Bill Ackman: Pershing Square, hedge funds & learning from your mistakes

As part of the Distinguished Speaker Series, Saïd Business School welcomed Bill Ackman, American Hedge Fund Manager and CEO of Pershing Square.
29/10/2013
www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/school/news/b...

[@StoryOfLIfe12]

I really appriciate that the first moment he comes in, he makes himself comfortable, poors a drink and gives the first cup to the host.

[@andrewcecce]

It’s the little things 👌🏾

[@gordongordon98]

Ackman’s the cock of the walk, he puts his pants on just like you and me, and then he gets up and makes Billions

[@sekainiheiwa3650]

mind boggling what was here to appreciate. ? Or in your country first you serve the drink for yourself? 172 likes LOOL braindeads

[@angelcampos94]

@@sekainiheiwa3650 I'm sure you're a treat at parties.

[@gordongordon98]

@@sekainiheiwa3650 tell your story walking 🚶‍♂️

[@kunalketkar]

I absolutely love the fact that he recalls all his successes as well as his failures along with the values of the stocks that he was involved in. Also as mentioned by the interviewer he was completely candid about his failure with J C Penny and explained the root cause for the failure including name dropping the people he was involved with which not many investors would have been keen to talk about.

[@AnnaLVajda]

He's very candid and transparent that adds to his integrity.

[@napalm8030]

He was 100% right about Herbalife. He lost because schemes like this can win with the right backing. It's a shame. Great to see Bill's recent successes after a rough few years.

[@Tkanyike]

Nice. At a time (may 2020 midst covid 19) when the quality of entertainment is so redundant & mundane, there’s nothing like a little intellectual stimulation to get the day going. Very well appreciated.

[@avi10111]

what an incredible interview, thank you for sharing!

[@HighresROBERT]

14 seconds in and he's poured a drink for the interviewer. Yes, I think I will listen to all of this.

[@briantep458]

I like Bill Ackman

[@comicstube9148]

For 10 minutes he made his jC Penny investment look like a holy grail

[@oldskoolrap69]

This is one of the best videos I have seen lately and I've watched a lot of videos

[@xpert787]

excellent video, thanks for posting

[@dogestranding5047]

Very inspiring.

[@plmpatel]

One of the best interview for value investor.

[@zainahmed3112]

This is great!

[@wh0m33]

Extremely valuable insights from a very smart, very successful man.

[@AverageAngel]

Great talk

[@gooldster]

42:40 - Interesting point of view on creating a non-profit versus profit business

[@TrentDressel]

great interview

[@DonMathius]

muy interesante gran charla!

[@YTfcuk]

great speaker.

[@ghytd766]

I'm a very big fan of Bill Ackman. The low sound quality is very irritating - had speakers on high and still couldn't hear.

[@clintonleonard5187]

Yeah the quality is a shame. Full volume is barely enough.

[@saywhat4229]

Clinton Leonard you need a new computer

[@Greg_Chase]

@@saywhat4229 I've got a $2000 laptop. No he does not need a new computer. Compare volume level of this Ackman video to this video => kzbin.info/www/bejne/q5WUlGitZZuMa6c Trust me, there are other youtube videos FAR LOUDER than that one. Then consider: "Is it possible to record a video at different sound volume levels?" ANSWER IS 'YES' The failure of many youtube uploaders is they do not TEST their volume level. The successful way to record is: 1) close physical proximity microphone - say, a 'collar' microphone on everyone in the video, NOT the cheap microphone built into the camera that's recording the video because, beside being cheap, those rarely have an adjustable volume level 2) adjust the recording volume to be on the 'loud' side to make it possible to hear the video when it's uploaded 3) upload the video to youtube and test - because every recording system can have a different volume level Uploading an un-hearable video - WHY BOTHER, you are uploading failure and you come across as a lazy, inconsiderate schmoh . .

[@chrismackay9268]

Yeah I tried to watch this on my laptop last night and couldn't because of the sound, but through my wireless headphones today at work it actually sounds a lot better.

[@tinhb1992]

excellent!

[@lhmissio]

This is amazing.

