Published on 31 Jan, 2021
Why you’re more creative in coffee shops...
It is almost a year of WFH (working from home) for many of us. Some of us feel we have become more productive in the...
Jan 2021
- Week 5
- Week 4
- Week 3
- Week 2
- Week 1
Short Read
Published on 31 Jan, 2021
How to be lucky...
In his incredibly fascinating book Loonshots, Safi Bahcall discusses how serendipity plays a role in most big...
Published on 31 Jan, 2021
Keith Gill Drove the GameStop Reddit Mania. He Talked t...
This week will likely go down in history as the time when the power of the internet shook yet another aspect of our...
Long Read
Published on 31 Jan, 2021
Cipla’s Yusuf K Hamied is India’s medicine man...
The success of the Indian IT services industry in outsourcing gave us the adage of being the ‘back-office to the...
Published on 31 Jan, 2021
Only surprise is that anyone can compete with India at ...
Greg Chappell is a former Test Cricket legend, a former Australia captain, a former India team coach and a former...
Published on 31 Jan, 2021
The Unauthorized Story of Andreessen Horowitz...
Last year when we invested in a listed asset management firm in India, our analysts produced data showing that there is...
Short Read
Published on 24 Jan, 2021
The secrets of successful listening...
Irrespective of our profession, most of us are in effect selling something (including ourselves) to someone or in other...
Published on 24 Jan, 2021
Stop Keeping Score...
This is a lovely short piece from Arthur Brooks on how to set proper goals in life that can sustain our motivations....
Published on 24 Jan, 2021
From Hawick to Hawick: The story of The Economist found...
It is that time of the year when market participants and the media alike go beserk making predictions about the Budget...
Long Read
Published on 24 Jan, 2021
Inflation Will Come Back With a Vengeance...
Financial markets, particularly those in risk asset classes such as equities, both developed and more so emerging...
Published on 24 Jan, 2021
How to harness brain science for a better life, explain...
Lisa Feldman Barrett is a giant in the field of psychology. “Her pioneering research in neuroscience has landed her...
Published on 24 Jan, 2021
Siraj, the hero we need to be...
At some point in our lives, most of us have been bullied and/or abused about a specific aspect of our identity. It...
Short Read
Published on 17 Jan, 2021
SPACs and Capital Structure Arbitrage...
The late Paul Volcker famously said that the only innovation of true economic value coming out of the financial...
Published on 17 Jan, 2021
Bruised and abused, Indians make their own luck at the ...
A match analysis wouldn’t make it into the 3L&3S generally but this one is special. It is special for more...
Published on 17 Jan, 2021
How to Stop the Negative Chatter in Your Head...
The pandemic has brought to fore issues around mental health. There’s plenty of research that’s now available for...
Long Read
Published on 17 Jan, 2021
Something of Value...
Despite being an investment house, we wouldn’t want to make the 3L&3S all about investing as we believe as...
Published on 17 Jan, 2021
Waiting for the last dance...
GMO is one of the most respected asset managers from the ‘value investing’ school. In this piece GMO boss, Jeremy...
Published on 17 Jan, 2021
To ‘Keep Sharp’ This Year, Keep Learning, A...
As many of us head towards the first anniversary of the lockdown, this podcast with Dr Sanjay Gupta, neurosurgeon at...
Short Read
Published on 10 Jan, 2021
“I have nothing to hide. Why should I care about my p...
Most WhatsApp groups are now buzzing with debates about whether to continue with WhatsApp or migrate to an alternate...
Published on 10 Jan, 2021
Finding time for creativity will give you respite from ...
Through the pandemic driven lockdown months, many of us have ourselves or know people who have found hidden talents or...
Published on 10 Jan, 2021
Long-term ≠ ∑ Short-terms – Complex systems a...
At Marcellus, we keep reiterating and reinforcing to ourselves the need to stay focused on the long term and therefore...
Long Read
Published on 10 Jan, 2021
Interview with Toby Lütke, Founder and CEO of Shopify...
Shopify, a Canadian e-commerce platform company valued at c.$150bn has an interesting business model. Unlike Amazon it...
