Distractions

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John Bogle, founder of Vanguard, once said “The stock market is a giant distraction from the business of investing.” I agree and consider it one of the reasons I think of the stock market as a semi-efficient rather than an efficient pricing mechanism. Over time, the auction that is the stock market prices things reasonably well, but in the short run prices of publicly traded companies can be skewed for a variety of reasons, many of which might be deemed examples of John Maynard Keynes’ “animal spirits” theory.

I can’t recall a time of more distractions—certainly from investment management; perhaps even from
the business of life itself. Distractions are by definition things that take our focus away from the
things that really matter. Successful investment management requires steely-eyed focus on the
investments one owns or considers, continuously differentiating fact from fiction; quantitative,
intrinsic value from memes and short-term trends.

Recent stock market activity and pricing exemplifies everything from legitimate investment
opportunities and prices to what is being coined the “gamification” of the stock market. You can rest
assured that we know the difference and will not let distractions interfere with the business of
investment management.