[@Karry_KWrealty]

Bill Ackman is someone i have always looked to for inspiration

[@Fastbikkel]

But what kind of inspiration ? I personally do not support the financial system he often represents.

[@alice_pk]

why not?@@Fastbikkel

[@Fastbikkel]

@@alice_pk The financial system is not being treated very well when the scandals arise. Meaning when alarm bells go off, the protecting bodies hardly intervene or are extremely slow to act. Ackman is part of that culture. And i want to emphasize that i understand the issues with a decent treatment of the financial system, but i do not approve it. By decent i mean that the protecting bodies actually act on alarms when they are reported and to hold people responsible. The Madoff case is the best example, people have been informed about the issues for years and nothing was being done all the time. And when i was over, many weren't even punished, only Madoff and a few others were jailed. There are plenty of more scandals and i want that changed. I want a system where people that call out issues are being taken serious and it is being dealt with on time before everything comes crashing down, taking people's savings.

[@TheInstantkarma2011]

Great video

[@lelouch3]

One of the best investors

[@rajachauhan004]

Feeling sad for him after this Herbalife debacle! Great investor in not so great time..Really admire him.

[@moh5938]

Thomas Borisov I might be wrong but I feel that the lack of laws against MLMs contributed to herbalife surviving. Was really hoping herbalife would cease to exist though..

[@alistartop1000]

Yeah fuck herbalife

[@Derekjcb]

Look at him now.

[@josephohanlon205]

He sounds 'level headed' and he makes his varied topics interesting.

[@johnred4084]

I whould vote for Bill if he runs for president

[@MAGNATEOfficial]

same but he is too smart and uncharismatic to win, crowds are dumb and they will vote for people that move them emotionally, which is why Trump won, its also why Obama won. They both had a short emotionally charged slogan with a story to go along with it.

[@wahyuramadhan195]

Thanks

[@CommandoMaster]

Very informative.

[@Viper4ever05]

He's definitely possess an alpha male personality but he seems like a genuine guy

[@AnnaLVajda]

@Maximillian Dirnfeld lots of rich wimps so that does not determine his worth. He's confident but not aggressive very relaxed approach compared to many guys.

[@STLeoTS]

@@AnnaLVajda usually rich wimps inherited their wealth, didn't earn it. imo :)

[@Fastbikkel]

Interesting, my view of him is pretty much the opposite. I see no alpha male at all and i doubt his integrity and ethics. Especially when i look at cases where he was involved in the past.

[@claudiaaquino7238]

Great human being

[@vsanthoshca]

Please tune up the sound.

[@ChaseCon98]

Bill's answer to the critics of activist investing due to its short term profit nature is very interesting. Slightly humorous how he is able to pitch his short-term position as long-term. Not sure if he is that much smarter than all of us or just very good at crafting a response that people want to hear. Probably a little bit of both!

[@user-sx6xb5nq9l]

Very precious experienced to taught public how to make right judgement I also learned my mistake before you investment subject we all need prepared working study is first classes thanks for mentors advisor

[@AliZain-dk5mk]

Love Bill Ackman! I'm still interested to know what will happen to herbalife.

[@CasperLCat]

Maybe the JC Penney lesson isn’t biz-school stuff like board alignment, etc., but the far more human factor that lower income people (among others) WANT constant sales and coupons. They DON’T know what a shirt “should” cost (who does ?), so they want a discount that reassures them that they aren’t getting ripped off (whether that’s really true or not). You can remake a company, but you can’t remake human nature, no matter how irrational it seems to very smart people like Ackman. Herbalife is similar- a bad biz that “succeeds” for irrational reasons. It’s almost impossible for someone of Ackman’s background- family wealth, Harvard BA/MBA, then right into a hedge fund- to understand how the other 99.99 % of the world actually thinks. That said, it’s admirable that Ackman is so open about his failures. THAT’S a highly rational habit that few want to practice.

[@gailbateman1077]

JC Penney failed because they tried to push the homosexual agenda to their target customers, who rebelled. Same thing is happening to Target right now, and the fact that Ackman didn't discern this tells us there is a critical missing element in our nation's business leaders.

