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Investors need to pick their poison: Either make more money when times are good and have a really ugly year every so often, or protect on the downside and don't be at the party so long when things are good.

Seth Klarman

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Seth Klarman
Age: 67
Born: 1957
Born: May 21
New York City
New York
Seth Andrew Klarman
Long
Year
Downside
Years
Party
Investors
Really
Times
Poison
Make
Often
Pick
Good
Money
Picks
Things
Need
Ugly
Needs
Protect
Every
Either

More quotes by Seth Klarman

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There are only a few things investors can do to counteract risk: diversify adequately, hedge when appropriate, and invest with a margin of safety. It is a precisely because we do not and cannot know all the risks of an investment that we strive to invest at a discount. The bargain element helps to provide a cushion for when things go wrong.
Seth Klarman
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Why should the immediate opportunity set be the only one considered, when tomorrow's may well be considerably more fertile than today's?
Seth Klarman
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A tipping point is invisible, as we just saw in Greece. In most situations, everything appears fine until it's not fine, until, for example, no one shows up at a Treasury auction.
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Value investing is risk aversion.
Seth Klarman
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Investors should always keep in mind that the most important metric is not the returns achieved but the returns weighed against the risks incurred. Ultimately, nothing should be more important to investors than the ability to sleep soundly at night.
Seth Klarman
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Be indifferent if you lose your short term clients, remember they are your own worst enemy
Seth Klarman
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Hold cash when opportunities are not presenting themselves.
Seth Klarman
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Successful investors must temper the arrogance of taking a stand with a large dose of humility, accepting that despite their efforts and care, they may in fact be wrong.
Seth Klarman
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A commodity doesn't have the same characteristics as a security, characteristics that allow for analysis. Other than a recent sale or appreciation due to inflation, analyzing the current or future worth of a commodity is nearly impossible.
Seth Klarman
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It sounds kind of crazy, but in times of turmoil in the market, I've felt a sort of serenity in knowing that I've checked and re-checked my work, one plus one still equals two regardless of where a stock trades right after I buy it.
Seth Klarman
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Risk is not inherent in an investment it is always relative to the price paid. Uncertainty is not the same as risk. Indeed, when great uncertainty - such as in the fall of 2008 - drives securities prices to especially low levels, they often become less risky investments.
Seth Klarman
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Gold is unique because it has the age-old aspect of being viewed as a store of value. Nevertheless, it’s still a commodity and has no tangible value, and so I would say that gold is a speculation. But because of my fear about the potential debasing of paper money and about paper money not being a store of value, I want some exposure to gold.
Seth Klarman
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When all feels calm and prices surge, the markets may feel safe but, in fact, they are dangerous because few investors are focusing on risk.
Seth Klarman
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Excess capacity in people, machines, or property will be quickly absorbed.
Seth Klarman
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All an investor can do is follow a consistently disciplined and rigorous approach over time the returns will come
Seth Klarman
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Investing today may well be harder than it has been at any time in our three decades of existence.
Seth Klarman
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The government can indefinitely control both short-term and long-term interest rates.
Seth Klarman
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As Buffett has often observed, value investing is not a concept that can be learned and gradually applied over time. It is either absorbed and adopted at once, or it is never truly learned.
Seth Klarman
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As Graham, Dodd and Buffett have all said, you should always remember that you don't have to swing at every pitch. You can wait for opportunities that fit your criteria and if you don't find them, patiently wait. Deciding not to panic is still a decision.
Seth Klarman
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Avoiding where others go wrong is an important step in achieving investment success. In fact, it almost assures it.
Seth Klarman