Crunch Time

It's crunch time. So I blog. It's a way to pretend that there's not a whole bunch of shit to get done in a little bit of time. But it's all good. In three weeks, I'll be chillin' at a bed and breakfast with the girlfriend for a few days before visiting the fam for the holidaze.

So what's due? Marketing Case, Accounting Case / mini-presentation, Finance Case, Data Analysis Case and Presentation.

That's not alot by itself, but it's all group work. The assignments and exams I'll leave out. Just toss some random tests on that and there you have it. Semester 1. Woohoo!

Too bad my call options on Panera expired before the stock started to run. Sad. I hate options.

Out

Wisconsin - ASAP Meets with Warren Buffett

Yesterday we had the pleasure of hearing Warren Buffett speak at the Field Club in Omaha. I was amazed by a couple of things -

• His general health and well being - At 75 years old, Warren is in great shape. He moves around much better than anyone I have met who is his age. He's as eloquent as ever. I can only hope to be in his shape at his age.


• His humbleness - we've all probably read stories about his style and his personality. All of it's true. He knows he's made mistakes and can readily admit them. The things he preaches are completely ground in his head (being loved=a good life, wealth means very little, good businesses with good people are what you should by...the list goes on). Whether you've read his teachings in a book or heard them live, the stories change very little. He's just much funnier in person than in a book.

I attribute #1 above to his never really having worked a day in his life. Most people work at jobs they don't love, and doing so takes a toll on them. Warren just did what he loved to do. It wasn't work. And his health is great. #2 above just is who he is. He runs Berkshire his own way and ignores his critics. He's not afraid to make big mistakes, and since he cares little about material possessions it's no wonder why he became such a great investor.

Here's the picture with both first and second-year Applied Security Analysis students and Mr. Buffett.


After we met with Warren, we took a tour of the Nebraska Furniture Mart, one of Berkshire's companies. The tour was neat, because we got to see the story in front of us. The place is even bigger than I expected.

Meeting a legend who completely impressed everyone = an awesome trip. If you ever get the chance to head to Omaha and visit the Oracle of Omaha, do it.

Wisconsin Portfolio Management - In the Press (Forbes 2003)

If you have access to Forbes, you can view this entire article about the University of Wisconsin's Applied Security Analysis Program (ASAP). I know I have posted a link to it before, but since it's that time of year when people out there are applying / choosing schools, I thought I'd put it here again. While I realize that most people out there have not considered UW, there are a good handful of people out there who want to be in Investment Management, and ASAP is a great place to be.

http://www.fortune.com/fortune/articles/0,15114,395148,00.html

Off to finance class to talk about market efficiency today. I have heard that this is the most animated lecture of the semester, so I've got my coffee and I'm just rarin' to go...

ASAP 101 - More on Asset Allocation

Friday's speaker saw another alum. This particular speaker was the President of a small money management firm - a position he's been in since buying the firm along with a partner (who also happens to be an ASAP grad) in 2002. He had been at other firms prior to that, most notably at UBS.

He spoke to us more in depth about asset allocation. In fact, he actually gave us some ideas about how to think about valuing stocks relative to bonds, and how one could form a strategy based on this. The main idea underlying the concepts was mean reversion - that returns tend to come back to their "normal" levels over time.

At a simple level, he looked at recent returns of stocks and bonds, and then created a plan to allocate the portfolio based on those returns - using the idea that if times were great, chances are that the next few years won't be as great, and vice versa.

More food for thought when we're in charge of the portfolio next year!

On a related note, we're off to see the Oracle of Omaha on Saturday, in Omaha, NE. It's going to be a long trip, but I'm sure that it will be a good learning experience!