[@agasd67654asdga]

Very interesting investor....try to use some of his principles in developing my portfolio

[@MrSpazzTv]

Such a suave, classy man

[@AnnaLVajda]

Lovely really. Smooth operator.

[@gordongordon98]

@@AnnaLVajda just like Big Daddy Kane

[@personperson717]

Who’s here after his covid-19 hedge?

[@AnnaLVajda]

Bill just seems to be living his life and being candid and honest. Really it's the public that puts him on a pedestal and judges him harshly for doing so just because of the business life he has pursued. Just listen to him as a man sharing his personal experience. People don't want to do that because he's wall st. and people have preconceived notions that he must be a greedy evil snob then even if he does take personal losses to improve the market. It's like finding the rare mythical creature of a decent ethical lawyer in modern society.

[@RUdigitized]

This guy would make a great villain in an Adam Sandler movie.

[@fabiokaya202]

lol

[@Liverpoolaussie21]

amazing how he has some of the same principles as Ray Dalio

[@user-ql3ws5uz1d]

Not really... matters of a fact, not remotely related, if you are talking about investment strategy strictly

[@Liverpoolaussie21]

@@user-ql3ws5uz1d I wasn't referring to their methods of active investment. Was referring to how they operate as individuals

[@grantlyons4877]

@@Liverpoolaussie21 ignore these ones ^ It is a striking coincidence. Sometimes all it takes is paying attention.

[@valueinvestor6715]

Succes leaves clues

[@Glickan]

The man is a genius!!!

[@lorenzmuller3542]

How so?

[@Glickan]

@@lorenzmuller3542 Look at his track record.

[@siddharthsinghchandel9313]

Absolute genius ❤️

[@vivekrainaat]

Bill Ackman ROCKS!

[@aleksaorevic536]

"How you deal with adversity that determines your ultimate success, as opposed to how you deal with success determines your ultimate success"

[@keimo2007]

thanks for uploading this!

[@michealkelli5788]

Did anyone else catch “Jeff Bee-Zos” at 28:52

[@oshanerichardson]

great speaker, horrible sound.

[@gudduentertains]

I looked at the thumbnail and wondered why this tv actor is mentioned as investor ....I thought may be investing was his thing and acting a hobby....though I couldn't recall on which show I saw him then I remembered...he was in a Netflix docu-series on corruption. Dirty Money. Yeah, he is not an actor but he is damn good looking!

[@AnnaLVajda]

Oh he looks like a star I agree he looks like he should model luxury goods and I suppose in a way he does. If I did not know a thing about him and just saw a picture I would probably still swoon then you find out he's smart and relaxed too quite the dreamboat.

[@AverageAngel]

nice video

[@MarkMusu92]

Surprised he talked about Cohen... has been researching about the guy since I started watching Billions.

[@lorrainemansfield8830]

I'v watched him in a video for beginners using a lemonade stand as an example in which he goes on to say you have to have a stomach for down turns on the stock market, however he sounded panicked on Tucker Carlson show about Hilton stock going to zero.

[@douglas2lee929]

Audio is too low to hear!

[@bigg1597]

Use other people's money aka use taxpayers' money. The halal guy with the pushcart is more important to the world.

[@SillyMikey500]

Thank said college

[@JamesQAu]

I disagree "Theinstantkarma2011", this is one of the greatest interviews of Bill Ackman. Watch the interview with Charlie Rose and you'll be horrified. Thanks a lot for this interview OxfordSBS.

[@nore3]

2:55 Random question but I noticed both speakers pronounced "finance" as "fuh-NANCE" rather than "FAI-nance", I have never heard anyone say it like that before.. How I totally missed something and that's common? Have never heard it in the UK either.

[@kwjan1615]

Bill Ackman is a great investor. He does seem alpha. We need investment, capitals and more opportunities for our great city Vancouver, epsically financing, mortage and investment. Our housing price is always quite pricey, but Canada, BC, Vancouver is a great city to live in. It is worth to strive for to make money, serve the society, and buy a property for yourself. I have wonderful parents. I dream of better lives for myself and my family. Let's not complaints, but work hard and seek for opportunities.

