Christopher Davis of Davis Advisors criticizes private equity performance accounting and fee structures.
Insight
Davis: Asset manager incentives favor relative preservation over absolute client goals
“One of the really Deep, dark, dirty secrets of money management. Is that, you know, if you were faced with the choice of, you know, you return 10% a year for the next decade, and the market does 12, or you are zero, and the market's down two. Every money manag…”
Insight
Charlie Munger believed the intelligent loss of sales actively improves businesses
“Charlie's phrase was the intelligent loss of sales. He said, you're young and you just think more is better. More is better. More is better, but more is not necessarily better. It's who do you keep out?”
Insight
Davis: Raising kids in luxury creates unhappiness if they cannot maintain it
“What doesn't work is giving your kids a lifestyle where they will feel like a loser if they are unable to maintain that lifestyle on their own merit. I just think that, you know, if you do the Southampton, Palm Beach Aspen, like, you're creating kids that Eith…”
Insight
Davis: Wealthy parents damage kids as much by manufacturing hardship as spoiling
“I've seen just as much damage done by wealthy families trying to build character as I, as I've seen the opposite.”
Opinion
Davis: Trimming fund holdings because they grow too large is a mistake
“If I had simply bought each stock that I ever bought for the funds in a personal account and held it, then I simply never would have sold simply because something was getting too big. Whereas in the funds, I do that all the time, and it's been a terrible mista…”
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Davis: Any writing advantage humans have over AI won't last long
“I don't think it will be more effective. I mean, I think that, or if it is, it's only because I still have a little lead on AI, but Eh, it ain't gonna last for long.”