Buffett's Mistakes Had One Cause | The 100 Year Thinkers on the Hardest Part of Holding Forever

Chris Mayer and Robert Hagstrom join Matt Zeigler on 100 Year Thinkers to explore how investors can identify great businesses, hold them through volatility, and let compounding work over decades.Drawing on Mayer's book The Investor's Odyssey, they discuss Warren Buffett's investing philosophy, durable competitive advantages, investor psychology, and the portfolio management decisions that help long-term investors stay the course.Buy the Investor's Odyssey https://amzn.to/4gCVMMpChris Mayer on Twitter https://x.com/chriswmayerRobert Hagstrom on Twitter https://x.com/RobertGHagstromTopics covered:The original Buffett partnership investor who held Berkshire Hathaway for decadesWhy individual investors can have an advantage over professional money managersThe coffee can portfolio and resisting the pressure to tradeHow loss aversion and constant price updates undermine long-term investingHigh returns on capital, reinvestment, and the power of compoundingAssessing whether competitive advantages can survive AI and new competitorsDistinguishing temporary stock declines from deteriorating businessesWhy great investment track records include periods of underperformanceInvisible moats, employee incentives, and lessons from companies that survived 100 yearsPosition sizing, letting winners run, and combining stock picking with index fundsTimestamps:00:00 Chris Mayer's The Investor's Odyssey and the Berkshire buy-and-hold story 04:20 Why more investors don't hold great businesses for decades 09:44 Resisting financial media and the pressure to act 15:59 Loss aversion and protecting yourself from market noise 21:12 Compounding returns and how long a competitive advantage lasts 26:25 Separating AI disruption fears from business fundamentals 30:38 Why outperforming investors still lag the market frequently 36:45 Evaluating the business before the management team 41:26 Invisible moats in trucking and insurance brokerage 48:03 Building a business culture that outlasts its leaders 53:05 Position sizing and why stock picking is only half the job 58:06 Combining index funds with a patient stock portfolioLearn more about the Excess Returns podcast network: https://excessreturns.coNo information discussed in this podcast should be construed as investment advice. Securities discussed may be held by the hosts and guests, their firms or their clients.