GIC lost 41%? Accountabiliity please!

[londontrader]

Dear Locke,

You might recall that I mentioned Warren Buffet recently:

"BTW, Here is my estimate for Warren Buffet's Performance over 2008

Per Share Book Value = $70,000 compared to $78008 1 year ago = DOWN 10% for 2008
This estimate is based on his SEC filings over 3 quarters in 2008 and taking into account the very bad 4th Q.
Note that the share price of Berkshire fell over 30% during 2008
Buffet doesn't measure his performance using that price because it's clouded by investor sentiment. Eg. Berkshire was widely acknowledged to be overvalued during 2007."

Just an update:

Buffet's 2008 performance came in at -9.6% (his worst ever result)
Food for thought!

Cheers

 

[Goh Meng Seng]

Dear Londontrader,

Not only that, Warren Buffett has the humility to admit his mistakes in some of his investment, instead of pushing that into the elusive "Long Term".

That is really some food for thought.

Goh Meng Seng

Dear Locke,

You might recall that I mentioned Warren Buffet recently:

"BTW, Here is my estimate for Warren Buffet's Performance over 2008

Per Share Book Value = $70,000 compared to $78008 1 year ago = DOWN 10% for 2008
This estimate is based on his SEC filings over 3 quarters in 2008 and taking into account the very bad 4th Q.
Note that the share price of Berkshire fell over 30% during 2008
Buffet doesn't measure his performance using that price because it's clouded by investor sentiment. Eg. Berkshire was widely acknowledged to be overvalued during 2007."

Just an update:

Buffet's 2008 performance came in at -9.6% (his worst ever result)
Food for thought!

Cheers

 

[SamuelStalin]

Nobody can be the best forever I guess. After that moment of glory and triumph in the later years they struggle to retain their position much less their reputation and respectability that are tied to it.

Dear Locke,

You might recall that I mentioned Warren Buffet recently:

"BTW, Here is my estimate for Warren Buffet's Performance over 2008

Per Share Book Value = $70,000 compared to $78008 1 year ago = DOWN 10% for 2008
This estimate is based on his SEC filings over 3 quarters in 2008 and taking into account the very bad 4th Q.
Note that the share price of Berkshire fell over 30% during 2008
Buffet doesn't measure his performance using that price because it's clouded by investor sentiment. Eg. Berkshire was widely acknowledged to be overvalued during 2007."

Just an update:

Buffet's 2008 performance came in at -9.6% (his worst ever result)
Food for thought!

Cheers

 

[Vendetta]

Dear Londontrader,

Not only that, Warren Buffett has the humility to admit his mistakes in some of his investment, instead of pushing that into the elusive "Long Term".

That is really some food for thought.

Goh Meng Seng

The PAPigs are just a bunch of self-righteous assholes, they will never admit their mistakes one...

 

[khunking]

拿得起放不下 syndrome

Key points:

1. Spore SWFs has to remain non-tranparent:
a. To pre-empt any anticipations of the market to GIC's move.
b. To pre-empt any expectation from Spore citizen on the surplus
2. Spore SWFs invested in US troubled banks because of their brand names.
3. Compared to Warren Buffet who is also a long-term investor, MM Lee says Warren Buffet needs to give returns to his shareholders every year, but GIC doesn't have to.

What MM Lee have said is certainly controversial and disputable.

 

[Lee Hsien Tau]

Dear London

Fair enough and thanks for a well written contribution, but I wish you well in convincing my friend that GIC did or acted like a "hedge fund" in making such a risky bet.

I would suggest that you take a look at the Norwegian Pension fund which is a paragon of transparency. As a shareholder of GIC and Temasek and yes its my money and not the Governments money I agree fully that disclosure, debate and discussion is in the order of the day. It will as well hopefully stop some of the more insane "coffeeshop comments" like " GIC is a hedge fund" being bandied around without thought or care.

1. The Norwegians have an absolute limit on the amount of stock it can hold in anyone company. For discussion sake do u think its wise ? Norwegians have it at under 1%, should GIC be limited similarly ? Should we spread our bets over all companies or spread our bets over a few good ones.

2. Risk versus Returns. You have raised a good point about the "possibility" of group think and an inability of like minded alumnus or masters of the universe to conceive of the sky falling around them. Anyway to hire a diversity of opinion ?

3. How much due diligence is done for buying such a large stake. For example the Abu Dubai people and Warren, did they comparatively do more due diligence ?

4. I would still disagree about a risky bet though I personally did not believe the bottom of the market was near at that period, was in cash still in cash, but I do know loads of small investors who believed that the pricing was good historically and the macro picture would not collapse to the extent that it did. For what its worth I do not consider it a risky bet at that moment because the financial reporting of that period was generally more positive. Its more negative and gloom and doom so my belief is they probably overshot on the down side.


Cheers


Locke

>>>>2. Risk versus Returns. You have raised a good point about the "possibility" of group think and an inability of like minded alumnus or masters of the universe to conceive of the sky falling around them. Anyway to hire a diversity of opinion ?<<<<

First, if you want diversity of opinion, you can't have 'yes' men around you.

First person you need to get rid of is the Old Fart.

If you are a sales slut, shut up and stick your head in the sand.

During the point of time in question, STI was already approaching 3900.

Nobody knows where the top is, but 3900 was pretty high, and all the fuck about decoupling and India and China as engines of growth is hogwash, and if you believed those theories, you'd believe swine flew.

Make big investments at such a time? Madness. You don't need a CFA to know this.