Finance and Economics;Walter Schloss; Death of a non-salesman;
财经;沃尔特·施洛斯;他不是一个推销员;
The passing of a truly contrarian investor;
一位真正的逆向投资者离世;
Walter Schloss was never a face on financial television programmes. Nor was he known for marketing his skills to investors (he was indifferent to collecting clients and only 92 managed to sign on). His death last month, at the age of 95, garnered little public comment but among a certain crowd it meant the loss of a mind that was courageous, independent and utterly distinct from much of modern finance.
沃尔特·施洛斯既不是财经类电视节目中常常出现的名人,也不是靠教授投资技巧而出名(他并不关心有多少顾客,所以只有92人真正和他签约)。他与上个月去世,享年95岁,他的死并没引起公众注意,但是在特定的领域里,他的死意味着一种勇敢、独立、与现代金融学的很多东西完全不同的一种思想的流逝。
Mr Schloss was part of a small group who worked with Benjamin Graham, a Columbia Business School professor whose most famous disciple is Warren Buffett. Mr Schloss did not spend time tailing corporate managers. His research team doubled in size when his son joined. He favoured discarded “cigar butt” stocks that could be swept off the floor. Often, they weren't worth much but they sold for far less.
施洛斯先生是少数曾经和本杰明·格雷厄姆共事的人之一。格雷厄姆是哥伦比亚商学院教授,他最有名的一个学徒名叫沃伦·巴菲特。施洛斯没有花时间去纠缠公司的经理们。在他的儿子加入后,他的研究组扩大了一倍。他偏爱被遗弃的满地都是的“雪茄屁股”股票。它们通常不值多少钱,但是价格远低于其他股票。
As for high-flying shares, he was not afraid to go short. During the late 1990s, when a “new era” caused many people to throw out any normal valuation measures as hopelessly obsolete, Mr Schloss stayed firm and bet against some of the most popular and inflated names.
对于高价股票,他从不担心会卖空。20世纪90年代末,当一个“新的纪元”使许多人把所有正常的评估措施当做过时的废品扔掉时,施洛斯仍坚定不移,并打赌,某些热门的、价格飞涨的品种也有下跌的时候。
In part, he could do so because of a famously frugal cost structure. In part, he was protected by an extraordinary long-term record. When he ceased managing money for outsiders, his returns were reported to have averaged 16% annually, six percentage points higher than the market. He had other tactics, too. In 1999, when his portfolio was composed of everything no one wanted, he was asked how, even if his own convictions were unshaken, he could ensure that his investors stuck with him. Being a true contrarian required just one rule, he said: “Never tell a client what they own.”
他这样做一方面依据的是著名的节约成本结构。另一方面则是那段非同寻常的长时期记录帮助了他。据报道称,停止为一些门外汉理财后,他的收益已经达到了年均16%,比市场回报率高出六个百分点。除此之外,他还有另外一些策略。1999年,他的证券投资组合中全是没人要的股票,有人问他,即使拥有坚定信念,他是如何确保投资者对他的支持。他说道,作为一个真正的逆向投资者只要具备一条:“不要告诉自己的客户他们拥有什么样的股票。”