Charlie Munger was interviewed by Becky Quick on CNBC this morning. If you don’t know who Charlie Munger is, he is Warren Buffett’s right hand man and one of the most respected businessmen in this country.
Becky Quick asked Mr. Munger what he thought of the stock market, and his response was sobering.
He said that the golden age of investing is behind us, because it’s much more difficult now to pick individual stocks. He said the valuations are just too high, and finding value would be extremely difficult.
I have a tremendous amount of respect for Charlie Munger as an investor. His track record is stupendous. I don’t know, though, if he’s right about the golden age of investing being behind us.
I will acknowledge that the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s were incredible times to be in the stock market. Companies like Walmart (NYSE: WMT) have turned $1600 into $16,000,000 over a 30 year period.
However, we are entering a completely different world. A world where market opportunities are in the trillions, not billions. Never in the history of mankind have we had so many technological innovation platforms emerging at the same time:
- Artificial intelligence
- Digital wallets
- Battery cost reduction
- Cryptocurrencies
- Autonomous driving
- Robotics
- CRISPR
- 3D printing
Bill Gates said that a breakthrough in artificial superintelligence would be worth ten Microsofts. ARK Investment’s Catherine Wood and her analysts believe a breakthrough could be worth 35 Amazons.
For all we know, the golden age of investing could very well be ahead of us.
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