My Meeting with Guy Spier

A few weeks ago, I had the absolute pleasure to speak to Guy Spier, value investor, hedge fund manager of Aquamarine Capital, author of The Education of a Value Investor and acquaintance of Warren Buffett.

Guy Spier by Horasis on Flickr

Every morning, when I think about things I’m grateful for, the day when I received the email from Guy Spier often pops up in my grateful mind. I saw the mail in the afternoon and thought it was his newsletter and decided to wait to open it until the evening when I was off work and kids were in bed. Guy Spier’s newsletters are quite thorough and full of wisdom, and they take time to read because they’re packed with valuable information and links to resources that I always want to dive into, so I usually allocate a couple of hours to read the newsletter.

If you want to subscribe, click here – if you prefer auditory knowledge, Guy Spier has a podcast (click here to listen and subscribe to his podcast).

"For  most  people,  attaining  the  intellectual  clarity  and  emotional  detachment  that  investing  requires  is  tough."

Guy Spier

Back to the story! Evening came and I cozied up on the couch in my favorite spot where I have a beautiful view over the city. The views and layers in the landscape makes the perfect, picturesque foreground for reflection, so when I read or ponder, I usually sit here. I opened the email and read the first couple of lines – still expecting a newsletter. But by sentence 3 something was definitely off… the sentence referred to me directly and to my career, and I had to read the sentence a few times to make sure that my eyes weren’t playing games with me.

I couldn’t believe it. It was such a coincidence, so serendipitous. Because, a few months back Guy posted a photo of himself and Mohnish Pabrai on Instagram, in the comment I thanked them for sharing their knowledge and pledged that in return for everything they’ve given me, I would pay it forward and share my knowledge, and shortly thereafter I started this blog and my Instagram to honor my pledge.

So, when I got the email from Guy, I was pleasantly surprised, incredibly grateful and thanked the universe for this incredible gift – the email. I went downstairs to tell my husband, who could see that I was in shock (it takes a lot) and after I told him the news, he asked if this moment called for a “Eeeeek” and we eeeked and bounced/ danced around like schoolgirls (no offence). Not something we usually practice but this was a truly special occasion.

I replied back to Guy, and we set up a Zoom call. The date and time coincided with the time my husband and I was in Omaha, Nebraska (that’s Warren Buffett’s hometown) and by conscience our hotel was located across the street from Berkshire Hathaway headquarters, and we could see the signature curtains from the hotel room.

So, Guy and I talked about Berkshire Hathaway offices, Omaha and Buffett. What else we discussed is between Guy Spier and I, but I can tell you it was a great and memorable conversation, and that Guy Spier is exactly as wise and kind in person as in interviews, and he is an incredibly giving person. Another grateful moment for my morning primer. 

Before we had the call, I set a goal for the call (and this is maybe some advice that you can use too: always set a goal or a desired outcome for a meeting). My goal was to continue a relationship with Guy Spier, and I did suggest future meetings during the call, and he welcomed me to contact him, if I had topics to discuss. So, as you probably can imagine I’ll be forever looking for topics and opportunities for a next call with Guy Spier.