Launching Blank Capital
Years ago, as I was studying and working my way through my MBA program, an invite was sent out to the finance class for an opportunity to travel to Omaha and have lunch with a certain successful investor headquartered there. The trip didn’t end up working with my schedule and I didn’t immediately regret not going. However, a couple of years later, I picked up a biography on a whim about Warren Buffett called, "The Snowball." The book talks about his approach to business and investing and I absolutely devoured the book. It started me on a path to learn everything I could about investing. I finished reading that book over fourteen years ago. Since that time, I have read hundreds, if not thousands of books, research articles, stock reports, and annual reports. It's been my absolute favorite hobby. Ask my family what book I'm currently reading and they will likely all roll their eyes and reply with, "another boring investing book." That first book about Mr. Buffett really inspired me, and I really wish I could go back and make that trip to Omaha.
While others may find investing dull or boring, I find it absolutely fascinating. Those in the investment profession have called investing the last liberal art and I couldn’t agree more. Finding a great investment opportunity is like putting together a puzzle made up of different disciplines. There's math, statistics, philosophy, psychology, science, art, and pretty much everything else you could think of. There is an almost endless variety of strategies that can be used to put together a portfolio. However, to be a successful investor, you need to find the strategy that works specifically for you. You must be honest with yourself about how you feel when a stock goes up, how you feel when a stock goes down, and how you respond to adversity.
What works for me is finding great companies with strong balance sheets, buying at a great price and then staying patient. Often times, I’m buying a company when it has entered a negative news cycle or has taken some lumps in the market. It is very difficult to buy a stock when it seems like the rest of the market is penalizing it. It takes courage, conviction and patience to invest when others are running for the hills, but this is where the greatest opportunities reside.
While my first introduction to investing centered around learning about Mr. Buffett and reading his book, I have since researched countless other investment managers and have taken a little bit of what I have learned from all of them. I believe there is a tremendous opportunity ahead for Blank Capital and I intend to establish a long lasting partnership with long-term performance.
Marques Blank
