Guy Spier is a Zurich-based investor and the author of The Education of a Value Investor.
Guy Spier is a Zurich-based investor and the author of *The Education of a Value Investor*. ◦ Since 1997, he has managed Aquamarine's privately offered investment funds. ◦ He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School (class of 1993) and a First Class degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford University; on graduating from Oxford he was co-awarded the George Webb Medley prize for the best performance that year in economics. ◦ He previously worked as an investment banker in New York and as a management consultant in London and Paris. ◦ On June 25, 2008, Spier and Mohnish Pabrai had a charity lunch with Warren Buffett at Smith & Wollensky that they won for $650,100 in an eBay auction benefiting the Glide Foundation. ◦ Soon after, Spier stopped charging management fees to new investors and moved his family and fund to Zurich, Switzerland to escape the New York "hedge fund vortex." ◦
Spier's investment philosophy is primarily global, long-term, value focused, and any publicly traded security can be considered for investment. ◦ He has described his goal as "not to be Warren Buffett, but to become a more authentic version of myself," and stated that "the path to true success is through authenticity." ◦ He believes that "temperament is more important than IQ when it comes to investing." ◦ He holds that "if we take responsibility for our mistakes and failures, they offer priceless opportunities to learn about ourselves and how we need to improve." ◦ He emphasizes that "the key, in my experience, is to value people as an end in themselves, not as a means to our own ends." ◦
All investment decisions are made solely by Guy Spier. ◦ He uses checklists as "a way of managing your own mind and guarding against your own proclivities," noting that a checklist "needs to be based on this kind of self-awareness." ◦ His cash level is somewhere between five and 10%, and he does not consciously target it. ◦ He does not want to "trade down in the quality of my portfolio just because what I own is expensive on a current basis." ◦ On the geopolitical environment, he has said that "being fearful about the future of humanity doesn't mean that you have to...change your investing strategy." ◦
Spier believes that "our environment is much stronger than our intellect." ◦ He has observed that "we like to think that we change our environment, but the truth is that it changes us," and that we must be "extraordinarily careful to choose the right environment—to work with, and even socialize with, the right people." ◦ He uses checklists as "a way of managing your own mind and guarding against your own proclivities, so it needs to be based on this kind of self-awareness." ◦ He holds that "temperament is more important than IQ when it comes to investing." ◦ He regards "books" as "a priceless source of wisdom," but maintains that "people are the ultimate teachers, and there may be lessons that we can only learn from observing them or being in their presence." ◦ He notes that "it takes 20 years to build a reputation and 2 minutes to ruin it." ◦
Since 1997, Spier has managed Aquamarine's privately offered investment funds. ◦ The Aquamarine Fund is an investment vehicle inspired by the original 1950's Buffett partnerships, and run with a close replication of the original Buffett partnership rules. ◦ Spier's investment philosophy is primarily global, long-term, value focused. ◦ He previously worked as an investment banker in New York and as a management consultant in London and Paris. ◦ He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School (class of 1993) and a First Class degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford University. ◦
Spier has communicated his views through interviews and personal narratives, describing his discovery of Warren Buffett as "as if I had found a lifeline." ◦ He has articulated his philosophy through first-person reflection, stating that his goal became "not to be Warren Buffett, but to become a more authentic version of myself." ◦ In podcast appearances, he has offered direct commentary on portfolio construction and global affairs. ◦
Spier moved his family and fund to Zurich, Switzerland to escape the New York "hedge fund vortex," while running the Aquamarine Fund as an investment vehicle inspired by the original 1950's Buffett partnerships. ◦ ◦ He has said that "the ways in which the rules based international order is being challenged...is deeply, deeply disturbing, no question about it," while adding that "being fearful about the future of humanity doesn't mean that you have to...change your investing strategy." ◦ His cash level is somewhere between five and 10%, yet he does not consciously target it. ◦
Spier advises that we must be "extraordinarily careful to choose the right environment—to work with, and even socialize with, the right people." ◦ He recommends to "hang out with people better than you, and you cannot help but improve." ◦ He views "books" as "a priceless source of wisdom," but considers "people" to be "the ultimate teachers." ◦ He emphasizes that "the key, in my experience, is to value people as an end in themselves, not as a means to our own ends." ◦