
Over the next few months, I'll be traveling with my older kids to Northern Europe (I have a low tolerance for heat). We're going to visit Munich, Vilnius, and Riga in mid to late July. We started a summer Northern European trip tradition a few years ago (you can read about it here).
Then, in late August, my son Jonah and I are going to travel to Scotland and England. One of our largest investments is Babcock International, the second-largest British defense contractor (relatively unknown in the US). They're hosting an investor day at their shipyard in Rosyth, Scotland. Jonah has never been to London, so we'll spend a few days there. I have many good friends there, and we own several other British companies that I hope to visit on this trip. I love travel (especially to Europe) and learning – these trips will be great for both.
I find company visits very useful – seeing management in their natural habitat provides unexpected insights. Even their offices tell you a lot about companies and their culture. I remember visiting a company in Dallas and seeing pictures of its CEO plastered all over HQ. I lost my appetite for that company very fast. Which proved a terrific decision in hindsight.
Yes, you never know what you'll learn from these visits.
This is my second visit to a Babcock shipyard – I attended their investor day in Plymouth, England, in 2023. In fact, that last visit is a great example of not knowing what you'll learn. I thought I'd gain insights by seeing the shipyard, and I did. The sheer size of it and the complexity of repairing nuclear submarines made me appreciate the quality of their business. But I kind of knew all this before the visit.
The real value came from three random conversations. One was with a Babcock executive who made me realize just how special the company is – he had left a similar post at a much larger and also very respected defense company to join Babcock. Another conversation gave me unexpected insights into another European defense company we own. Third, I learned a tremendous amount about Babcock from a three-hour conversation with a London investor – and made a like-minded good friend with whom I talk regularly.
Success in life comes not just from hard, smart work but from luck as well. These visits increase my exposure to luck.
I love meeting my readers. I may have time to meet readers in these cities. If you'd like to attend one of these fairly informal (non-marketing) gatherings, please fill out this form.
From Dumpster Diving to Emotional Resilience: My Latest Interview with Dan Ferris
I recently sat down with Dan Ferris at Stansberry for an in-depth conversation that went places I didn't expect, from my evolving investment philosophy to the Berkshire product I consume religiously (spoiler: it's not insurance or candy).
Here are just a few of the topics we explored:
How my approach to investing has evolved – I no longer go dumpster diving for "cheap" stocks – and why that's made me a better investor.
What I've learned about emotional resilience in markets, and why I now avoid certain kinds of companies, no matter how attractively priced they appear.
The value of saying "no" – and how truly knowing your circle of competence changes everything about portfolio construction.
Thoughts on Buffett's transition at Berkshire Hathaway – why it doesn't excite me as much as it used to, and what that says about the future of value investing.
The bittersweet story of how I almost saw Buffett's retirement announcement live (and which Berkshire product I still consume daily).
The stock that's become my second-largest holding – a company most value investors overlook, and why it perfectly exemplifies my evolution as an investor.
A life lesson I try to live by, even when dealing with telemarketers at 8pm (Dan loved this one).
And a quote about investing I didn't invent... but maybe wish I had.
👉 Watch my full conversation with Dan Ferris here – where we dig into why being obsessed with something that never fully makes sense might be the most rational approach to markets today.

Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 3, “Rhenish”
Today in our exploration of music by Clara and Robert Schumann, we are going to explore Robert's Symphony No. 3, “Rhenish.” He composed it between November 2th and December 9th of 1850, in a bit more than a month.
This symphony is inspired by the Rhineland, as Schumann had recently moved there with his family. The symphony was written in a happy period of Robert's life; it is very uplifting and full of optimism. As I listen to this symphony, it makes me both happy and sad. Happy because the music is very uplifting, sad because I realize these were the last happy years for Robert, as just a few years later, overcome by depression, he would try to commit suicide.
Click here to listen.