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Strategies & Market Trends : Value Investing -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Michael Burry who wrote (6145)	3/4/1999 7:51:00 PM
From: Walter in HK	Respond to of 78475

I wonder if anyone has pursued the WEB investment style through Weitz. I am new here, so forgive me if I repeat what may have been discussed before. (Kindly steer me to it) I saw Wallace Weitz on Ruckeyser on October 9 and liked what he said, a lot. However, I live in Hong Kong most of the time and somehow could not find the address of his funds (spelling problem?). Bought the Ruckeyser transcript for $5 (it may be on his website now) and wrote for material. No response. I think they can only sell to US residents even if citizens and therefore taxpayers abroad. Well, I phoned, learned how it works (now waiting for the material being forwarded by the Florida Post Office) Weitz on Ruckeyser, on Oct 9 mentioned Hilton being at depreciated book (The Waldorf Astoria ?!) and lo! it went from 14 to 22. My kind of guy. So, I downloaded, more or less at random an SEC (EDGAR Form pick) doc edgar.sec.gov Type in “Weitz” 02-26-1999 485APOS 910031 WEITZ PARTNERS INC from which I quote: INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES/GOALS The Fund's primary investment objective is capital appreciation. The Fund seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in common stocks and a variety of securities convertible into common stocks such as rights, warrants, convertible preferred stock and convertible bonds. The Fund may also invest in other securities of a company not convertible into common stock, such as bonds and preferred stock, which Wallace R. Weitz & Company ("Weitz & Co."), the Fund's investment adviser, determines may offer the opportunity for capital appreciation. Such securities may be investment grade, non-investment grade or unrated. The Fund considers long-term capital gains preferable to short-term capital gains and dividend and interest income, but all such gains and income are desirable. PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES The Fund's investment strategy (which is called "value investing") is to invest primarily in the common stocks of sound, growing, well-managed businesses. In implementing this strategy Weitz & Co. attempts to: - - Identify attractive businesses that Weitz & Co. understands and which have honest, competent management; - - Estimate the price that an informed, rational buyer would pay for 100% of that business; and then - - Buy securities of that business if they are available at a significant discount to this "business value" or "private market value". At the heart of the calculation of value is an estimate of the value today of the right to receive all of the cash that a business will generate for its owners in the future. The valuation may focus on asset values, earning power, the intangible value of a company's "franchise" in its market or a combination of these variables, depending on the nature of the business. Weitz & Co. then tries to buy shares of the company's stock at a significant discount to this "private market value." Weitz & Co. hopes that the stock price will rise as the value of the business grows and as the valuation discount narrows. However, even if the analysis of business value is correct, the stock price may fail to reflect this value. Weitz & Co. does not try to "time" the market, but if there is cash available for investment and there are not stocks which meet the Fund's investment criteria or if Weitz & Co. determines market conditions warrant, the Fund will hold cash or invest in high quality fixed income securities for temporary defensive purposes. End of Quote. Exactly my philosophy. Couldn't put it better. Mind you, the minimum investment is $ 100 000 (other Weitz funds apparently $ 25 000) but I trust we don't only have kids on this thread. Ruckeyser said Weitz has $ 1.8 Billion under management. Lives in Omaha, of course. Well, this is pure Warren Buffet and I wonder what the value investors on this thread may say. It seems to me it is worth the 1.25 % fee, but of course it reduces the fun of looking and discussing. Mind you, I find it awfully hard and frustrating to find anything at a price “with a margin for error” these days Regarding my own way of thinking, a sample on the LVCI thread www3.techstocks.com I had met the inventor of the laser correction of shortsightedness, Dr. L'Esperance at Hogmanay (sp?) in Scotland, New Year's of 1995. The machines ($ 400 000 ea) are produced by VISX. I bought VISX in 1995 at $ 12, it got a better CEO and now is past $ 160 (i.e. 80 after a split) Laser Vision Centers Inc (LVCI) basically own a lot of trailers with those machines and go around the country fixing eyes. They have a patent about suspending the machines so they don't go out of adjustment. So, the post is about the relative merits. L'Esperance found a laser that has an energy of 6.2 electron volts per photon. The lens molecule takes 5.9 ev to destroy. So, with a computer you can correct the lens most accurately. Walter Linde in Hong Kong