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Value Investing with LegendsAuthor: Columbia Business School
Value investing is more than an investment strategy its a fundamental way of thinking about finance. Value investing was developed in the 1920s at Columbia Business School by professors Benjamin Graham and David Dodd, MS 21. The authors of the classic text, Security Analysis, Graham and Dodd were the very pioneers of their field and their security analysis principles provided the first rational basis for investment decisions. Despite the vast and volatile changes in the economy and securities markets during the last several decades, value investing has proven to be the most successful money management strategy ever developed. Value investors success over the second half of the twentieth century proved not only the validity of the value approach, but its preeminence over even the most widely taught and practiced modern investment theory, which was developed in the 1950s and 60s and remains dominant even today. Our mission today is to promote the study and practice of Graham & Dodds original investing principles and to improve investing with world-class education, research, and practitioner-academic dialogue. In this podcast you will hear from some of the worlds greatest investors, their views on the investment management industry, how they developed their investment process and how they see the field changing over time. Language: en Genres: Business, Investing, Management Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Seth Klarman - Contrarian Investing, Discipline, and Building Baupost
Episode 2
Friday, 1 August, 2025
In this episode, host Michael Mauboussin sits down with Seth Klarman, CEO and portfolio manager of The Baupost Group. One of the most influential practitioners of value investing, Seth shares his formative stories — from arbitraging coins as a kid to launching Baupost in 1982 — and reflects on his decades-long investment philosophy. They explore timeless principles of market inefficiencies, the importance of temperament, specialization versus generalization, the role of patient capital, and the challenges and opportunities ahead for investors in today’s world. Seth also opens up about technology trends like AI, the evolving market structure, and the enduring lessons from Graham & Dodd — and much more! Key Topics: Seth’s early entrepreneurial ventures and coin arbitrage (2:10) Lessons from working at Mutual Shares with Max Heine and Michael Price (4:12) Starting Baupost and managing the founding families’ wealth (10:53) Core principles behind value investing and market inefficiencies (13:06) The impact of indexing, ETFs, and passive investing trends (16:42) Generalists vs. specialists in investment research (19:06) How Baupost evaluates opportunities across asset classes (21:13) Why value investing combines a contrarian streak with a calculator (23:51) The importance of meeting management teams and assessing intent (26:44) Building and educating a long-term oriented client base (29:06) Managing behavioral biases and fostering the right temperament (31:21) Current market outlook and where Baupost sees value today (34:03) How AI is changing research and efficiency at Baupost (36:54) Broader applications of the “Moneyball” mindset (40:13) The difference between an analyst and a portfolio manager (44:01) Seth’s views on risk, business ethics, and business education (45:50) What worries Seth about the future — and what excites him (48:11) Book recommendations from Seth Klarman (51:42) And much more! Mentioned in this Episode: Margin of Safety by Seth Klarman Security Analysis by Benjamin Graham & David Dodd (Seventh Edition) Moneyball by Michael Lewis Lost & Found by Kathryn Schulz Being Wrong by Kathryn Schulz The Light Eaters by Zoë Schlanger Thanks for Listening! Be sure to subscribe on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And feel free to drop us a line at valueinvesting@gsb.columbia.edu. Follow the Heilbrunn Center on social media on Instagram, LinkedIn, and more!
