Joe Koster

Sorfis Investments, LLC — Coastal Carolina University — All thoughts are my own opinions, not investment advice.

[Joe Koster @jtkoster]

“A wise man looks for everything inside of himself; a madman seeks for everything in others.” —Confucius

“There's only one success: to be able to live your life your way.” —Christopher Morley

[Value Investing World Newsletter @VInvestingWorld]

Weekly Summary: 06/05/2026

https://t.co/FDAqy9ZUNx

[Joe Koster @jtkoster]

@EnergyCredit1 From last year, and seems relevant to your point…

https://t.co/NRZeSIXtml,

[MastersInvest.com @mastersinvest]

"The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot.

Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light.

Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark.

In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves."

- Carl Sagan 1994. Astronomer.

[Joe Koster @jtkoster]

That reminds me of this quote from Warren Buffett:

“Don’t fear failure.... Don’t let it eat at you. Don’t look back. Just keep going. You’re going to have some things, but forget them. Go forward.” —Warren Buffett

And also this one:

“I must go forward where I have never been instead of backwards where I have.” —Winnie the Pooh

[Joe Koster @jtkoster]

“Trends can reverse for no apparent reason with incredible celerity.” —Barton Biggs

“Know thyself and know thy foibles. Study the history of your emotions and your actions. At the extreme moments of fear and greed, the power of the daily price momentum and the mood and passions of ‘the crowd’ are tremendously important psychological influences on you. It takes a strong, self-confident, emotionally mature person to stand firm against disdain, mockery, and repudiation when the market itself seems to be absolutely confirming that you are both mad and wrong. Also, be obsessive in making sure your facts are right and that you haven’t missed or misunderstood something.” —Barton Biggs

[Joe Koster @jtkoster]

PDF: https://t.co/fimP7j1FwQ

[Joe Koster @jtkoster]

@ChrisBloomstran with another monumental effort writing this letter, after a great year for SAI in 2025.

[Value Investing World Newsletter @VInvestingWorld]

Semper Augustus Investments Group: 2025 Annual Letter

Both Sides Now: Cloud Delusions; Value at a Secular Plateau; And – Berkshire Hathaway: Going Out on Top

https://t.co/rAMhTa7tPA

[Joe Koster @jtkoster]

Thanks for sharing. Makes sense given some old Munger and Greenwald comments…

https://t.co/mafSwKXvuq

[Compound248 💰 @compound248]

@JohnHuber72 I knew a guy who worked for Buffett in the immediate pre-Todd and Ted era.

His summary of the Buffett buy algorithm was, “7x avg last 5 year EBIT.”

[Joe Koster @jtkoster]

@danielgladis Congrats, Daniel!

[Joe Koster @jtkoster]

Interesting to think about this comment from Mark Leonard last year, given what's been happening lately. There are new AI concerns, and I don't yet have a position, but it's probably a reasonable data point when thinking through potential returns from here.

[Speedwell Research @Speedwell_LLC]

Mark Leonard commented on $CSU valuation in VERY blunt terms at the AGM:

"So I am not a big fan of generating market rates of return.

If you want to generate a 6% to 8% rate of return by buying an ETF, go for it, and we're part of those ETFs.

And so obviously, our stock is priced to generate a 6% to 8% rate of return for the foreseeable future by the market. That's their discount rate.

So if you want to make 20% or 25% rates of return, then I'd love that, but you probably have to buy Constellation at 1/4 of the current price to do that."

- 2025 AGM

[MOI Global @manualofideas]

Just released on Latticework: Weekly Inspiration - Wisdom, Insights, and Ideas for Intelligent Investors https://t.co/POMo9zNws0

[Joe Koster @jtkoster]

Sorfis 2025 Annual Letter to Clients

https://t.co/UfKQHq5U9R

“And I’ll leave you my last bit of wisdom. There’s another proverb, it’s a Turkish proverb. ‘No road is long with good company.’ The essence of life is to surround yourself, as continuously as you can, with good company.” —Peter Kaufman

[Joe Koster @jtkoster]

"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbours, and let each new year find you a better man." -Benjamin Franklin

[Joe Koster @jtkoster]

“He who receives a benefit with gratitude repays the first installment on his debt.” —Seneca

“All you need are these: certainty of judgment in the present moment; action for the common good in the present moment; and an attitude of gratitude in the present moment for anything that comes your way.” —Marcus Aurelius

[Value Investing World Newsletter @VInvestingWorld]

Links - 11/27/2025 [subscribers]

https://t.co/WGmdaqTho8

“Do not indulge in dreams of having what you have not, but reckon up the chief of the blessings you do possess, and then thankfully remember how you would crave for them if they were not yours.” —Marcus Aurelius

[Joe Koster @jtkoster]

@TSOH_Investing What a memory!

[Joe Koster @jtkoster]

John Malone at his finest…

https://t.co/CH2M7VSavo

[Brad Kaellner @bkaellner]

Peter Kaufman: I’m the only person on Earth who can define Circle of Competence

Here it is…

[Joe Koster @jtkoster]

"[There's] this theme of ‘finding your own way.’ One of the most common mistakes that I see people make—whether you're talking about kids or adults—in the learning curve is trying to do it like someone else does it; whether it's your dad, or your hero, or Michael Jordan, or Tiger Woods, or whatever the sport is. There are people who are at the top, and you can try to do it like somebody else, but that's very different from trying to figure out the relationship to the art which is completely your own." —Josh Waitzkin

[Joe Koster @jtkoster]

“Talking to management is not a perfect art. Management talks about what management wants to talk about. And they have, sometimes, their own agenda. But I think you can get a lot from the conversation around what’s the likely direction—both of where they’re taking the assets, what new bets are they going to make, and how much do they care about shareholder return. One of my favorite questions for a lot of the stocks we look at that haven’t done much in the market lately is ‘Why should we or anybody buy the stock here? What’s the plan for how you’re going to deliver value for your shareholders, especially because the last couple of years your stock really has lagged?’ You don’t have to agree with the answer, but hearing it shows you something about the caliber and character of management.” —Seth Klarman

[Value Investing World Newsletter @VInvestingWorld]

Links - 08/03/2025 [subscribers]

https://t.co/bQaLzHDBqb

“The winds and waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators.” —Edward Gibbon

[Joe Koster @jtkoster]

"The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The duty of a man is to be useful to his fellow-men; if possible, to be useful to many of them; failing this, to be useful to a few; failing this, to be useful to his neighbours, and, failing them, to himself: for when he helps others, he advances the general interests of mankind. Just as he who makes himself a worse man does harm not only to himself but to all those to whom he might have done good if he had made himself a better one, so he who deserves well of himself does good to others by the very fact that he is preparing what will be of service to them." -Seneca ("On Leisure")