The World’s Greatest Stock Market Trader?

One of my favorite books of all time is a self-published, 1680 page tome (length based on my 2006 edition) written by Andrew Kilpatrick, called Of Permanent Value—The Story of Warren Buffett.

If you’re a big Buffett fan, forget the biographies by Alice Schroeder, Roger Lowenstein or James O’Loughlin.

They’re all certainly well done, but Andrew Kilpatrick’s book is phenomenal.

One of the many things Buffett fans will really enjoy are the stories relating to the people who “discovered” Buffett in the 1950s: the ones who trusted their money with this bright, fast-talking young man with indefatigable focus. It’s tough not to envy Buffett’s earliest investors, who turned a thousand dollars into multiples in the tens of millions.

Perhaps a man of Buffett’s ilk comes along once a generation. But is a future “Superinvestor” of a Buffett-standard here today—and accessible now? And if you did figure out his name, what kinds of questions would you like to ask him? And if he gave you access to his trades, what would you do with that information?

After reading The Dick Davis Dividend,  I marvelled at the investment track record of a man whom Davis referred to as "The anti-Cramer”.

Charles Kirk, trader extraordinaire, soft-spoken and humble (unlike the loud-mouthed, arguably poorly performing Jim Cramer) might not be a value investor in the vein of a Warren Buffett or a Benjamin Graham, but he has built a remarkable track record as a trader over the past 17 years. And his trading success over that time has beaten Warren Buffett’s. And like both Graham and Buffett, he’s generous with his thoughts and ideas.

The internet, being what it is, brings people and ideas together in an amazing way. Last week, Charles Kirk emailed me to commend my blog site. Naturally, I was honoured to receive an email from a man formerly featured and revered in Barrons, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal.

Taking advantage of an opportunity, I emailed him back and asked if I could interview him for my blog.

Graciously, he accepted.

Read the full interview here.

And Charles, thank you so much for your generosity and time.