Published on 10 Jan, 2021
How two websites have transformed the way India is read...
It is commonplace these days to hear that mainstream media in India has been captured by political and corporate...
Published on 10 Jan, 2021
How Civilization Broke Our Brains...
This piece brings together a fine writer, Derek Thompson, and a really interesting book that goes to the heart of the...
Short Read
Published on 03 Jan, 2021
Should You Buy An All-Time High? – Of Dollars And Dat...
To wrap up the first edition of 2021, we feature a second piece from the Ritholtz stable – Nick Magguilli’s blog on...
Published on 03 Jan, 2021
Stripe wants to be a one-stop shop for small business...
India’s most valued unicorn, Paytm happens to be a fintech, in particular a payments company. As the world turns...
Published on 03 Jan, 2021
A Short History of Chasing The Best Performing Funds...
Past performance is not an indicator of future returns is a disclaimer well worth it as data shows very little...
Long Read
Published on 03 Jan, 2021
The real Lord of the Flies: what happened when six boys...
Last week, we featured a piece that talked about how human beings are evolutionally wired to be good as acts of...
Published on 03 Jan, 2021
The Tim Ferriss Show Transcripts: Jerry Seinfeld — A ...
Jerry Seinfeld created with Larry David the most successful TV comedy serial ever, “Seinfeld”, which ran for nine...
Published on 03 Jan, 2021
Fluid Thought: The Art of Exploring Without Expecting...
We start the New Year with two contrasting pieces on creativity. The first piece argues against the sort of process...
Dec 2020
- Week 4
- Week 3
- Week 2
- Week 1
Short Read
Published on 27 Dec, 2020
Last Man Standing...
It is only appropriate that we end the year with a piece on compounding and that it happens to be from Morgan Housel...
Published on 27 Dec, 2020
Why being kind to others is good for your health...
Human beings are wired to do good, says this piece in the BBC by Marta Zaraska, the author of Growing Young: How...
Published on 27 Dec, 2020
Why Capable People Are Reluctant to Lead...
We all know people who we believe would make great leaders but have failed to grab leadership opportunities that were...
Long Read
Published on 27 Dec, 2020
Masters in Business Interview with Tom Slater of Bailli...
Many of our readers have suggested that given changes in how people consume information, we should also include videos...
Published on 27 Dec, 2020
How an Elite Consulting Firm Helped America’s Opioid ...
Plenty has been written about the opiod crisis in America wherein low income people are fed addictive drugs like...
Published on 27 Dec, 2020
Twenty20 in Premier League...
It is said that all it takes is a generation for today’s fringe political ideas to become tomorrow’s mainstream...
Short Read
Published on 20 Dec, 2020
I Was the Homeland Security Adviser to Trump. We’re B...
As Moderna’s vaccine joins the Pfizer one to have received approval in the US building up the good news in the run up...
Published on 20 Dec, 2020
Why fair play pays...
Nice guys finish last, is a belief held by many in competitive fields such as politics, business or even sport but more...
Published on 20 Dec, 2020
U.S. Financial Reporting Is Stuck in the 20th Century...
Much has been written about the death of value investing as it was known historically i.e, buying stocks at low PE or...
Long Read
Published on 20 Dec, 2020
How Science Beat the Virus, And What it Lost in the Pro...
Ed Yong has to be right up there among the best Covid-19 journalists for his thoroughly well researched and balanced...
Published on 20 Dec, 2020
The Art of Building the Impossible...
This piece from the New Yorker profiling the work of New York City’s most celebrated carpenter, Mark Ellison is very...
Published on 20 Dec, 2020
The Glorious Legacy of Dilip Kumar...
In the first 10-15 years after Independence, a troika of male stars ruled Hindi Cinema, namely, Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor...
Short Read
Published on 13 Dec, 2020
Astad Deboo assimilated many forms to create a new lang...
As the author begins “This is a year of obituaries. And now Astad Deboo is also gone”. Astad Deboo, often...
