The Complete Investor (Columbia Business School Publishing)

If you are new to Charlie Munger or value investing this is a great and even a fun introduction.

As other reviewers have said if you are long time follower of Munger, Buffet or Graham you may find little new material here but still it’s a fine book and I’m surprised at the low ratings.

In my view no matter what your experience or skill level the Munger and friends quotations generously included throughout are well worth the ticket price. Further the information here is timeless and can be read again and again. Most especially in certain market when FOMO and/or greed begins to take hold, this book could be used nicely to talk you off the edge.

In spite of Mr Munger’s increasing profile, in my view his impact on Mr Buffet and on Berkshire is still way undervalued. One could imagine if it were not for Charlie Munger as thought partner to Mr Buffet, Berkshire Hathaway would have had significantly less success.

I was really excited to read a book about Charlie Munger's thought's, since he is sort of a hero in the mental models school of thinking. Unfortunately, Mr. Griffin has mischaracterized Munger's investing style as "Graham Value Investing." He uses the term repeatedly, seemingly unable to go a paragraph without repeating the phrase. The thing is Munger is NOT a traditional Graham value Investor. He is more in the school "willing to pay a fair price for a great company," rather than looking for "one more puff, from a cigar butt," type of investor. The confusion comes from mixing the round peg of Munger's often thoughtful quotes and attempting to hammer them into the square whole of "Graham Value Investing." Save your money! This is neither a good summary of traditional "Graham value investing," nor a organized group of Munger's thoughts. Try one of the other books on Munger that actually broadens your understanding of his thought process if you are interested in Charlie Munger.

Effectively, a curated list of Munger's quotes and wisdom, with some commentary to put things in context. You'll have to do some work as a reader to piece together the larger themes and takeaways; the book threads together the quotes but doesn't delve too deep in terms of analysis. That said, still a fascinating and an educational read: minimize negative optionality; give yourself sufficient margin to allow for mistakes; don't feel that you have to swing the bat at every opportunity, know the limits of your knowledge; and dozens of other gems.

Briefly, Charles Thomas Munger (born January 1, 1924) is an American business magnate, lawyer, investor, and philanthropist. He is Vice-Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Corporation, the diversified investment corporation chaired by Warren Buffett; in that capacity, Buffett describes Charlie Munger as "my partner." The material that Tren Griffin provides in this book has three primary sources: Benjamin Graham, Warren Buffet, and Munger. Born Benjamin Grossbaum (1894-1976), Graham was a British-born American economist and professional investor. He is considered the father of value investing, an approach he began teaching at Columbia Business School in 1928 and subsequently refined with David Dodd through various editions of their famous book Security Analysis. Buffett and Munger have frequently cited Graham as their "teacher" -- Buffett was one of his students at Columbia -- and fully embraced the core principles of what Graham characterizes as "value investing." Einstein's recommendation explains the essence of that approach to investments.

Tren Griffin's focus is on how Munger thinks as an investor. "He has called being a successful investor a 'trained response.' He believes that if you can learn to overcome behavior that drives poor decisions, you can gain an advantage over other investors. Much of the context will be about Munger invests, but the discussion is just as applicable to making decisions in other aspects in life." It is noteworthy that Buffett has repeatedly insisted that "investment is simple but not easy." Munger agrees, observing "it's remarkable how much long-term advantage people like us have gotten by trying to be consistently not stupid, instead of trying to be very intelligent."

Griffin carefully organizes his material within seven chapters that, in this order, (1) explain the basics of the Graham Value Investment System, (2) explain the principles of that system, (3) provide "worldly wisdom," (4) examine the psychology of human misjudgment, (5) identify "the right stuff," (6) identify and discuss the seven variables of the GVIS, and (7) examine "the right stuff" in a business. He then shifts his attention to "Berkshire Math," "Moats," and "Value Investing vs. Factor Investing." I commend him on his skillful selection and placement of quotations by Graham and Buffet as well as by Munger throughout his lively and eloquent narrative. In fact, Munger provides most of them and these reflect Einstein's influence:

o Value investing is a very simple set of ideas and the reason that our ideas about investing have not spread faster is they're too simple. The professional classes can't justify their existence if that's all they have to say.

o I think the reason why we got such idiocy in investment management is best illustrated by a story that I tell about the guy who sold fishing tackle. I asked him, "My God, they're purple and green. Do fish really like these lures?" And he said, "Mister, I don't sell to fish."

