Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy
Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy
Colossus | Investing & Business Podcasts
Bethany McLean - Business Gone Bad and the Art of Persistence - [Invest Like the Best, EP.96]
57 minutes Posted Jul 24, 2018 at 2:30 am.
(First Question) – Differences and similarities between investors and journalists3:19 – What has more of an impact on business practices, exposing negatives or reporting positive4:57 – first story that got Bethany intrigued with finding bad behaviors6:19 – The process of getting to know the people who know more than the market7:43 – Mindsets: Optimism vs. Complacency vs. Pessimism8:18 – First short seller that garnered her interest8:57 – The process that led to The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron10:36 – How to ask questions12:18 – Importance of preparation14:20 – Difference between a visionary and a fraud15:42 – Free Radicals: The Secret Anarchy of Science16:23 – Any standout frauds that told a really compelling story17:33 – Looking into Valient19:32 –Writing about the #MeToo movement19:34 - Disgraced ex-BofA exec raises uncomfortable questions about #MeToo21:49 – Thoughts on the spectrum of chasing this story23:26 – Ways journalist can fairly impact this movement24:14 – The romance of owning a home in America and what it has meant for the market24:34 – Shaky Ground: The Strange Saga of the U.S. Mortgage Giants28:27 – What has changed on her thinking about housing30:24 – What role does Fannie and Freddie have in the market today31:13 – Her desire to look into energy32:26 – Saudi America: The Truth About Fracking and How It's Changing the World35:05 – What have been the changes in energy market in the US34:40 – Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy37:01 – Where are we in the life cycle of energy production38:29 – Technologies that shaped industrial revolution in America41:10 – Why is Peter Elkin the best investigative journalist42:24 – Most relentless she has ever been43:58 – Who is doing it right44:38 – All the Devils Are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis45:36 – Her take on reporting the The Hunt for Steve Cohen story49:01 – How her views have evolved over her career and lessons learned50:40 – Are there ways to prevent success from leading people down a bad path53:48 – The role of empathy in her career55:13 – Kindest thing anyone has done for Bethany’s career
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Show notes
I’ve often heard that good investors are a bit like journalists: doggedly collecting evidence and building an understanding of how all the pieces of a company or investment fit together. My guest this week is one of my favorite writers and journalists, Bethany McLean. Across her career, Bethany has covered many of the most interesting stories in business and investing, including Enron (which became the famous book and documentary, the Smartest Guys in the Room), Valeant, Wells Fargo, SAC Capital, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the great financial crisis, and most recently, fracking and the energy revolution.Given how deeply she has investigated all of these topics-- and thought about the common threads across them all--this was an amazing conversation. When talking to her, you can feel how much she cares and how diligent and fair she is when analyzing a topic. In addition to all of the great stories already listed, we discuss the art of persistence and other lessons she has learned about businesses and people gone bad. I especially loved her evolving take on housing in America.Please enjoy my conversation with Bethany McLean For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub.Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag Links Referenced The Hunt for Steve Cohen Books Referenced Free Radicals: The Secret Anarchy of Science Saudi America: The Truth About Fracking and How It's Changing the World Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy All the Devils Are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis Show Notes2:22 - (First Question) – Differences and similarities between investors and journalists3:19 – What has more of an impact on business practices, exposing negatives or reporting positive4:57 – first story that got Bethany intrigued with finding bad behaviors6:19 – The process of getting to know the people who know more than the market7:43 – Mindsets: Optimism vs. Complacency vs. Pessimism8:18 – First short seller that garnered her interest8:57 – The process that led to The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron10:36 – How to ask questions12:18 – Importance of preparation14:20 – Difference between a visionary and a fraud15:42 – Free Radicals: The Secret Anarchy of Science16:23 – Any standout frauds that told a really compelling story17:33 – Looking into Valient19:32 –Writing about the #MeToo movement19:34 - Disgraced ex-BofA exec raises uncomfortable questions about #MeToo21:49 – Thoughts on the spectrum of chasing this story23:26 – Ways journalist can fairly impact this movement24:14 – The romance of owning a home in America and what it has meant for the market24:34 – Shaky Ground: The Strange Saga of the U.S. Mortgage Giants28:27 – What has changed on her thinking about housing30:24 – What role does Fannie and Freddie have in the market today31:13 – Her desire to look into energy32:26 – Saudi America: The Truth About Fracking and How It's Changing the World35:05 – What have been the changes in energy market in the US34:40 – Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy37:01 – Where are we in the life cycle of energy production38:29 – Technologies that shaped industrial revolution in America41:10 – Why is Peter Elkin the best investigative journalist42:24 – Most relentless she has ever been43:58 – Who is doing it right44:38 – All the Devils Are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis45:36 – Her take on reporting the The Hunt for Steve Cohen story49:01 – How her views have evolved over her career and lessons learned50:40 – Are there ways to prevent success from leading people down a bad path53:48 – The role of empathy in her career55:13 – Kindest thing anyone has done for Bethany’s career