This week we take a break from our usual series, to say goodbye to a giant of a man.

It was almost one year ago that I wrote the following in this forum, ?This week I was casting for the big one in one of the volcanic lakes on top of Mount Kenya. Mount Kenya is on the eastern border of the Rift Valley (Kenya, Africa). My companion and I were discussing the finer things in life??

The tarn on which we were fishing is in the shadow of Mount Kenya's highest peaks, Batian, Nelion and Lenana. The most powerful and largest tribe in Kenya, the Kikuyu believe that their God (Ngai) lives on this mountain. Yet, the peaks are named after Maasai leaders. For some this is a source of great mystery, especially since most Westerners buy into the notion that the Maasai and the Kikuyu have forever been at odds with each other. A close scrutiny of history reveals that this is a misconception. Yes, the Maasai and the Kikuyu do have a long history of conflict but this is well balanced by their history of trade and amicable coexistence. Anyway, Halford Mackinder, the first man to summit Mount Kenya (1899), named the peaks after Maasai leaders. This was most likely due to the District Officer of Maasailand, who proved most helpful when the Kikuyu tried to stop the ascent.

When you find yourself in the shadow of these majestic peaks you are caught up in a wave of emotion that is as difficult to describe as the allure of this grandiose mountain. Rugged, grey outcrops converge into slopes, which reach up into the blue African sky to become overpowering Lenana, Nelion and Batian. These huge peaks immediately put the conceits of human endeavour and ambition into perspective. When you gaze up at them for the first time you realise in an instant that this is a space for giants. Mere mediocrity will simply not suffice because here you will be judged by your walk.

It is most befitting then that this is the place where a giant in my world would come to rest. Many years ago I was searching for landmarks in the landscape of the investment world and one day realised that I was standing in the shadow of gentle giants. Their presence was as intimidating as it was awesome. It is slightly ironic, yet strangely befitting, that one of those giants would be named Big George. George Brumley of Oakvalue was a giant in my life. This might strike some of you as a bit superficial. How can one try and juxtapose the trifling occupation of making money with the grandeur of nature? I believe such an observation is rooted in a misconception of what the allocation of capital is about. A misconception I once held. That is until I met people like George. For the allocation of capital, fund management or investment advice is more than a frivolous attempt to make money. Ultimately it is an enormous responsibility to efficiently allocate the financial resources of society. The decisions that you make will enable gifted young minds to go the college?or not, hardworking folk to retire?or not and deserving businesses to become a pillar in their communities?or not. If you look at the life of George Brumley you will see that he was such a pillar. His family knew that they could count on his word; the investors in his fund knew that they could count on his passion and his community knew that they could count on his resources, which mostly came in the form of time, advice and money. When I look at other giants in my career, like Warren Buffett and Sir John Templeton, then the similarity in their values is readily apparent. Your job as an allocator of capital reaches far beyond the simple task of making money.

So what exactly did Big George and Oakvalue teach me? The first thought that springs to mind is that this forum is insufficient to do justice to that question. Therefore, the best I can do is to share with you a collage of investment details that enriched my life.

? The first is quite appropriate in the context. George said that, 'In many endeavors, the appropriate response to setbacks is endurance in order to achieve success'.

? George Brumley's investment knowledge was founded in Berkshire Hathaway annual reports, Benjamin Graham's Security Analysis and Intelligent Investor, Buffett's partnership letters and just about every article he could find that was written on or by Buffett.

? The importance of scuttlebutt.

? The gold in the company is most often in the people that run it.

? Cash is king.

? That the best value for money in terms of investment education in America is the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting.

? Be passionate.

? A proper investment education is rooted in Benjamin Graham, broadened by Warren Buffett and personalised by what you bring to the party. ?Don't try and be all things to all people?, Brumley taught and ?You have to have your own style?.

? You need to stick to a disciplined investment strategy.

? Avoid the fads, because that is where the competition lies. You should look for unsexy businesses with no competition. Oakvalue played an important role in my decision to steer clear of technology stocks because Brumley maintained that all technology stocks have competitors and loads of them.

? It is highly questionable whether I would have been a Berkshire Hathaway shareholder today, if it were not for George and Oakvalue. Berkshire Hathaway has been the most difficult company I ever analysed. Something I could only do after a lot of help from people like George.

Isaac Newton said, 'If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants'. To paraphrase Newton, if I have seen further, it will be less so from now on, because I am missing a giant.

Thanks George.

Whatever you are up to, I hope it is profitable and ethical!

Mr. B

(cv sig-13.7%/6)

mail_mrb@yahoo.com

Posted: 2003/08/07 10:34 View Archive