Founders
Episode 365 #365 Nick Sleep’s Letters: The Full Collection of the Nomad Investment Partnership Letters to Partners
Founders

Episode 365: #365 Nick Sleep’s Letters: The Full Collection of the Nomad Investment Partnership Letters to Partners

Founders

Episode 365

#365 Nick Sleep’s Letters: The Full Collection of the Nomad Investment Partnership Letters to Partners

David Senra is the host of Founders, where he studies history's greatest entrepreneurs. This episode is about The Full Collection of the Nomad Investment Partnership Letters to Partners

The best investors are not investors at all. They're entrepreneurs who have never sold. — Nick Sleep

Nick Sleep’s letters are a masterclass on the importance of understanding the underlying reality of a business — what he calls the engine of its success.

I read all 110,000 words of Nick’s letters (twice!) to make this episode and what I found most important is Nick’s ability to develop a deep understanding of “honestly run compounding machines” (like Costco and Amazon) years before everyone else.

Nick explains clearly how Jim Sinegal and Jeff Bezos set up their companies for long term success —from the very beginning — and gives us a few hints along the way on how we can do the same in our business.

And the absolute entrepreneurial history nerd in me loved the references to Henry Ford, Sam Walton, Rockefeller and other greats from the past that are sprinkled throughout Nick’s letters.

No surprise that someone who was able to make $2 billion for his clients has a deep understanding of the great work that came before him.

If you want to read all of Nick Sleep’s partnership letters you can do so here for free

You can also read William Green’s book Richer, Wiser, Happier: How The World's Greatest Investors Win In Markets and Life —which both Nick and I recommend. It has an excellent chapter on How Nick and Zak built their firm.

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I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth

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#365 Nick Sleep’s Letters: The Full Collection of the Nomad Investment Partnership Letters to Partners

Introduction

“Dear Mr. Buffett, after 13 happy years of running the Nomad Investment Partnership, Zak and I have decided to close the fund. The process requires us to return cash to our investors and so, after many years as shareholders in Berkshire, we have recently sold our shares. It appears to all the world that the performance that Nomad has enjoyed over the years was created by Zak and me. That is not the case.

As time goes by, the performance that our clients have received is the capitalization of the success of the firms in which we have invested. In other words, the real work is done by you and the good people at Berkshire. The purpose of this letter is to say a very big thank you, and let you know that you have made a real difference.

Nomad was not a particularly large fund, but over the years, it did make around $2 billion for its clients, which were predominantly charities and educational endowments. Berkshire was a big part of that. That strikes us as capitalism working well. For our part, Zak and I are keen to leave the professional industry behind, and spend our time in more caring pursuits. Zak has his various charitable causes and I have in my mind to set up a center to provide respite care.

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