Published on 13 Dec, 2020
Michael Mauboussin: Why Companies Die...
The most common pushback we receive from potential investors is that stocks in our portfolio trade at high PE...
Published on 13 Dec, 2020
Everything We’ve Learned About Modern Economic Theory...
Economists have been under attack as a profession collectively not least for their failures in predicting or explaining...
Long Read
Published on 13 Dec, 2020
All stars...
The digital age characterised by our ability to capture and process vast amounts of data for decision making is helping...
Published on 13 Dec, 2020
The Donut King who went full circle – from rags t...
We all love to read about linear narratives of zeroes who become heroes. We also love to read about turnaround stories...
Published on 13 Dec, 2020
Nestlé gives a flavour of the future...
Nestle India sits inside the majority of the 4,000-odd portfolios that Marcellus manages for its clients. This Indian...
Short Read
Published on 06 Dec, 2020
Amazon’s Panorama box lets firms check if staff f...
Like most firms, we at Marcellus have also had to adopt Covid-safe measures such as taking additional space to...
Published on 06 Dec, 2020
Email Lessons from Napoleon Bonaparte...
Last week, we featured Cal Newport’s brilliant piece on how email has adversely affected productivity given our...
Published on 06 Dec, 2020
Why 2020 has been rotten for quant funds...
Quant funds have been pulverised in 2020 because the models that these funds use rely on history. Obviously, nothing...
Long Read
Published on 06 Dec, 2020
The Confessions of Marcus Hutchins, the Hacker Who Save...
Somebody buy the movie rights for this piece already, so thrilling is the article that one can go nonstop from start to...
Published on 06 Dec, 2020
Bhavani Iyer – Feminist writer who remains ‘utterly...
One of the most interesting subjects of study in any society is how cultural and social change happens. How do people...
Published on 06 Dec, 2020
The next decade could be even worse...
If you haven’t heard Peter Turchin, the mathematician who uses centuries of data to foretell the future, you are...
Nov 2020
- Week 5
- Week 4
- Week 3
- Week 2
- Week 1
Short Read
Published on 29 Nov, 2020
Maradona’s contribution to monetary theory...
There’s plenty of high-quality prose on the internet to read about the legendary footballer, Diego Maradona who...
Published on 29 Nov, 2020
The fascinating science of sleep and its role in human ...
There’s increasing realisation of the importance of sleep, as the author of this piece puts it “it is the third...
Published on 29 Nov, 2020
Your Brain Is Not for Thinking...
The pandemic has brought to fore the issue of mental illness. This piece gives us an important understanding of our...
Long Read
Published on 29 Nov, 2020
How Venture Capitalists Are Deforming Capitalism...
Yet another fascinating piece from The New Yorker. Much has been written about the fun and games at WeWork, some of...
Published on 29 Nov, 2020
Alagiri to Dinakaran, all the pieces of Tamil Nadu puzz...
TamilNadu has over the last 60 years been a bellweather state for those who follow Indian politics – what happens in...
Published on 29 Nov, 2020
The Rise and Fall of Getting Things Done...
Cal Newport is revered in Marcellus as a demigod whose books showed us a life beyond networking, endless travel,...
Short Read
Published on 22 Nov, 2020
Why value investing still works in markets...
Reams are being written about the death of value investing or in defence of it. Michael Mauboussin, one of the best...
Published on 22 Nov, 2020
Hold in the head: Saying “I don’t know̶...
More often than not, our client meetings begin with the question – “Market kya lagta hain? (What is your view of...
Published on 22 Nov, 2020
How two companies sprinted ahead in extraordinary race ...
Following last week’s announcement by Pfizer that its vaccine under trials had shown over 90% effectiveness,...
Long Read
Published on 22 Nov, 2020
In jail, humanity is bubbling: Stan Swamy...
As many Marcellus clients might know, the last three years have seen the National Investigation Agency (NIA) make a...
Published on 22 Nov, 2020
Yale may have turned institutional investing on its hea...
Thirty years ago Yale changed the ways university endowments across the Western world invest by highlighting the merits...
