5 Highlights of Li Lu Interview – April 2021

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Dr. David Kass
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Li Lu was interviewed for 2 hours by Bruce Steinwald of Columbia Business School. This interview was streamed on YouTube on April 9, 2021.  The 5 highlights were:

Q1 2021 hedge fund letters, conferences and more

Li Lu
Image source: YouTube Video Screenshot

(1) Li Lu invests in the relatively few businesses he can identify that are growing, earning a high return on invested capital, and have a durable competitive advantage.

(2) Investors in those businesses that are growing, earning a high rate of return on invested capital (ROIC), and have a durable competitive advantage, will earn rates of return that will converge with ROIC over time.

(3) For investors to be successful over time, they must have the temperament to control their emotions and hold on to stocks or buy more when they are down 60-70%, and avoid following the crowd when they are rising rapidly. Greed and fear have resulted in sharp declines every 10 years throughout history. It is part of human nature.

(4) China currently has the best investment opportunities in the world.

(5) Li Lu has had dinner every Tuesday with Charlie Munger for 17 years (except for a hiatus during the pandemic).

Article by Dr. David Kass

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David I Kass Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Finance Ph.D., Harvard University Robert H. Smith School of Business 4412 Van Munching Hall University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742-1815 Phone: 301-405-9683 Email: dkass@rhsmith.umd.edu (link sends e-mail) Dr. David Kass has published articles in corporate finance, industrial organization, and health economics. He currently teaches Advanced Financial Management and Business Finance, and is the Faculty Champion for the Accelerated Finance Fellows. Prior to joining the faculty of the Smith School in 2004, he held senior positions with the Federal Government (Federal Trade Commission, General Accounting Office, Department of Defense, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis). Dr. Kass has recently appeared on Bloomberg TV, CNBC, PBS Nightly Business Report, Maryland Public Television, Business News Network TV (Canada), Fox TV, American Public Media's Marketplace Radio, and WYPR Radio (Baltimore), and has been quoted on numerous occasions by Bloomberg News and The Wall Street Journal, where he has primarily discussed Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway. He has also launched a Smith School “Warren Buffett” blog. Dr. Kass has accompanied MBA students on trips to Omaha for private meetings with Warren Buffett, and Finance Fellows to Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meetings. He is an officer of the Harvard Business School Club of Washington, DC, and is a member of the investment and budget committees of a local nonprofit organization. Dr. Kass received a Smith School “Top 15% Teaching Award” for the 2009-2010 academic year.