Investing by the Books

Fund managers Adnan & Oddbjørn from REQ Capital discuss their brand new book, The Compounders. The book highlights the journeys of nine companies from Sweden, North America, and the UK that have been exceptional compounding machines.

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Our conversation with Adnan Hadžiefendić & Oddbjørn Dybvad was recorded on 3 September 2025.

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For more info about the podcast, make sure to follow us on X/Twitter. We love to hear your thoughts, so please rate and review us. And feel free to tell us about great authors, books, and investors. Thank you. /Eddie with team

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Episode Chapters

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In this episode, we have the pleasure of welcoming back Stephen Penman, professor emeritus of accounting and security analysis at Columbia Business School. Stephen has been elected into the Accounting Hall of Fame and is also a distinguished author. We discuss his latest book, in which he shows how accounting helps you, how it doesn't help you, and how to use it when evaluating investments. Stephen also shares his insights on hurdle rates, the development of accounting, and the possible impact of AI.

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Our conversation with Stephen Penman was recorded on 18 August 2025.

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For more info about the podcast, make sure to foll...

Klaus Kleinfeld has been the global CEO of two Fortune 500 companies – Siemens and Alcoa. In this episode, we have the pleasure of discussing his book 'Leading to Thrive', where Klaus shares his lessons from heading big organizations, but also on how to live a good life.

Our conversation with Klaus Kleinfeld was recorded on 24 July 2025.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on X/Twitter.

We love to hear your thoughts, so please rate and review us. And feel free to tell us ab...

Alex Morris, founder of TSOH Investment Research, shares his insights from Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella's book 'Hit Refresh.' We discuss the importance of empathy in leadership, cultural transformation, and finding your edge in equity research.

Our conversation with Alex Morris was recorded on 16 June 2025.

After four great years, this episode marks the last one with Niklas as co-host. Eddie will continue Investing by the Books podcast with the same steadfast ambition: to invite masterminds to discuss books that help us think, invest, and live better.

For more info about the podcast, go...

Economist and financial historian Lodewijk Petram discusses his book, "The World's First Stock Exchange," which focuses on the Dutch East India Company in the seventeenth century. We delve into the origins of the stock market, an IPO in 1602, and the similarities between historical and modern investor behavior.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on X/Twitter. We love to hear your thoughts on what you like and what we can improve, so please give us your rating and a review. You’re also very welcome to te...

We are happy to have Laurence (Lar) Endersen on the podcast. Lar is an experienced and thoughtful investor based in Ireland, where he heads his private investment firm Capstrive. Lar is also the author of books such as 'Pebbles of Perception'. We discuss his latest title – The Compounder's Element – a valuable and entertaining gem on long-term investing.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on X/Twitter. We love to hear your thoughts on what you like and what we can improve, so please give us your ratin...

David Marcus is a US investor with decades of experience working for legends like Michael Price and Jan Stenbeck. We discuss Brad Jacob’s book How to Make a Few Billion Dollars and David’s fascinating journey as an investor and operator.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on X/Twitter. We love to hear your thoughts on what you like and what we can improve, so please give us your rating and a review. You’re also very welcome to tell us about great authors, books...

Phil Rosenzweig has been a professor at IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland, for about 30 years. We discuss Phil’s legendary book “The Halo Effect”, which debunks much of the classic management literature and explains how we tend to think that when a company performs well, the CEO is fantastic, the company has operational excellence, and the employees love to work there. We set a halo on the good performers.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on X/Twitter. We love to hear your thoughts on what y...

Jaime Lester is a hedge fund industry veteran who has worked at firms such as Steinhardt Partners and David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital. He is also an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School and has managed his own investment fund for nine years. We discuss his book “Pause to Think,” which is a compilation of thirty-two mental models. Jaime also applies these models to various frameworks, such as how to make better decisions and how to become happier.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on X/Twitte...

Will Barnes is the co-founder of the primary research firm In Practise and joins us to discuss their new book “In Practise”. The book has eleven chapters, each featuring an in-depth interview with an experienced operator helping us to better understand successful companies like Spotify, Danaher, and Constellation Software. In Practise is the first volume in a series of books that will be published over the coming years.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on X/Twitter. We love to hear your thoughts on what you like...