Published on 22 Nov, 2020
Soumitra Chatterjee lived a full life beyond the screen...
Soumitra Chatterjee, a giant of Bengali, Indian and World cinema lost his fight with Covid-19 on 15th November 2020....
Short Read
Published on 15 Nov, 2020
Pfizer COVID vaccine: promising results – here’s wh...
News of the positive trial data from Pfizer’s vaccine development added to the euphoria post the US elections...
Published on 15 Nov, 2020
Why Warren Buffett Sees Investing as a Loser’s Ga...
At Marcellus, we believe in risk minimisation as a means to help our clients fulfil their financial goals as opposed to...
Published on 15 Nov, 2020
Lost school time might lower lifetime earnings for lock...
Earlier this month, the UK announced a four week lockdown shutting down all including pubs, restaurants, non-essential...
Long Read
Published on 15 Nov, 2020
Elon Musk’s Totally Awful, Batshit-Crazy, Completely ...
Elon Musk, according to many in the Silicon Valley is perhaps the only true genius going around, one with a mission to...
Published on 15 Nov, 2020
The Top 20 Business Transformations of the Last Decade...
Marcellus’ investment philosophy looks for continuity i.e. companies who do one or two things really really well for...
Published on 15 Nov, 2020
The Servant Economy...
This long essay is written with the US economy in mind but arguably its relevance to the Indian economy is even...
Short Read
Published on 08 Nov, 2020
Coronavirus: Are Indians more immune to Covid-19?...
Back in the early days of Covid spreading to Italy and other parts of Europe, there was talk about why Indians...
Published on 08 Nov, 2020
High quality equities remain the best option for growth...
With a second wave of Covid infections threatening to derail what has been an encouraging economic recovery out of the...
Published on 08 Nov, 2020
Inside the Chaotic Unraveling of Jack Ma’s $35 Billio...
Another story about Chinese authorities reining in critics. This time, a home-grown hero, Jack Ma, known for his...
Long Read
Published on 08 Nov, 2020
The Erasure of Mesut Özil...
Most celebrities tend to shy away from taking stances in public about political or social issues lest it jeopardise...
Published on 08 Nov, 2020
An Indian-Made Motorcycle With a Retro Look Is Coming A...
In our Little Champions portfolio (which is now shut to fresh inflows as it has reached capacity) we have highlighted...
Published on 08 Nov, 2020
Value Investing III: Requiem, Rebirth or Reinvention?...
The legendary finance professor begins this long piece by setting up his stall – value investing is dead he says...
Short Read
Published on 01 Nov, 2020
‘I feel free here’: how a miracle girls’ scho...
We end this week’s edition with an inspiring story about how an artist and anthropologist from New York built a...
Published on 01 Nov, 2020
My Approach to Valuation...
Abdullah Al-Rezwan is a young analyst who publishes some deep dive research on specific companies on his blog. In this...
Published on 01 Nov, 2020
History shows that equities outperform under Democrats...
The title of the article may be a bit misleading i.e, the author, who is the Chief Investment Strategist at Charles...
Long Read
Published on 01 Nov, 2020
What Is The Internet Doing To Boomers’ Brains?...
Social media has accelerated the creation and dissemination of fake news and misinformation, more so among older...
Published on 01 Nov, 2020
How solitude and isolation can affect your social skill...
In the wake of Covid-19 making many of us spend lots of time at home and by ourselves, psychologists have begun...
Published on 01 Nov, 2020
Opposition must think harder about political economy of...
In this outstanding piece Pratap Bhanu Mehta highlights the BJP’s achievement over the past six months – whilst a...
Oct 2020
- Week 4
- Week 3
- Week 2
- Week 1
Short Read
Published on 25 Oct, 2020
Lots of Overnight Tragedies, No Overnight Miracles...
In this piece, Morgan Housel brings out the emphasis on time as a critical factor of compounding. To drive the point...
Published on 25 Oct, 2020
The real lessons from Sweden’s approach to Covid-...
Sweden has gone from initially being hailed for the most liberal lockdown only to later on becoming the whipping boy...
