Seth Andrew Klarman (b.1957) is an American value investor and philanthropist. He runs the Boston-based Baupost Group, the ninth-largest hedge fund in the world. Often referred to as the “Oracle of Boston,” Klarman’s success frequently draws comparisons to such luminaries as Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffett.
Klarman is renowned for his risk averseness; his fund’s stated goal emphasizes the preservation of capital and not just exceptional returns. He insists on the practice of “margin of safety,” the cushion between what an investor would pay for a security and what he thinks it is worth—this way, the investor can protect his investment against miscalculations, uncertainties, and unforeseen events.
Klarman is known to be withdrawn—he keeps a low profile and rarely speaks in public or grants interviews. Second-hand copies of his out-of-print book Margin of Safety (1991) have sold for almost $2,500 on the internet.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Seth Klarman
Macro worries are like sports talk radio. Everyone has a good opinion, which probably means that none of them are good.
—Seth Klarman
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