Asif Suria is an entrepreneur and investor in the US who focuses on a specific investing strategy that we haven’t talked about much in the podcast: event-driven investing or special situations. The title for this conversation is Asif’s book The Event-Driven Edge in Investing, in which he explains six different event-driven strategies, such as merger arbitrage and stock buybacks.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on X/Twitter. We love to hear your thoughts on what you like and what we can improve, so plea...

Brett Gardner is an investment analyst at the US-based investment partnership Discerene Group and, since about a week, a published author with his book Buffett’s Early Investments. The focus of our conversation is Brett's book, where he has uncovered a few of Buffett’s investments in the 1950s and 1960s that until now have been rather unknown.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on X/Twitter. We love to hear your thoughts on what you like and what we can improve, so please give us your...

Simon Kold is the founder of the Denmark-based investment firm Kold Investments and was previously at Novo Holdings, one of the world’s largest investment organizations. Our conversation focuses on Simon’s upcoming book, On the Hunt for Great Companies, which details how to determine business quality. We cover the aspects we find the most interesting and encourage everyone to buy the book and read it in full. The book will be released on 29 October 2024.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on X/Twitter. We love to h...

Moritz Sitte is the investor at Antheia AB, a private investment firm founded by Daniel Ek. Moritz has previously worked as an investment manager at Baillie Gifford in Edinburgh for twelve years. We speak about The Clock of the Long Now and discuss topics such as investment philosophy, reframing one’s state of mind, and balancing the long with the short term.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on Twitter/X. We love to hear your thoughts on what you like and what we can improve, so...

Stephen (Steve) Clapham is the founder of Behind the Balance Sheet, an investment research and investor training consultancy. He has 25 years of experience as an investment analyst and has been a partner and head of research at two multi-billion dollar hedge funds. We discuss his book, the Smart Money Method, how he trains finance professionals, and his investment philosophy.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on Twitter/X. We love to hear your thoughts on what you like and what we can improve, so please give...

Torbjörn Arenbo is the Chief Analyst and Head of Corporate Advisory Sweden at Danske Bank. He has 25 years of experience working as a corporate finance advisor, portfolio manager, and risk manager. Our conversation is centred around Torbjörn’s book Capital Allocation and Value Creation, published in 2023.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on X/Twitter. We love to hear your thoughts on what you like and what we can improve, so please give us your rating and a review. You’re also very welcome to tel...

Chris Waller is the Founder and Portfolio Manager of Plural Investing in New York. He previously worked in London at Goldman Sachs and holds an MBA from the Value Investing program at Columbia Business School. Our conversation is centred around the book “We Are Bellingcat” and covers how investors can deepen their research by better utilising open-source information.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on X/Twitter. We love to hear your thoughts on what you like and what we can improve, so please give us your...

This bonus episode features an interview with Eddie Palmgren – host of Investing by the Books – on Redeye Growth Day. Eddie shares some of his highlights and insights from the first three years of podcasting. The interviewer is Lars T. Andersson at Redeye.

This interview was recorded on May 30, 2024.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on X/Twitter. We love to hear your thoughts on what you like and what we can improve, so please give us your rating and a review.

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About the Podcast

Intro...

In this episode we are joined by Staffan Salén – one of Sweden’s most prominent business men. The Salén family has a strong heritage spanning more than one hundred years, where Staffan and his brother Erik represent the third generation. In a fun and engaging conversation, we talk about banana boats, long-term investments, and high-speed lessons.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on X/Twitter. We love to hear your thoughts on what you like and what we can improve, so please give us your r...

How to invest in the best companies in the world? This is the topic for our episode with Pieter Slegers – founder of the investment newsletter Compounding Quality and previously a professional investor in Belgium. The book we discuss is The Art of Quality Investing, a new but timeless title that Pieter has collaborated on with its author Luc Kroeze.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on X/Twitter. We love to hear your thoughts on what you like and what we can improve, so please give us...

