Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 38

Morningstar Conversation He can laugh about it now, but to many at the time, these guys believed in an outdated idea: that you should buy stocks at less than their intrinsic value. They, in turn, decided to embrace their contrariness. They dubbed their group the Flat Earth Society and called themselves Fellow Travelers. “The whole idea of Flat Earth,” Weitz says, “was that the tech boom was happening without us, and some of us were feeling very old. And we decided that, well, misery loves company.” Besides providing camaraderie and a good meal, the yearly meetings reinvigorated the investors and gave them the confidence to stay the course during value’s dark days. They also built lasting friendships. It’s where Rogers and Weitz first met. And even though tables turned after the tech crash, the Fellow Travelers, who number about a dozen, continue to meet every year to talk shop. We got wind of a recent Flat Earth Society meeting in Chicago and invited Rogers and Weitz, in from Omaha dressed in his trademark flannel shirt, to sit down together to talk about their approaches to investing. Fittingly, Rogers offered to host the discussion in the Buffett Room at the offices of Ariel Capital Management in downtown Chicago. Also in attendance was Andrew Weitz, Wally’s son and an analyst at Ariel. The conversation took place June 5. It’s been edited for clarity and length. John Rogers: As you know, your son is doing a terrific job as one of our young analysts. Wally Weitz: It’s hard for me to think of him as an analyst. JR: So what one or two tips did you give Drew about what it takes to be a successful analyst? WW: Well, I think being curious about how the business works, and knowing that different types of businesses really have different variables that are important. He told me that he was going off to insurance school to spend a few weeks learning about the details of analyzing insurance stocks. And I said, “Well, that’s really great, but when you get all done with that, you’ll still never really know whether the reserves are adequate or not.” He said, “Oh, thanks, Dad.” But the point is you better trust your management, and in insurance, you better believe that they’re measuring their risk and their future liabilities right, because you’re never going to really know. That is what I talk to our young analysts about at our place. You can make models until you’re 38 Morningstar Advisor Summer 2007

Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007

Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007
Contents
Letter from the Publisher
Get to Know the Bond “All-Stars”
Research Briefs
Our Stewardship Test Gets Tougher
Save It for Later
Too Many Oranges
Best of Both Worlds
No Two Clients Are Alike
When It Comes to VAs, It’s Seller Beware
Hands On: Finding the Suitable Fund Share Class for Your Client
Fund Style Can Drift Off Course
Sticking to Their Style, Through Thick and Thin
Marathon Man
Growth, With a Chaser
A Menu of Ideas to Fill Five Market Baskets
Funds: Finding Funds with Conviction
Stocks: So You Say You Want Income?
All Eyes on China
Mutual Fund Analyst Picks
Undervalued Stocks
Most Popular Variable Annuities
What’s New at Morningstar and on the Web
The Advisor’s Economic Moat
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - Intro
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - Cover2
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - Contents
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 2
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 3
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 4
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - Letter from the Publisher
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 6
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 7
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - Get to Know the Bond “All-Stars”
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 9
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - Research Briefs
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 11
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - Our Stewardship Test Gets Tougher
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 13
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - Save It for Later
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 15
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - Too Many Oranges
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 17
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - Best of Both Worlds
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 19
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 20
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - No Two Clients Are Alike
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - When It Comes to VAs, It’s Seller Beware
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 23
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 24
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 25
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 26
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 27
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 28
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - Hands On: Finding the Suitable Fund Share Class for Your Client
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 30
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 31
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 32
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 33
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - Fund Style Can Drift Off Course
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 35
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 36
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - Sticking to Their Style, Through Thick and Thin
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 38
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 39
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 40
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 41
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 42
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - Marathon Man
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 44
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 45
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 46
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 47
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - Growth, With a Chaser
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 49
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 50
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 51
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - A Menu of Ideas to Fill Five Market Baskets
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 53
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 54
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 55
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 56
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 57
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - Funds: Finding Funds with Conviction
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 59
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - Stocks: So You Say You Want Income?
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 61
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 62
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - All Eyes on China
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 64
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 65
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 66
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 67
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - Mutual Fund Analyst Picks
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 69
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 70
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 71
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - Undervalued Stocks
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 73
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - Most Popular Variable Annuities
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 75
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - What’s New at Morningstar and on the Web
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 77
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 78
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 79
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - The Advisor’s Economic Moat
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - Cover3
Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - Cover4
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