[@Je.rone_]

*The way to "engineer failure" is to do very difficult things worth doing,*

[@jacob.brandw]

I love how the introduction explains how the company is known for taking long positions when Bill is widely known for the Herbalife short😂

[@heyJustephan]

Herbalife is a scam. Sadly they survived.

[@foxfiresidechats5227]

Lol= if you look long enough, Bill looks (and sounds) just like Jeff Bezos, but with a full head of hair.

[@johnred4084]

Lol, but he doesn’t have the irritating Bezos laugh

[@AnnaLVajda]

No

[@john10000ish]

Have you seen them together? Ever ?

[@shaumikhaque1443]

Jeff would be in a similar place to where Bill is now, if he decided not to pursue his "regret minimisation framework".

[@Chris-ub1ed]

Man wish he could narrate my GPS. Incredible speaker.

[@manishyadav-gr3dj]

2020 bil ackman made the greatest trade ever .. profit 2.3 bn

[@taylenday]

And then the Big Short A.K.A. the Ackman Manouvre happened in 2020

[@gordongordon98]

And 2.0 is happening right now, son 🦦

[@themaniac94]

its funny how the whole idea behind the redesigning of a blank Apple store was catered towards customer experience and still is, what i dont understand is how Ron Johnson forgot to take the human behaviour/psychological pattern into consideration that, once free money stops coming, would someone be inclined to purchase? Just like Dogs, you want a bark you need to incentivize. blows my mind.

[@moh5938]

Hopefully the college is able to afford a better mic with that donation money

[@bijunair2573]

28:27 As a CEO your focus is shareholder value, in government CEO President referring the website incident important is ensure best coverage for the worst off citizen. Definitely better if the website had not failed. A second important point is when you make a generational change in philosophy, as is the case with changes to education or healthcare -hiccups will be there.

[@MeiinUK]

Interesting interview. Never knew that was how the US is run...

[@Qaranwadani1993]

What do you mean by this?

[@mmphotos4587]

Repost an increase the volume can I hear anyting

[@dbsk06]

51:00

[@Cg-hss06]

please recommend investing book and how do you hedge?

[@sov19871987]

Hedge? Find a husband!

[@hansitburrun]

He refers to a web site for data which starts by « Facts .... » but could not pick up the full name. Can somebody help me?

[@jurgenklopp1506]

@@joebeeforth7702 not all heroes wear capes

[@scottab140]

JC Penny- Short Seller Thesis for Company Life Cycle.

[@charlottejones1721]

An investor can potentially lose all or more than the initial investment. The further you can stretch your investment goals, the easier it is to look past short-term volatility

[@aureliocantos8466]

When investing, a good rule of thumb is not to put all of your eggs in one basket, Instead diversify.

[@elenaarguello1503]

The goal of your investment portfolio should be building a long-term plan that aligns with your financial goals.

[@kelvinjohnson3906]

2020 wasn't really a good trading year for me, hopefully 2021 will be better.

[@charlottejones1721]

@@aureliocantos8466 Diversification is critical for building a portfolio that is resilient to market shocks.

[@charlottejones1721]

@@elenaarguello1503 as i go deep into trading i realize that investing is a long-term strategy for wealth building. But it will not make you rich overnight.

[@777jones]

JC Penney should have simplified its discounts, but not abandoned them!

[@joshcortez2286]

Care to explain how in the world the dude was able to buy 7 year options?

[@namphan5130]

Anyone with technical expertise can boost up the loudness of this video? I have a hearing trouble and I pretty much can't hear him say anything

[@omarmahfouz5599]

Even people without hearing troubles cant hear him

[@MrMehrd]

Every time i see bill ackman,i wonder how much he is look like our neighbor 😂

[@mattm5879]

interviews billionaire "gotta bring my planet fitness pen"

[@tabber87]

35:20 Billionaire PUA masterclass

[@nickm4974]

tabber87 lmaooo

[@Skerdy]

I wonder what is his take about Elon Musk. Musk has enough money to do anything he dreams (and he dreams really *big*), but Ackerman has the contacts and the business acumen to make it *really* successful. I think the combination would be really awesome... if these two alphas can work together, that is...

[@dogestranding5047]

+Skerdy I think that Ackman has way more than enough money to do anything he wants and more. He's still growing too.

