BROADCASTS.com

b'In Episode 92, we welcome investor, author, and activist, Andrew Tobias.\\nMeb starts by asking Andy about his background and introduction to investing. Andy gives us his origin story, with highlights including collecting stamps, an early introduction to the stock market, a trip behind the Iron Curtain which led to a brief dalliance with Communism, then his becoming a paper millionaire due to some creative accounting (then those monies disappearing). It\\u2019s a fascinating look back.\\nNext, Meb recalls a survey we conducted some quarters ago, soliciting readers\\u2019 favorite investing books of all time. Andy\\u2019s book from 1978, The Only Investment Guide You\\u2019ll Ever Need, turned out to be high on that list. Meb asks Andy to explain the thesis of the original book, and whether there have been any significant changes in subsequent editions.\\nAndy tells us \\u201cThere are just a few things you really need to know about investing, and they don\\u2019t ever change. The problem is it\\u2019s hard to get people to really grab onto them.\\u201d He goes on to say that investing isn\\u2019t like cooking or chess, where the more you read/learn, the better. Instead, with investing, the more you read, the more you can get yourself into trouble. He gives us an example using commodity speculating. Given that so much about investing remains constant, Andy\\u2019s revisions in subsequent editions haven\\u2019t been too substantial.\\nMeb pushes a bit more, asking if there\\u2019s any subject about which Andy has changed his mind since the original publication.\\nAndy tells us he\\u2019s become a bigger fan of special opportunity investing. Most people aren\\u2019t looking for this type of thing. So, Andy discusses putting 80% of your portfolio into inexpensive index funds, but spreading the remaining 20% over 5-6 really interesting, exciting speculations. Most will go to $0, but maybe you hit with one or two, and those proceeds offset the losses and more. Plus, this satisfies the need to have something more exciting to do with your money.\\nMeb agrees with this idea, and asks about Andy\\u2019s speculative process \\u2013 is it rooted in quant or is there a discretionary component? Andy answers by giving us an example with Support.com.\\nNext, the guys discuss valuations, comparing where we are now to where we were back in the early \\u201880s. It seems we\\u2019re flip-flopped a bit in terms of interest rates and equity valuations.\\nThis segues into private investing, with Andy telling us about how came to own farmland. Turned out to be a great investment, buying at $500 an acre and selling years later at $3K an acre. Meb agrees farmland is a great asset class, but it\\u2019s hard to allocate toward.\\nThis dovetails into a few other private investments in which Andy has participated, most notably \\u201cHonest Tea,\\u201d which was purchased by Coca Cola, as well as a small, musical comedy, which went on to play on multiple continents over many years.\\nThe guys bounce around a bit here, discussing the need to spread your bets in private market investing\\u2026 lockups\\u2026 the benefit of illiquidity\\u2026 binary thinking\\u2026 Andy\\u2019s firsthand experience with selling way too early\\u2026\\nThere\\u2019s plenty more in this episode, including Andy\\u2019s concerns for our existential future, his most memorable trade, and finally, a product he endorses which might help tackle dementia and improve reflexes. Apparently, Tom Brady swears by it.\\nWhat are the details? Find out in Episode 92.\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices'