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7 Lesson’s You Can Use From Investor Guy Spier

What comes to our minds when I mention the name Guy Spier?

Guy Spier is a Value Investor, Fund Manager, Investment Banker, Harvard Graduate, Talented Skier, Father, Husband and also Mr. Spier is a Community leader of VALUE X.

Here are Seven lessons I have learned from Guy Spier that I would like to pass on to you. It doesn’t matter if your a Professional Investment Fund manager or Company Executive. You will find calmness and wisdom from Guy’s wisdom.

Investing Without Emotions

Guy teach’s his followers like myself that we should always invest without emotions. First we must break down what this means. 1. Breaking down what are our personal Behavior Biases truly are? 2. Be aware of common behavioral biases we may resort to without thought. 3. Defining your goals and time horizon can help you avoid emotional biases. 4. Bucketing or Achieving Milestone’s helps your clearly see your progression. Discipline can help you keep to a plan of action.

You may feel that watching CNBC or Bloomberg as a Retail Investor is good to gather the latest information on the market. It will feel like this gives you an investing edge in the market. However your are dead wrong! It’s simply a media outlet meant to deliver news and entertainment in the business world. That’s all. It’s smart not to allow this Television content to cloud your judgment and emotions while Investing. We as Value investor’s have a checklist, and a sophisticated skill set that includes Due Diligence and valuation processes before Investing in a Opportunity. We use these skills and our personal research before deciding if this would a good investment opportunity. Having the discipline to say no to things or investments does have tremendous value. Survival is everything. Protecting Capital is your duty. These are all ways to help you as a individual keep thing in focus and Invest without Emotions.

Resist Rebalancing

Many Retail Investors are being taught by the Traders on Youtube and it’s also standard practice for many Financial Advisors to Rebalance your Portfolio of securities when it looks like the market is overvalued. This looks like this. Your standard Retail investor has twenty securities positions. And if you place Five Percent of your Capital in to twenty positions this equals a hundred percent of your capital. However if history is a teacher? And if you were to just allow your portfolio grow organically? You may have a few positions see substantial growth and you will see a mixed bag of performance of mediocrity. And then you will see a few positions perform poorly earning you no returns or possibly loosing money. However with Guy’s approach of just allowing your portfolio to grow organically without rebalancing? You will see your small set of high performers account for most of your growth in your portfolio. While at the same time limiting the loss’s of the poor performers. In other words? Investing is very forgiving if you adhere to using long term time horizons as a strategy for your portfolio.

Learning From Your Mistakes Early in Your Career

This is truly a important lesson that Mr. Spier has shared publicly that I feel has a ton of merit for other Investors and Entrepreneurs like myself. Bottom line up front? You will make mistakes. You will make many mistakes. You will embarrass yourself. Making Mistakes and learning from them is just apart of the Human Experience. And if your a Entrepreneur? You will likely find that your failing your way forward. Now let’s learn about a big Mistake most Investors encounter when they begin investing as Retail Investors. You just don’t know what you don’t know. There are three different types of Entrepreneurs. Small Business Boutique Entrepreneurs, Enterprise Operator Entrepreneurs, and the Decentralized Investment Entrepreneurs. All has their own unique world. However they all encounter one mistake after another. It’s truly important to share your mistakes so that others may learn from your mistakes in business. Let’s be honest! Sometimes they make for great stories when your successful in the end. LOL

Defining Your Circle of Competence

Defining your circle of Competence means “What are you trained to do and what are you professionally knowledgeable about?” This important question can give you direction and confidence when evaluating Investment Opportunities. And if we are being honest if you can fix your Car’s Engine when it fails on you. I wouldn’t expect to see Guy Spier turning wrench’s in his Driveway in Switzerland when his car suddenly has a failure. No He would dispatch a Automotive technician or just buy a new car. Why spend the time on something of this caliber when you have options. Expert Networks operate in the same manner. There are Business professionals who do not have backgrounds in all things related to technology, manufacturing and and so many more topics of interest.

GLG Insights is a company any Investor or Business Professional can access and speak to Experts in their respective fields about a topic and answer difficult questions you may have about their respective professions and expertise. If you don’t have a Background in Softdrink manufacturing it’s likely you would seek out Softdrink Manufacturing experts. This is what we mean by saying, “Define your circle of competence.” You know what you know. And leave the hard questions to the experts of their fields.

Risk and Downside

Investing is a activity that involves Risk. Risk is the thing that acts as barrier or is the Downside of Investments. Some investments are relatively safe like Investing in US Treasuries. Then their are Investments like for example investing in to High Risk opportunities that may not return your capital and may not give you a return like New Startups and Junk Bonds. It all comes down to What is your Risk threshold. The lesson we can take from Guy’s lesson’s on Risk directly is communicated by his friend Warren Buffett. Warren spends a lot of time thinking about the Downside of an Investment. If you are comfortable investing your money into a company with a proven track record? Then it’s highly likely the downside of risk will be lower than investing into a unproven company that has not been in business for long. Your appetite for Risk is a personal comfort level. And I must mention that your comfort with risk directly correlates with what your circle of competence is!

Interestingly Mr. Guy Spier’s father was a Sapper in the Israeli Army. And the reverence and love that he speaks about his Father and how his Father is able to calm the environment with his presence and ability to listen while bringing calmness to the situation. Sounds to me like the Man you want next to you in a Fox Hole while your being bombarded with Bombs and all out War. This touches on the Topic of Risk and Downside because you want to be able to keep your cool during stressful situations. Id love to learn more about Mr. Spier’s Father. He sounds like a real Bad Ass. I can respect that.

Did you catch my latest Article on Bill Ackman’s Investing Principles Here.

Courageous Integrity

While watching or rather Listening to Guy Spier and his fellow writer Mr. William Green it was very refreshing to hear these two community leaders speak about having the Courage to share your thoughts and feelings in real time. While filming a episode of the Podcast Surviving and Thriving recently. They were sharing a point in time when they were collaborating and writing Guy’s first Hit Book “The Education of a Value Investor”. I found it utterly Courageous that Mr. William Green had the fortitude to hone in and selectively ask hard questions and seek difficult answers to personal situations that occurred to Mr. Spier during the very stressful weekend of the Great Financial Crisis of 2008. The Video is below. Furthermore during the weekend of the Great Financial Crisis Guy’s Aquamarine Fund was hanging in the balance and held hostage during the Bankruptcy of Bear Stearns. However Jamie Dimon and JP Morgan came to his Funds rescue by making a Bid and buying Bear Stearns. It’s truly a fascinating look at how two very good friends of 30 years can open eachother up and allow mutual trust. A lesson definitely worth the watch.

Keep a Professional Journal | Annual Reports

William Green and Mr. Guy Spier touch on the very important topic of keeping and committing to writing a Professional Personal Journal or even servicing your Funds Annual Reports. Some in our space of Investing, do diligently keep Annual Reports detailing their Thoughts, Decisions, and the reasoning behind the exposures in the Market within their Portfolio’s. How many times have we as individuals forgotten why we did this or that or forgotten our split of the moment thoughts and reasoning while explaining our actions to others who were not present? Keeping track of professional actions is vital to our success as Professionals. So understandably It makes since to keep a journal. However it’s also important to keep a Personal Journal to allow the reader or you back into your Decision making process. We are all humans. We are all imperfect. So keeping a Personal and Professional Journal can make a ton of sense for Professionals like myself and Guy who do openly and admittedly have ADHD.

Mr. William Green’s advocacy of writing throughout your career stems from his professional life as a Author and writer. He is always selflessly adding value in the Investment Space. Mr. Green is a professional writer within the Value Investor community. And his speech’s and guidance and journal suggestions are always pure gold. I genuinely appreciate Mr. Green sharing thoughts publicly as it has helped me in my writing.

Annual Reports

Why keep a Journal for a Annual Report? As Professional Investment Advisors and Investment Fund Managers or Partnerships it’s not only smart to keep a Annual Report, but also it’s required by Securities Regulators. When Investors read your Annual Reports it’s wise to let them in to see how your decisions and actions led to you choosing to build a Professional Portfolio.

After all the Investment Returns or Failures need to be accounted for. An annual report is a document that public corporations must provide annually to shareholders that describes their operations and financial conditions. At the end of the year when Annual Reports are drafted and published this keeps all involved in the Profession Accountable and demonstrates Public Transparency. I hope you found something in this post useful and insightful from Mr. Spier’s content.

Godspeed
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Business Articles, Family Offices, Interviews

Mr. Family Office | On Twitter

As an Investment Adviser, Banker, or Investment Professional, you will discover other interesting stories from professionals in our investment space. Today’s post regards a confidential Adviser, who posts fascinating content about the often-misunderstood world of Ultra High Net Worth Family Offices. He is the King of Twitter’s Family Office Investment Space, the always generous and astute Mr. Family Office X- Account.

