📖David Swensen
Quality at a Fair Price
Seek quality businesses at fair prices.
The ideal investment is a high-quality business purchased at a fair price. Quality compounds wealth; fair prices protect capital.
🏠 Everyday Analogy
📖 Core Interpretation
David Swensen emphasizes durable business quality over short-term noise. A strong model, real competitive edge, and disciplined capital allocation matter more than quarterly excitement.
💎 Key Insight：Quality and fair price together create optimal investments.
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❓ Why It Matters
Without business-quality filters, investors drift toward stories rather than economics. Durable cash generation is what supports long-term valuation.
🎯 How to Practice
Use a checklist covering moat, management, unit economics, and capital allocation; track long-term cash generation instead of quarter-to-quarter noise.
⚠️ Common Pitfalls
Buying narratives instead of cash-generating economics
Overreacting to short-term operating noise
Ignoring management quality and capital allocation
📚 Case Studies
1
Yale Endowment Tech Bubble Avoidance (2000)
Swensen’s disciplined manager selection led Yale to avoid many momentum-driven tech managers during the dot-com bubble.
✨ Outcome：When the bubble burst, Yale’s portfolio declined far less than peers, reinforcing the value of careful manager vetting and long-term discipline.
2
Staying the Course in the Global Financial Crisis (2008)
Equities, REITs, and commodities plunged over 40% while Treasuries and high‑quality bonds rallied, severely testing diversified portfolios.
✨ Outcome：Maintained target allocations and rebalanced into falling assets, leading to strong gains as markets recovered over the following years.
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