Valuing Dutchman 101: Less is more
The survey from a few weeks back I took in the Dutch version has fundamentally changed my view on Valuing Dutcham—it was totally outside my expectations. I figured that since news is often available instantly now, that same speed would be desired for updates on our companies. So, when the survey showed a clear preference for weekly or even bi-weekly communications over rapid-fire updates, it genuinely surprised me and really made me stop and think.
Maybe I should’ve seen it coming. Since you also indicated you consult multiple sources, you’re probably drowning in emails every day. I’ve unsubscribed from countless websites myself because it was simply too much, too often, without any substantial new content. Someone recently used the term “email diarrhea,” and it’s surprisingly apt: an unwanted speed and volume of communication, but with very little substance.
There’s just too much to read, and sadly, also too many AI-generated articles that are hilariously wrong if you actually know the companies intimately. Unfortunately, this incorrect information gets repeated enough that many accept it as the truth.
Because attention spans online are apparently also becoming more fleeting, the same content gets repeated multiple times. This, of course, serves marketing purposes. If I were to look at this as a publisher, I’d probably have to do the same. But I’ve written it before: I am not a publisher; I am an investor who puts his analyses and ideas on paper. The writing should really be the final stage, the outcome of extensive reading and research.
Precisely for this reason, I’m going to do the opposite. I won’t raise the price to write more and more reports, hire extra writers, and constantly post more repetitions.
I’m moving away from news updates about companies whenever news breaks, and I’m also shifting the weekly newsletter to a bi-weekly one, where, of course, the companies will still be followed up on as thoroughly as before. The goal is to read more and research more for greater depth and insight.
More Thinking
Charlie Munger once said, “People calculate too much and think too little.” Thinking is indeed an essential component, for which too little time is set aside in our hurried world. I’m now consciously going to reserve extra time for it.
In the future, Valuing Dutchman will therefore appear 24 times a year. This will include several fixed segments:
Events of the Past Weeks or Market Outlook
Stock in Focus
The Rationality Test
Doubler Portfolio Update
What I Read/Listened to in the Past Weeks (Interesting articles, podcasts, or videos)
News from Our Companies
Point two needs a little more detail. The Stock in Focus can and will be very varied. It could be a reader suggestion (like this week), a stock that will be placed on our watchlist, or one that immediately enters our portfolio. Or, during annual and half-year results, a deeper look at a stock already in our portfolio, if a re-assessment is needed.
In The Rationality Test, we’ll put a stock or index that’s been heavily in the news under the microscope, like Duolingo this week. Is it cheap after the recent drop, or is it still too expensive?
Because the frequency is decreasing, I’m also going to lower the price, even though the value provided isn’t diminishing—quite the opposite.
The price will drop from €299 to €247.
In the coming weeks, I will adjust the duration of your subscription for everyone, pro rata based on the remaining term and the price you paid. The monthly subscription, however, will rise in price as I want to promote a long-term view. People already on a monthly subscription won’t be affected.