While preparing for this interview I knew I would have to give up control, as I don’t want to put anyone’s job or livelihood at stake. After all, I am still new to the community, and I need to build trust and demonstrate my strict competency with professional leaders such as Mr. Family Office. We must keep the personal Identity of Mr Family Office hidden. We have rules in this small space, just like serving in secret areas of the Military. So, in the small world of Ultra High Net Worth Family Offices, trust is earned, and reputation is everything. The rules are simple, bluntly spoken, and strictly enforced… “KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT ABOUT YOUR FAMILY AND WORK”. 

Confidentiality and Discretion

Mr. Family Office is an X account, (Twitter) and has grown to over thirty thousand followers and is the undisputed authority in the Family Office space on X. He generously educates his Investment Professionals and even Entrepreneurs, who have become Centi-millionaires who want to open their own Family Offices. His account has been an incredible resource for me, as a growing Venture Capital Investor and Qualified Adviser and Entrepreneur. Here is a photo of his X Account. 

Mr. Family Office

Mr. Family Office is a Twitter or X account and has grown to over 30 thousand Followers and is the undisputed authority in the Family Office space on X. He generously educates his fellow Investment Professionals and even Entrepreneurs who have had an exit and have become Centi-Millionaires who want to open their own Family Offices. His account has been an incredible resource for me as a growing Venture Capital Investor and Qualified Adviser and Entrepreneur. Here is a photo of his X Account.

The Community Network of Family Offices

Since the Family Office or Space of Ultra High Net Worth Individuals is a small, elite community, another person I want to introduce and just had to include later in this post is a friend, Jorge Nikaido from Grupo Salinas in Mexico. 

Jorge is the trusted Right-Hand Man or “Chief of Staff” for a bold and honorable Mexican Business Magnate named Don Ricardo Salinas Pliego. And being a right-hand man of a Business Entrepreneur doing great, philanthropic projects for your community, earns you a spot in our group of Trusted Family and Friends. This is why I just had to include this Professional Leader later on in this article. More about Jorge later. 

So, without further delay, let’s jump into the interview with Mr. Family Office. 

1.Thank you for agreeing to be here with me and writing this post Mr. Family Office, When you first started your Twitter account Mr. Family Office did you feel any apprehension you were going to get pushback from our Adviser and Banker community because we have a Professional Duty to keep things secretive and confidential in our Investment world?

“Thanks Jameson, it’s good to meet you! Confidentiality and discretion are obviously fundamental in my world and it’s always my first thought when tweeting about any topic. I never tweet specific details about the family I represent or other family offices I work with. I would not break trust in this way. This can be limiting, there is a lot that I could share. But in fact there is plenty to talk about whether it’s general stories, my own stories or insights from the sector.“

“The feedback I get from advisors and bankers has been very positive so I think I get the balance about right. ” 

2. It’s Fascinating to others out there in the World “How Family Offices Work” what was it like building your twitter account so others could see into this secretive space?

“It’s a lot of fun! I’ve met some very interesting people who I wouldn’t have met otherwise and I’m learning every day.  I think family offices are slowly opening up, so the Twitter account is riding the wave of more transparency.  “

3. How did you feel when you saw a community of Advisers, Investors, and Entrepreneurs being built around your Family Office Guy Account? What excited you about this and where do you see it going?

“It’s great to see. I started tweeting without any expectations at all, so I’m delighted to see the community that has grown around the account.” 

As to where it’s going… good question. I’m focusing on the newsletter at the moment, but also discussing a few ideas with others from the family office world. Watch this space. 

His NEWSLETTER LINK HERE:

https://mrs-newsletter-6afd08.beehiiv.com/

4. Not many people know Investment Partner has ownership in a Investment Advisory Firm with many Advisers as part of his Family Office, can you tell us about the spectrum “Small to Large Family offices you have seen as a Professional?

It’s an age old question – how much is enough for a family office. Family offices have become something of a status symbol in recent years. The SFO Alliance requires that members have at least $400 million AUM, I feel that this is a good minimum benchmark – but even at that level, the core team is going to be pretty small. 

