warren Buffett, check out my free PDF guide.
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