Weekend Reading #132

Photo by Iñaki del Olmo on Unsplash

This is the hundred-and-thirty-second weekly edition of our newsletter, Weekend Reading, sent out on Saturday 21st August 2021.

To receive a copy each week directly into your inbox, sign up here.

*****

What we're thinking.

As many readers will know we run a highly concentrated portfolio in our fund. We have very few of what we would call core holdings and nothing is sacrosanct. However, there are two names in our book which we are almost never without: Sea Limited and Mercadolibre. Our thinking this week is that it is often tempting to find the next Sea or the next Mercadolibre but the truth is why look for the next one when you already have the best. So much time and money can be wasted chasing shiny new objects as there is so much out there. But the case to focus on a few eggs and watch them grow has no better example than these two secular opportunities. Even still today there is a multi-bagger opportunity.  

What we're eating.

If you have children, they likely like pizza. But not all pizza is created equal and a lot of it, obviously, isn’t the healthiest option to be feeding your offspring. However, in our house we recently hit upon a fantastic pizza dough recipe from TV personality-turned-children’s food guru, Holly Willoughby, that, most importantly, our daughter loves and, secondly, is a heck of a lot healthier than a lot of other recipes or using shop bought. It’s also dead easy to make and, of course, it’s always great fun to put a pizza together with kids. Healthy toppings optional. EJP

As a content meat-eater and lover of food, admittedly I have never been to a vegetarian restaurant, not to mention a vegan restaurant. That all changed this week when I visited Wulf and Lamb in Sloane Square and was rather surprised at how far non-meat substitutes had come. I was somewhat sceptical about going to the restaurant when I heard the cuisine, but after tasting it, I genuinely think I would go back. I went for their famous ‘Wulf Burger’ and was content, however, I must say that when going for a burger, nothing beats the taste of a nice Aberdeen angus beef burger, with cheese that’s...cheese. It might be a while before I go again, but it makes for an interesting change when eating with non-meat loving friends. HS

What we're reading.

A fascinating read for anyone interested in the alchemic combination of private equity and fraud is The Key Man, a recent release from two WSJ journalists, Simon Clark and Will Louch, which tells the story of Arif Naqvi, founder of Abraaj, a Dubai-based private-equity firm. Naqvi was the central figure that built an empire that catered to the global elite’s search for impact investments to make money and do good. Along the way, Naqvi made friends and became business partners with Bill Gates, Barack Obama, the Pope and everyone in between. But in 2018, Clark and Louch were contacted by an anonymous whistle blower who said Naqvi had stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from his investors and offered bribes to sustain his billionaire lifestyle. Through 2018, 2019 and 2020, Clark and Louch dug deeper, uncovering an enormous fraud which led to Naqvi eventually being arrested on charges of fraud and racketeering. He currently faces up to 291 years in jail for his part at the centre of one of the biggest private equity frauds in history. This is a fun, fast paced and salutary tale, one that, as so often with great non-fiction, feels like a thriller but is, in fact, just a great description of extraordinary real life. EJP

With the unfolding disaster in Afghanistan, we like everyone else watches and wonders how on earth it all went so wrong. We are not experts at all but it doesn’t take a genius to work out that if you are Chinese you are watching with glee at the woeful US military performance. And even more importantly maybe is how you feel if you are an American ally. It doesn’t fill you with confidence. Anyway, someone who puts these things far more elegantly than I ever will is Bruno Maçães, whose musings we continue to enjoy. It just so happened he was in Kabul in the weeks and days preceding the withdrawal and he wrote of his views and experiences. Well worth a read. DC

What we're watching.

Amazon produces some quite strange television. When it comes to original productions, it seems to me that they can’t compete with the likes of HBO, Netflix and, even, the good old BBC. But one show that is fun and very watchable is Modern Love, and the second series just went live this week. This show is not for everyone, but if you like the sound of a short, sharp 30 minutes of escapism and good feelings (and sometimes a little sadness), then this is a show that can provide you with some respite of an evening. Each episode features a Hollywood star in some form of mini love story and the nice thing about the show is that you get a beginning, middle and end in 30 minutes, rather than having to wait for the 2 hours of a film or the 8 hours (minimum) of a TV series to finish. Series 1 had great turns from Anne Hathaway, Tina Fey, Dev Patel and, oddly, Ed Sheeran. Series 2 stars Minnie Driver, Kit Harrington, Miranda Richardson and Zoë Chao. This show won’t change your life – but it will likely bring a bit of happiness and reflection into it at the end of a busy day. EJP 

One of the favourite areas of interest is the idea of the Multiverse, something which Sean Carroll (arguably the most listened-to theoretical physicist in the podcast circuit) explains brilliantly. So when we came across a play called Constellations showing in the west end that said “multiverse”, how could we resist? This current production of Constellations at the Vaudeville Theatre on the Strand features four casts, acting out four different plot lines. It’s not heavy on scientific jargon, but it certainly makes for a nice exploration of the idea of multiple paths. And it’s a two-hander play – a cast of two – which made it an even greater pity that we missed the great Peter Capaldi’s stint on stage.  

Speaking of multiverses and varying outcomes, Marvel continues to deliver an ever-expanding universe, releasing the trailer of its next big film: Eternals. Yes, obviously Avengers: Endgame wasn’t ever going to be the Endgame. The question that’s bugging everyone now is why they didn’t help out when Thanos wiped out half the universe. The cast features some familiar names including Kit Harrington (again) and Angelina Jolie, and the music is by none other than Ramin Djawadi. This could get interesting – the final trailer is well worth a watch here. EL

What we're listening to.

I’m really interested in psychedelics as a gateway to another reality. The fact that some chemical compounds can elicit such powerful and lasting impressions on one’s brain is intriguing and I think it's only a matter of time until these types of experiences become destigmatised. Once they are destigmatised (and legalised) there is exists the tantalising possibility of some really important applications in terms of treating mental health. So every time I see something cool on psychedelics, I tend to listen. Lex Fridman has found a real niche in his podcast and provides really high-quality interviews with some superstar guests. In this episode he chats to Brian Muraresku about the secret history of psychedelics. The discussion ebbs, flows and deviates quite far from the topic at times which is awesome but think about what it would mean if there was tangible evidence that psychedelics were used at scale thousands of years ago. Suddenly all the things we read as scribed and dismissed as impossible may have been real. Depending on which reality you are talking about. DC

Last week, I talked a little about a fabulous book I read on the importance of breathing. James Nestor’s book, Breath, also talked about sleep quite a bit and so this week I dug into this subject and listened to a fascinating edition of Google Talks that featured as a guest, Professor Matthew Walker, Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. The episode is titled Sleep In Uncertain Times and it’s packed full of real-life tips about how to get the most out of your night time hours. We all know how important sleep is but in this episode Walker highlights how prioritizing your sleep can be the ultimate factor that increases your energy level, productivity, and general wellbeing. One great tip for anyone who doesn’t want to listen to the whole podcast – you’re only allowed to be on your phone when standing up, hence. Once you’re lying down, the phone has to go away. A great way to cut screen time and improve the quality of your sleep and the podcast is packed with other such habit changing titbits. EJP