5. Do you feel your Twitter presence is helping to demystify the secretive and sensitive world of family offices and Billionaire investment management? “I hope so! “

SFO Family Office Website

Did you catch my latest article “Why VC Firms are turning to Investment Advisers”

Interview Continued

6.Have you ever been worried anyone would find out who you are? And how do you stay safe? ( Stupid question. Sorry No worries if it crosses the line. Don’t answer if it’s stupid. ) 🙂 

“Quite a few people know who I am… but it’s safe to say that the mystery is far more interesting than the reality! As the account has grown, there have been contributions from various people in the sector, so it’s fair to say that there is more than one Mr (or Mrs) Family Office” 

7.Has building your Family Office Acct. on twitter/X given you access to opportunities, relationships, and Investment Transactions you wouldn’t otherwise have access to? Do you have a short example?

“I have not sourced deals through Twitter yet, but I have connected with a bunch of family offices and FO professionals. ”   

8. What does the continued growth of Family Office Account look like in 10 years?

“I’m certainly not looking 10 years ahead!  Twitter under Elon Musk can be pretty wild, so you never quite know where you are! As I said, my focus for the immediate future is on collaborating with other contributors and building the newsletter.”  

9. Can you share more about your Process for choosing Content and topics for your Posts of Family Offices?

“I like to mix things up.. I generally tweet about stuff I find funny or interesting. The inspiration comes from day-to-day work or from what I read. I think it’s important to have a balance between serious and non-serious. Overall, I don’t take myself too seriously… I think people like that about the account.” 

10. What is the largest family office and (AUM) you have seen as a Family Office Expert?

“The largest I have worked with has been several billion dollars. But there’s always a bigger fish.” 

11. Is there anything you can share that may be controversial about you building Mr. Family Office?

“Being anonymous on Twitter can be controversial in itself. But once people figure out that I’m not hawking courses or selling sketchy deals they tend to relax. “

12. How do aspiring Professional CFP’s, CFA’s and Investment Advisors get into the Family Office space as a career?

“Look out for some upcoming newsletters!  I am planning to write a lot more on careers in family offices in the coming weeks.“

End of Interview questions.

This certainly was an interesting interview and opportunity. I would like, to take this opportunity to personally Thank Mr. Family Office for his time, generosity, and willingness, to help educate all my readers and myself about the World of Family Offices. It’s a look into a world and a view many professionals do not get to see, now they do have a little view into this discretionary world. This is very insightful and helpful. Thank you, Sir! It’s very professional of Mr. Family Office to help me as a part-time Journalist, grow with another interesting interview into our world of High Finance and Investing. Thank you again, Mr. Family Office. 

Grupo Salina’s “Chief Of Staff” Jorge Nikaido

My friends in life are special and keeping their “Trust” is everything to me. So, I hope you understand I would never betray the confidence of anyone who does not wish to be publicly identified or participate in my posts. However, Don Ricardo and Jorge Nikaido are celebrities in Mexico and Latin America. Even so, I informed Jorge, that I was going to mention him in my article with Mr. Family Office. He deserves a little love and recognition considering he is always selflessly serving family and friends of ours. 

Feel Free To Follow Jorge Nikaido on X-HERE

While preparing for this post and interview, I immediately thought ‘Who else do I know who is in our small world?’ And it hit me! My good friend, who I am connected to on X, (Twitter) and is Mexican Billionaire Don Ricardo Salina’s Pliego’s Right Hand Man, Sénior Jorge Nikaido.

Jorge is known as “THE FIXER” in the life and Family Office of Don Ricardo’s Salinas Pliego Empire in Mexico. So it’s only natural I would give a quick mention to him in my Post here with Mr. Family Office. To my Professional Friend in Mexico City who is always helpful and ready to assist and advise his Family and Friends like Me and Mr. Family Office? Salud Sénior Nikaido! I can’t wait to interview you soon and drop in to see you in Mexico City in the near future. Thank you.

Thank you for reading this week’s article and post about Mr. Family Office. As I continue to find new and interesting stories from High Finance, Investing and the Community of Business, I would like to leave you with this thought from Don Ricardo Salina who I consider an Honorable Community Leader, who cares about his friends and family. Don Ricardo says to us… 

“To me, wealth is the peace of mind you have, your family, your friends, your colleagues. Everything else is just money, and it really is funny how people pay so much attention to that.”

Follow Don Ricardo Salinas Pliego here.

If you found this Article, and Interview Post interesting, please share and comment on your Social Platforms. If you’re taking time out of your busy day to read this post, we greatly appreciate all who find this interview insightful, informative and interesting.

Thank you for reading.
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