How to invest in the best companies in the world? This is the topic for our episode with Pieter Slegers – founder of the investment newsletter Compounding Quality and previously a professional investor in Belgium. The book we discuss is The Art of Quality Investing, a new but timeless title that Pieter has collaborated on with its author Luc Kroeze.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on X/Twitter. We love to hear your thoughts on what you like and what we can improve, so please give us...

In today’s episode we are joined by JC de Swaan. De Swaan is a lecturer in the economics department at Princeton University, where he teaches courses on ethics in finance and Asian capital markets. He is also a Partner at Cornwall Capital, an investment fund based in New York City. In this episode, we learn about the ethical considerations that finance professionals encounter.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on X/Twitter. We love to hear your thoughts on what you like and what we ca...

In today’s episode, Christian Billinger, a London-based investor who has joined the podcast before, is speaking with none other than Edward Chancellor. Edward is an author, finance journalist, and former hedge fund investment strategist. The discussion is centered around Chancellor’s book Capital Returns. It covers capital cycle investing and how investors can benefit from focusing on forecasting supply rather than demand.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on Twitter/X. We love to hear your thoughts so please give us a rating/review in your...

Tobias Carlisle is a former lawyer and the author of several books, including The Acquirer’s Multiple. Tobias is the manager of two funds based on the book’s ideas, which are trading as ETFs under the tickers ZIG and DEEP. In the episode, we discuss how strictly he follows the deep value methodology, reflect on patience among investors, and investigate if there is a difference between managing your own or other people’s money.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on Twitter/X. We love to hea...

Todd Wenning is an investor with experience from Ensemble Capital, The Motley Fool, and Morningstar. In episode five, we came across some of his work as he is a contributing author to the book Why Moats Matter. This time, we speak about Lessons from the Titans, a book about the lessons that today’s businesses can draw from America’s industrial giants.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on Twitter/X. We love to hear your thoughts so please give us a rating/review in your podc...

Stephen Penman is a professor of accounting and security analysis at Columbia Business School and Bocconi. He has also written the book Accounting for Value, which illustrates how accounting numbers relate to value creation. In our conversation with Penman, we discuss the necessary separation between speculation and valuation, the ideal structure of an equity research report, and how aspiring investors can improve their processes.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on Twitter/X. We love to hear your thoughts so please give us a rating/review...

Shu Hattori has more than fifteen years of experience in management consulting, turnarounds & venture-backed start-ups, with employers including McKinsey, Groupon, and Alix Partners. Shu is now building Japan’s first serial acquirer - Pinecone, together with Andrew Chou. Our conversation builds upon Shu’s book, The McKinsey Edge. We talk about what investors can learn from consultants, thoughts on decentralization, and the vision for Pinecone.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on Twitter/X. We love to hear your thoughts on what you like and what we c...

Ronald Fagerfjäll is a legend within Swedish business journalism. Having written more than 30 books centered around Swedish companies and the people behind them, his knowledge of the topic is truly unique. We speak about the book “They Made Sweden Rich” (De gjorde Sverige rikt), which covers important entrepreneurs, businessmen, and investors during Sweden’s 20th-century industrial history.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on Twitter. We love to hear your thoughts on what you like and what we can improve, so please give us your rating...

Paddy Hogan is the head of investor relations at ORIX, a Japanese company with 35,000 employees active within finance, investments, life insurance, and banking. The episode is centered around the book “What It Takes”, by Stephen A. Schwarzman. It tells the story of how Stephen co-founded Blackstone and made it the world’s largest alternative asset manager, with more than one trillion dollars under management.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on Twitter. We love to hear your thoughts on what you like and what we can improv...

Cole Smead is a portfolio manager at Smead Capital Management, an investment advisor applying a differentiated value approach to its capital allocation processes. Cole is an avid reader and hosts the podcast “A Book With Legs.” In this episode, we discuss the classic title “Money Masters” by John Train. We talk about whether there is such a thing as a money mind, if good investors tend to be born poor, and explore the insight that businesses are always dying.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on Twitter...