Published on 25 Oct, 2020
Use of fear: Witness protection in India...
Whilst there are no prizes for guessing that most of Marcellus’ clients come from the most affluent strata of Indian...
Long Read
Published on 25 Oct, 2020
HDFC Bank sitting upon $6-7 billion of excess liquidity...
The outgoing CEO of HDFC Bank and the only one that the bank has had in its 26yr history, Aditya Puri, talks about some...
Published on 25 Oct, 2020
Social Capital: 2019 Annual Letter...
To continue with the theme of big technology monopolies, no better to get the perspective of someone who is a Silicon...
Published on 25 Oct, 2020
The 14 Juiciest Quotes From the House Antitrust Report...
The Antitrust Subcommittee of the US Congress published a 400 page report a couple of months ago on the practices that...
Short Read
Published on 18 Oct, 2020
How Eddie Van Halen transformed Michael Jackson’s Bea...
Eddie Van Halen, the lead guitarist and songwriter of the rock band Van Halen passed away last week, triggering a whole...
Published on 18 Oct, 2020
Laughter May Be Effective Medicine for These Trying Tim...
We have been featuring articles about how mental health has become even bigger an issue during the pandemic given...
Published on 18 Oct, 2020
Garry Kasparov on the need to improve our politics with...
Technology in general and social media in particular have transformed several social sciences in recent times,...
Long Read
Published on 18 Oct, 2020
The Race for a Super-Antibody Against the Coronavirus...
Through the pandemic, we have featured pieces that help us understand what seems to be one of the more complex systems...
Published on 18 Oct, 2020
People-meters have a history of manipulation. Huge pene...
TV ad spend amounts to around Rs 27,000 crores per annum (around $4bn). How that cake gets sliced up is driven by TRP...
Published on 18 Oct, 2020
What made Don Bradman better than the rest?...
Most of us are suckers for books and infotainment on how the great & the good made it to the top. Unfortunately,...
Short Read
Published on 11 Oct, 2020
Elon Musk’s 2 Rules For Learning Anything Faster...
Two weeks ago, we featured a piece on using the T-model to build our individual capabilities – a combination of a...
Published on 11 Oct, 2020
Shareholder value isn’t past its sell-by date as a co...
We featured a piece a couple of weeks ago, reigniting the debate on whether the sole purpose of a corporate is to...
Published on 11 Oct, 2020
The Best Way to Compete with Big Companies: Do Nothing...
There are growing concerns on how the global economy is getting concentrated into the hands of a few large technology...
Long Read
Published on 11 Oct, 2020
Inside the airline industry’s meltdown...
The airline industry despite the crucial role it plays in connecting the global economy, is notorious for destroying...
Published on 11 Oct, 2020
I stopped using screens on Sundays. This is how it chan...
The author says that after an episode of seizure & fainting in 2019 she decided to slow down her life. She reduced...
Published on 11 Oct, 2020
What Warren Buffett sees in Japan Inc...
In late September, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway invested $6.5bn in five Japanese trading houses that are well...
Short Read
Published on 04 Oct, 2020
Healthy gut, improved mood? The link between your micro...
The presence of bacteria in our intestines which help in digestion has been well-known but now with a breakthrough in...
Published on 04 Oct, 2020
The making of an open source dictionary...
We could not have done a better contextual introduction to this piece than the author’s own: “This is not a post on...
Published on 04 Oct, 2020
Why Breathing Is So Effective at Reducing Stress...
Covid is causing increasing stress levels among working professionals who were already under the pump given rising...
Long Read
Published on 04 Oct, 2020
This Overlooked Variable Is the Key to the Pandemic...
The Covid infection data for India is showing reasons to cheer with the active case count now declining for two...
Published on 04 Oct, 2020
Behind the new rules for NGOs to get foreign funds, a c...
The front pages of Indian newspapers contain so much news on cricket and Bollywood that one would be forgiven for...
Published on 04 Oct, 2020
Standing Tall – Lessons in leadership from Satish...
The late Satish Dhawan did much to make the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) the premier science research centre in...