A Book with Legs

How did one family build Fidelity into one of the most powerful forces in American investing, and what allowed it to endure across three generations?
In the latest episode of A Book with Legs, Smead Capital Management CEO and Portfolio Manager Cole Smead and Analyst Will Keenan sit down with journalist and author Justin Baer to discuss his book, titled "House of Fidelity: The Rise of the Johnson Dynasty and the Company That Changed American Investing."
Cole and Will explore the 80-year rise of Fidelity with Justin, tracing three generations of the Johnson family and the various investing styles of Fidelity leadership throughout the years. They also discuss the closed-door battles that shaped the firm's direction, the rise and legacy of Peter Lynch, and what this story tells us about active management businesses that last.
Justin Baer is an award-winning journalist and an editor for The Wall Street Journal. In a career that includes stints at the Financial Times and Bloomberg News, he has covered almost every significant financial event over the past two decades, including the dot-com bubble, the 2008 financial crisis and the economic fallout from the pandemic. Along the way, Baer has chronicled the ups and downs of such major institutions as Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase, Citigroup and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.
Purchase “House of Fidelity: The Rise of the Johnson Dynasty and the Company That Changed American Investing” here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/justin-baer/house-of-fidelity/9781538766958/
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What makes a civilization endure, and how did a Chinese empire that conquered everything fall apart in 15 years?
In the latest episode of A Book with Legs, Smead Capital Management CEO and Portfolio Manager Cole Smead is joined by professor and author Andrew Seth Meyer to discuss his book, titled "To Rule All under Heaven: A History of Classical China, from Confucius to the First Emperor."
Cole and Andrew explore one of the most consequential periods in Chinese history, a 200-year era of warring states that began with Confucius and ended with the rise and swift collapse of China's first empire. They also discuss the role of philosophy in shaping power, Confucius’ works in a modern context, and what this story reveals about the world we navigate today.
Those who would like to learn more about Professor Meyer can visit: https://www.andrewsethmeyer.com/.
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What in the subconscious mind informs our actions, and what are our neural networks capable of that distinguishes them from machines such as LLMs?
Gaurav is a computational neuroscientist, experimental psychologist, and an associate professor at San Francisco State University. He also co-authored “A Certain Ambiguity: A Mathematical Novel” and holds a master's in mathematics and computer science and a PhD in psychology. Purchase “The Emergent Mind: How Intelligence Arises in People and Machines” here: https://www.amazon.com/Emergent-Mind-Intelligence-Arises-Machines/dp/1541605268
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What happens when brilliant minds disagree not just on answers, but on the very rules of how answers can be found? These questions are addressed in the latest episode of A Book with Legs, where Smead Capital Management CEO and Portfolio Manager Cole Smead is joined by journalist and author Jason Socrates Bardi to discuss his book, "The Great Math War: How Three Brilliant Minds Fought for the Foundations of Mathematics."
Cole and Jason trace the historical and intellectual battle between mathematical titans David Hilbert, who saw mathematics as a game with strict rules, and L.E.J. Brouwer, whose concept of intuitionism rejected many classical methods. They also discuss how these mental frameworks can be considered when investing and interpreting data.
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What is the Smead Capital Management team reading, and what’s up next?
In this new quarterly ‘book list’ episode, value investors Bill and Cole Smead discuss memorable takeaways from books they have recently read, covering topics from financial crashes and speculative manias to genetics, technology and human behavior. They also discuss what they’re currently reading and preview what’s next on their list, while offering perspectives on today’s current market questions, including energy, housing, and where opportunities may lie next.
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