Ian Cassel is the founder of MicroCapClub, co-author of the books about Intelligent Fanatics, and the CIO of Intelligent Fanatics Capital Management. In this episode, we talk about “Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect” by Bob Rotella. The book covers the mental habits used by professional golfers, an area that turns out to be a ripe hunting ground for valuable investing advice.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on Twitter. We love to hear your thoughts on what you like and what we can improve, so p...

Vitaliy Katsenelson is the CEO of Investment Management Associates (IMA), a value investing firm providing individual portfolio management. He is also the author of several books, including “Active Value Investing” and “The Little Book About Sideways Markets.” In this episode, we mostly discuss his latest addition, “Soul in the Game”.

Go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on Twitter, where we suggest books and do giveaways. We love to hear your thoughts so please give us a rating/review in your podcast player! Also, feel free to share great authors, books, and investors you want to...

In our 45th episode, we are honored to speak to Paul Johnson and Paul D. Sonkin about their latest book “The Enduring Value of Roger Murray.” As the successor to Benjamin Graham at Columbia Business School, Murray (1911–1998) was a crucial figure in the history of value investing. Johnson and Sonkin are investment professionals and have been involved with the legendary investing program at Columbia Business School since the 1990s. The pair has also written “Pitch the Perfect Investment” and contributed to classics such as “The Most Important Thing” and “Value Investing: From Graham to Buffett and Beyond.”

Go to the episode...

In this episode, we speak with the knowledgeable Todd Finkle. Todd is a Professor of Entrepreneurship at Gonzaga University and the author of several books, including his latest addition: Warren Buffett - Investor and Entrepreneur. In our conversation, we explore Buffett as an entrepreneur, psychological biases, and whether academia and investing are compatible.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on Twitter. We love to hear your thoughts on what you like and what we can improve, so please give us your rating and a review. You're...

Catherine S. Neal is a former attorney and an associate professor of business ethics and business law at Northern Kentucky University. She is also the author of Taking Down the Lion, which is the center of attention for this episode. The book explores the fall of Tyco International's CEO and Chairman, Dennis Kozlowski, who was convicted of stealing more than 100 million dollars from the company.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on Twitter. We love to hear your thoughts on what you like and what we...

In our second interview with Avner Mandelman, a former rocket scientist and hedge fund manager, we talk about his new book: The Advanced Sleuth Investor. By applying multidisciplinary thinking, he explores the benefits of sleuthing from the viewpoint of ten different professions. In essence, our talk is about how you can create your own exclusive data to outperform the market.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on Twitter. We love to hear your thoughts on what you like and what we can improve, so please give...

Jake Taylor is a professional investor, fellow podcast host, author, and founder of the software Journalytic. For his second appearance on our podcast, we talk about the book Deep Survival and how his platform Journalytic can be used to think clearly, suppress irrational instincts, and become a better investor.

Notice: We are taking on new exciting projects at Redeye, so starting from this episode, we will release shows monthly. We will keep producing interviews of high quality and are always delighted to hear your feedback.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode...

In this special episode, we speak with Mark Gandy about our favorite investing books. Mark is the host of The CFO Bookshelf podcast and a consultant helping CEOs and CFOs with business development and financial modeling. We discuss books that can help you understand financial statements, evaluate management, and judge the quality of a business.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on Twitter. We love to hear your thoughts on what you like and what we can improve, so please give us your rating and a...

Gregory Zuckerman is an investigative reporter at The Wall Street Journal and the author of several books. Since he joined The Journal in 1996, he has received the Gerald Loeb award three times. The focal point for our discussion is his book The Man Who Solved the Market, which tells the story of how Jim Simons launched the quant revolution and created the greatest money-making machine in financial history.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on Twitter. We love to hear your thoughts on what you like...

In this episode, we speak with none other than Adam Seessel. Adam started as a journalist before venturing into finance through a job at Wall Street. He is the author of ‘Where the Money Is’ and the founder of Gravity Capital Management. Our conversation focuses on his approach to value investing, which draws upon classical concepts and updates them to fit the digital businesses of today.

For more info about the podcast, go to the episode page and make sure to follow us on Twitter. We love to hear your thoughts on what you like and what we c...