Friday, July 17, 2009

Greenlight Capital Q2 Letter


It ends with a great quote: “The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjust the sails.” –William Arthur Ward

..........

That quote reminded me of the way Bill Miller opened his Q2 2008 Letter:

A group of us were standing around a few weeks ago when Warren Buffett wandered over. Chris Davis had dubbed us the Value Support Group, as we all adhered to that approach to investing. We were commiserating over how badly we had done in this market, how valuation appeared not to matter and had not for the past couple of years, how it was all about momentum and trend, and how we were all losing clients and assets over and above our losses in the market. It seemed like we needed a 12-step program to cure us of our addiction to buying beaten-up stocks trading at large discounts to our assessment of their intrinsic value.

Mason Hawkins said, "Warren, I'm an optimist. I think this whole thing can turn quickly, and surprise people. Are you an optimist?" "I'm a realist, Mason," the sage replied.