It might be wondered why MFM has dredged up an old 5 minute interview from 4 years ago to present here. It's because MFM believes it encapsulates so many important lessons about mutual fund investing. That's true both objectively, in the information presented, but probably more importantly in being able to observe Marty's demeanor and attitude in response to sharp market declines.
As has already been observed, if anyone knows what he is doing in managing a mutual fund, Marty Whitman does. In this interview, while MFM believes he is thoughtful, humble, serious, and charming, he also displays a powerful sense of true confidence. He is unapologetic about very sharp declines over the past year. Marty's confidence is certainly not bravado or bluster, but the kind of confidence that results from competence and knowledge.
His "We just do 3 things" and "All we ever strive to do" may be prepared talking points, but they are good ones, and very revealing. His focus is on the incredible values available -- not on recent declines in market price.
As for Marty's theory that "....it's going to be pretty hard to have 2 bad years in a row"-- we can now look back and put it to test, in this instance anyway:
How did the fund do in the following calandar year?
It was up by 44.51%!
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