[@icebergvishnu]

Ackman's a mercenary, Musk's a missionary

[@Cg-hss06]

have you seen he made 2.7B in30 days

[@orkfund]

excellent guy. herbal still trading.

[@officialbandlucci6792]

Jonathan Tang not in USA

[@acommon1]

Good discussion. But, Dah!!! Moments. Just ask your questions please. Just drives me "batty" when people make the following statements before their question (s): -- "I have a question" -- "My question will be quick"

[@Johnsmith-do2js]

There is some Dan Draper in bill ackman

[@kimleung2901]

Lol he’s using a planet fitness pen

[@nickm4974]

Kim Leung branding

[@victorcharlie]

When are you guys going to get Bill back for another interview?!

[@dogestranding5047]

+hov say I really hope they do it soon to hear what his opinions are on his current investments + expanding a bit more on how his career was started.

[@Bardsedia]

+hov say Met him last week at the Pershing AGM - Despite the current goings-on he is still so positive and happy to share wisdom!

[@victorcharlie]

+Josh Bardsley Glad to hear!

[@dogestranding5047]

Josh Bardsley That's really great. What's the Pershing AGM?

[@Bardsedia]

Pershing Square (Bill's investment company) annual general meeting. Talked through the portfolio etc.

[@enevision6101]

i like people who are honest humble and speak from the heart. not the cnbc sensational vicious bulls talking heads

[@Kharmatos13]

that dude gave up 100 million in apple shares post financial crisis for JCPenny shares? Jesus that's the biggest mistake ever. That ceo would be one of the richest people in the world right now. that'd be like 10 mill shares in 2010/2011, then 70 mill shares with the 7-1 split, then 210 million shares with the 2020 4-1 split. current price that's 28 billion dollars in stock and now JCP is bankrupt. yikes.

[@Fastbikkel]

He has been labelled as a type of "makes plenty of mistakes, but never doubts". Apparently, this is what investors want.

[@SLVKOjovlnovic]

🎓🎓🎓🎓🏅

[@roybhutt8427]

how did the girl who asked the last question got into oxford

[@nicolasfat]

LMFAOOO!

[@roybhutt8427]

Stanford.... Bitches!

[@dogestranding5047]

+Roy Bhutt Yeah, Stanford with the way you worded the comment? lmao. It's also a bad ROI because you could take pre-requisites at a community college and then transfer out.

[@TheSolidsnake2001]

You can learn a lot (or something) by study what went wrong at Ron Johnson in JCP.

[@cognition26]

This man just made billions in a few months.

[@georgetaodusote6912]

How?

[@alpkalinin]

the sound is very poor

[@mrberry7950]

HLF Puts are tempting.... Then again Calls of Hong Kong Dollar were too. : /

[@vistapri9290]

Bill reminds me of Christian Grey...☺

[@AnnaLVajda]

Not creepy like him gross.

[@SeatonH]

It’s incredible the amount of progress I’ve made in the financial market with professional assistance from an experienced hedge fund manager, I owe all my success to his contributions in my swift and consistent earnings

[@ux4kv3yb2t]

Hi, can you emphasize more on how you run your investments with your fund manager

[@SeatonH]

@@ux4kv3yb2t He goes by the name Ronald B. Furey and he provides an investment management service so I contracted him to manage and grow a certain amount of my income by investing them into various market commodities (stocks and cryptocurrencies) using his superior expertise giving me a much better standpoint and chance of earning colossal profit returns. His ability to create strategies that works in accordance with the market trends is something that comes easy to him and I’m glad I took advantage of that with a total grossed profit of over $89k

[@SeatonH]

@@ux4kv3yb2t If you might require his assistance reach out to him on what s app

[@SeatonH]

+ 1 3 8 5 4 3 7 1 1 5 8

[@ux4kv3yb2t]

@@SeatonH How do you do it...... I mean what processes do you have to go through?

[@AG-hl1ni]

In PSTH we trust.

[@P__114]

This aged well

[@AG-hl1ni]

@@P__114 LOL

[@ericfernandez6706]

Hello psth bulls

[@kwins8641]

Tontinites assemble!!!