Wednesday, 8 January 2020
Even among value investors, there is ongoing disagreement concerning the appropriate margin of safety.
Some highly successful investors increasingly recognize the value of intangible assets.
Some highly successful investors, including Buffett, have come increasingly to recognize the value of intangible assets - broadcast licenses or soft-drink formulas, for example - which have a history of growing in value without any investment being required to maintain them. Virtually all cash flow generated is free cash flow.
The problem with intangible assets, is that they hold little or no margin of safety.
The most valuable assets of Dr Pepper/Seven-Up, Inc., by way of example, are the formulas that give those soft drinks their distinctive flavours. It is these intangible assets that cause Dr Pepper/Seven-Up, Inc., to be valued at a high multiple of tangible book value. If something goes wrong - tastes change or a competitor makes inroads - the margin of safety is quite low.
Tangible assets, by contrast, are more precisely valued and therefore provide investors with greater protection from loss.
Tangible assets usually have value in alternate uses, thereby providing a margin of safety. If a chain of retail stores becomes unprofitable, for example, the inventories can be liquidated, receivables collected, leases transferred, and real estate sold. If consumers lose their taste for Dr Pepper, by contrast, tangible assets will not meaningfully cushion investors' losses.
Some highly successful investors increasingly recognize the value of intangible assets.
Some highly successful investors, including Buffett, have come increasingly to recognize the value of intangible assets - broadcast licenses or soft-drink formulas, for example - which have a history of growing in value without any investment being required to maintain them. Virtually all cash flow generated is free cash flow.
The problem with intangible assets, is that they hold little or no margin of safety.
The most valuable assets of Dr Pepper/Seven-Up, Inc., by way of example, are the formulas that give those soft drinks their distinctive flavours. It is these intangible assets that cause Dr Pepper/Seven-Up, Inc., to be valued at a high multiple of tangible book value. If something goes wrong - tastes change or a competitor makes inroads - the margin of safety is quite low.
Tangible assets, by contrast, are more precisely valued and therefore provide investors with greater protection from loss.
Tangible assets usually have value in alternate uses, thereby providing a margin of safety. If a chain of retail stores becomes unprofitable, for example, the inventories can be liquidated, receivables collected, leases transferred, and real estate sold. If consumers lose their taste for Dr Pepper, by contrast, tangible assets will not meaningfully cushion investors' losses.
