We are back with another installment of our summer reading list, where we snoop on the bookshelves of our Investment Team and share their suggestions with you. We hope you find one (or more) to add to your list. While not all these selections are investment-centric, they all illuminate aspects of Burgundy’s fundamental preoccupations. This year’s picks span various publication dates and topics, including entrepreneurialism, creativity, and revolutionary triumphs.
Poor Charlie’s Almanac: The Essential Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger, Charlie Munger
Recommended by: Anne Mette de Place Filippini, Chief Investment Officer
Originally published in 2005 and re-released shortly after his death in 2023, this collection features 11 talks delivered by Charlie Munger between 1986 and 2007. The work provides valuable lessons in investment strategy, philanthropy, and living an ethical life.
Bringing it back to Burgundy: Charlie is a celebrated and oft-quoted figure at Burgundy, with our Investment Team drawing from his insights daily. Not just a valuable resource for investors, this book is also a compelling read for anyone looking to become a little wiser about the world. A highlight of this compendium is “The Psychology of Human Misjudgement,” which introduces the “lollapalooza effect” and shows how the interplay of multiple forces can lead to extreme behaviours, decisions, or events.
The Creative Act: A Way of Being, Rick Rubin
Recommended by: David Vanderwood, Portfolio Manager
Structured around 78 “Areas of Thought,” highly respected music producer Rick Rubin lends his insights from a career spent working with artists like Johnny Cash, The Strokes, and Run-DMC to explore concepts such as overcoming self-imposed limitations and cultivating environments that nurture creativity.
Bringing it Back to Burgundy: Though it may come as a surprise to some, investing is a creative act. Rubin’s book offers suggestions to help anyone tap into their creative side, including investors. One of Rubin’s most relevant insights relates to patience. He cites the need for patience as the one rule to creativity that’s less breakable than the others. “Impatience,” he notes, “is an argument with reality.” As long-term investors, we understand this well.
The Soul of a New Machine, Tracy Kidder
Recommended by: Doug Winslow, Portfolio Manager
Tracy Kidder won a Pulitzer Prize for this nonfiction book that explores the creation of a new computer at Data General Corporation. Published in 1982, this engaging behind-the-scenes account chronicles the trials and triumphs of a team of engineers working to develop a revolutionary machine in the early days of tech.
Bringing it back to Burgundy: Despite being over 40 years old, with today’s artificial intelligence excitement, a story about being on the precipice of technological change is a topical one, with insight into understanding the cultures that drive innovation at technology companies.
Luxury Strategy: Break the Rules of Marketing to Build Luxury Brands, J.N. Kapferer and V. Bastien
Recommended by: Lucas Bertrand-Sittler, Investment Analyst
Serving as a blueprint for luxury brands, this book distinguishes between premium and high-end products, contrasts luxury marketing with traditional approaches, emphasizes the importance of exclusivity and craftsmanship, and offers strategies for maintaining a luxury brand.
Bringing it back to Burgundy: Burgundy invests in some of the highest-quality companies in the world, including some luxury brands. This work is especially relevant for the European team, where many luxury companies are headquartered, including our holding Richemont, owner of Cartier.
Elon Musk, Walter Isaacson
Recommended by Michael Elkins, Director of Research & Deputy Portfolio Manager
Walter Isaacson’s biography of Elon Musk chronicles the life and achievements of the influential and contentious figure. The book details how, through fierce ambition and comprehensive knowledge of his businesses, he led several organizations to improbable success.
Bringing it Back to Burgundy: At Burgundy, we are constantly searching for leaders who can guide their organizations toward spectacular long-term returns. This book sheds light on the traits that can drive these outcomes.
Maximum Canada: Toward a Country of 100 Million, Doug Saunders
Recommended by Andrew Iu, Portfolio Manager
Doug Saunders’ book explains why Canada’s heritage as a British colony resulted in relatively low and exclusionary immigration for most of Canada’s existence, putting today’s high immigration rates in context.
Bringing it Back to Burgundy: As a Canadian investment firm, Saunders’ book offers a worthwhile perspective, making the case for why Canada needs more, not less, immigration to create a sufficiently large domestic market that Canadians do not leave for the United States, a recurring challenge for Canada throughout history.
Closing This Chapter
At Burgundy, we believe that reading allows us to better relate to each other and make sense of our world, both the everyday world and the investment world. Though reading is a solitary experience, books are meant to be shared. We hope these stories of entrepreneurialism, taking chances, and nurturing creativity have piqued your interest and inspired you to take a little time for yourself before summer’s end.
This post is presented for illustrative and discussion purposes only. It is not intended to provide investment advice and does not consider unique objectives, constraints or financial needs. Under no circumstances does this post suggest that you should time the market in any way or make investment decisions based on the content. Select securities may be used as examples to illustrate Burgundy’s investment philosophy. Burgundy funds or portfolios may or may not hold such securities for the whole demonstrated period. Investors are advised that their investments are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. This post is not intended as an offer to invest in any investment strategy presented by Burgundy. The information contained in this post is the opinion of Burgundy Asset Management and/or its employees as of the date of the post and is subject to change without notice. Please refer to the Legal section of this website for additional information.
