I think that intelligent forecasting (company revenues, earnings, etc.) should not seek to predict what will in fact happen in the future. Its purpose ought to be to illuminate the road, to point out obstacles and potential pitfalls and so assist management to tailor events and to bend them in a desired direction. Forecasting should be used as a device to put both problems and opportunities into perspective. It is a management tool, but it can never be a substitute for strategy, nor should it ever be used as the primary basis for portfolio investment decisions.

You find bargains among the unpopular things, the things that everybody hates. The key is that you must have patience.

The price must be less than one half of the former high and preferably at or near its all time low.

What differentiates us from other money managers with a similar style is that we’re comfortable with new lows.

Curiosity is the engine of civilisation

I suspect that my thinking is an eclectic mix, not pure net-net because I couldn’t do it anyway so you have to have a new something to hang your hat on. But the framework stays the same.

The most important attribute for success in value investing is patience, patience, and more patience. The majority of investors do not possess this characteristic.