Here are some other of Munger's insightful observations:

o I don't let others do projections for me, because I don't like throwing up on the desk."

o People calculate too much and think too little.

o You really can learn to make fewer mistakes than other people -- and how to fix the mistakes faster when you do make them.

o I know I'll perform better if I rub my nose in my mistakes. This is a wonderful trick to learn.

o The iron rule of nature is that you get what you reward for. If you want ants to come, put sugar on the floor.

o Almost all good businesses engage in "pain today, gain tomorrow" activities.

o If you want to get rich, you'll need a few decent ideas where you really know what you're doing. Then you're going to have to have the courage to stick with them and take the ups and downs. Not very complicated, and its very old-fashioned.

o There are actually businesses that you will find a few times in a lifetime, where any manager can raise the return enormously just by raising prices -- and yet they haven't done it. So they have huge untapped pricing power that they're not using. That is the ultimate no-brainer.

As I worked my way through Griffin's narrative, I was again reminded of a passage in Lawrence Cunningham's Introduction the Second Edition of The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America: "The CEOs of Berkshire's various operating companies enjoy a unique position in corporate America. They are given a simple set of commands: to run their business as if (1) they are its sole owner, (2) it is the only asset they hold, and (3) they can never sell or merge it for a hundred years." With regard to investment thinking, "one must guard against what Buffett calls the `institutional imperative.' It is a pervasive force in which institutional dynamics produce resistance to change, absorption of available corporate funds, and reflexive approval of suboptimal CEO strategies by subordinates. Contrary to what is often taught in business and law schools, this powerful force often interferes with rational business decision-making. The ultimate result of the institutional imperative is a follow-the-pack mentality producing industry imitators, rather than industry leaders - what Buffett calls a lemming-like approach to business."

In all phases of Berkshire Hathaway's vast and complex operations, especially when selecting a value investment or overseeing the management of the companies it owns, Buffett and Munger do indeed practice what Einstein preaches: "Make everything as simple as possible but no simpler." I agree with Tren Griffin: "Learning about Munger's ideas and methods will forever change the way you think about investing and about life. You will make better, decisions, be happier, and live a more fulfilling life." To learn more about him, I highly recommend these two sources: Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger, Expanded Third Edition (2005), Peter D. Kaufman, Editor, and Janet Lowe's Damn Right: Behind the Scenes with Berkshire Hathaway Billionaire Charlie Munger (2003).

63 others have reviewed this one. I am surprised so many of them were less than stellar. I thought this book was very good, but then again, I might be more of a Buffett/Munger/Graham investor than many others are. Small book physically, but chock full of information. I like the writer's style, too. No complaints. Great book.

As someone very interested in Charlie Munger's outlook on investing and many other things, this book was a mild disappointment. The author clearly admires Munger and knows his work but the material is organized more like a course outline than a book. It was also somewhat repetitive. I might recommend this as an overview of Munger's philosophy but not the comprehensive treatment I and other fan were hoping for.

Anyone who is even remotely active and concerned with investing will know of Charlie. For those whom the name means nothing, this book will more than capably fill in the gaps and dispense a lot of wisdom along the way.

Charlie Munger is today the sidekick of Warren Buffett, part of the top leadership double-act at Berkshire Hathaway (his official title is vice-chairman) and he has been giving sage-like investment advice for over four decades. Munger has his strategies, his focus and his viewpoint and this book gives the reader a taste of Munger and shows a bit of what makes him tick. The “essential steps” of Munger’s investing strategies are presented, condensed for the first time from interviews, speeches, writings and shareholder letters, bolstered by commentary from investors, historians, academics and businesspeople. Whilst the investor will learn a lot, it is not just a book about making your riches by trading stocks – there is a lot of crossover that can be used elsewhere in life, both professional and personal.

The book can be a bit of a challenging read for some and perhaps it could have been polished a little more to give it greater, widespread appeal yet it does contain a heck of a lot of information and if you can get over the overload and begin to process the data, potentially limitless benefits can follow. Again, make no mistake; this is not a “get rich quick, stock picking for beginners”-type book but a careful, detailed, academically biased book that has a lot going for it. For those who like to dig even deeper, the book is awash with bibliographic references and notes that guide the reader along.

With a book like this, sometimes you can be forgiven for wanting even more when it is giving so much, without it being a fault of the book from the get-go. It provided an engaging, informative and stunning look at a person who is, for many, part of a cult-like double act. Unless Institutional Investor magazine is being a little naughty, they recently informed their readers that you can even get underwear, yes, underwear, emblazoned with the faces (spelling checked) of Charlie Munger and Warren Buffet! (Their company owns Fruit of the Loom). That sort of “product placement availability” starts to evoke cult-like status.

Charlie Munger is 91 years old and yet he seems to be still steaming along like an express train and as this book and countless media comments attest, he is still sharp as the sharpest tack in the box. Why not check this book out, discover a bit of the Munger magic and see what else happens?

Bought the audio version.

As others have said, it's full of nothing but old quotes. This format makes it impossible to listen to without punching yourself in the face.

Author does little but add quote after historical quote by Munger, all rehashed from freely available sources. The author then includes short, often conflicting, summaries of this advice.

It was painful to listen to and, if you know the basic principals of Buffett's investing, nothing here is new.

Would have given a five except for Charlie's praise of NCR's Patterson. This does not fit with his statements about treating people fairly, morally, etc.
Patterson had 95% of the cash register business by driving his competitors from the business by any method of his choosing. Most of these methods were not morally correct.
Would love to hear from Charlie on this
[email protected]

I certainly highlighted a few quotes here and there but this book didn't provide all that much incremental insight to any student of graham/Buffett/munger. And for someone new to this realm, the Essays of Warren Buffett is a much more comprehensive book.

A good summary and explanation about what Munger have said in speeches, letters and comments.

If you have already read Poor Charlie's Almanack, then this book will be a short repetition. But if you are new to Munger, you'll find it's a good start.

The book is mainly about Munger's description of Mental Models and cognitive bias. It's a shame it doesn't say much about Munger's life and biography.

(Note to readers at the store -- links are available at my blog. Wish the store would let me post them here.

This book is written by an interesting man about another interesting man. Tren Griffin writes a respectable blog called 25iq. His main topics are the theory of value investing, and what he has learned from bright investors and businessmen. One of his favorite businessmen/investors that he likes studying is Charlie Munger, and that’s why he wrote the book.

Why is Tren Griffin interesting, aside from his writing? Well, he solved a practical problem of his own once using the ideas of Munger and Buffett. As an executive at Microsoft, he had a large block of Microsoft stock during the dot-com bubble. His dilemma: should he sell his stock or not? After reading Munger particularly, he came up with a solution that I would endorse: he sold half of his holdings. A lot of good investing is getting around psychological barriers so that you are happy with your results, and be able to sleep well at night. Selling half is never the optimal solution, but it is a good one amid uncertainty, and allows you to stop sitting on your hands amid danger.

A lot of what goes into the thought processes of Charlie Munger involves how investors let fear or greed get the better of them, and cease to think rationally. Learning these foibles has two advantages: you can try to train yourself to avoid these problems, and take advantage of the irrationality of others in business and investing.

In his book, Tren Griffin takes you through Munger’s thoughts on Value Investing. Particularly interesting to me was how the concept of Margin of Safety changed, and what role Munger played in its development. The key change was noting that businesses differ in quality, especially as to how long they can maintain above average returns on their invested capital, and how much of their profits would be free to be reinvested in the business. An ideal business would be a natural monopoly with a high return on capital, and a need for continued capital investment somewhat less than its profits.

Tren Griffin also introduces you to the mental models of Munger. Strong generalist knowledge in a wide number of areas can aid making business and investment decisions. One drawback is that many of the mental models are clear and adequately described — the ones on human psychology. The rest are more vague, and seem to be what a true liberal arts education should be, including math and science. Munger is a lifelong learner, and given how much the world changes, if you want to be competitive, you have to continually update your knowledge.

For those who are familiar with the way that Munger thinks, this is old hat. But for those that are new to it, this book is an excellent introduction, and is systematic in a slim 150+ small pages of information. On that basis, I recommend the book strongly.

But, if you’re still not sure whether you would like the book or not, or whether it would be a good book for a friend of yours, you have an easy way to help you decide. Just visit the author’s blog, and look at the topics page. Scroll down and find the topic “Charlie Munger.” Of the nine articles presently there, pick two of them and read them. If you like them, you will like the book.

Quibbles

From my past dealings with authors, I know they don’t always control the title of the book, but this book is half about Munger and half about value investing generally, particularly the version of value investing practiced at Berkshire Hathaway. There are ample quotations from Buffett and other value investors along with more from Munger. If I had been structuring the book, I would have made it entirely about Munger, and might have included a biography if the book had not been long enough.

The appendices are a good example of that, in that they are less about what Munger thinks, and more about the way Berkshire Hathaway views value investing. The last appendix doesn’t seem to mention Munger at all.

Summary / Who Would Benefit from this Book

If you’ve read a lot of Munger, this book will likely not benefit you. If you are new to the thoughts of Charlie Munger, or want aid in clarifying his thoughts into a system, this book will help do that.

This is an excellent introduction to the wit and wisdom of Charlie Munger. Griffin does a good job in gathering and distilling the essentials from all of Munger's major speeches and interviews. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Munger's way of thinking, especially those who are new to Munger.

A job well done to Tren Griffin.