Vltava Fund Q1 2026 Commentary: Sport and Investing (Once Again)

Vltava Fund’s commentary for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026.

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Exactly seven years ago, I wrote a letter to shareholders entitled “Sport and Investing.” The analogies between these two seemingly unrelated activities comprise one of my favorite themes; I often reflect upon them and look for lessons to be learned. In January, by coincidence, I had the opportunity to deliver a short presentation on this subject at an investment conference called Ideaweek St. Moritz, which is organized annually beneath the snow-capped peaks of the Engadin Valley by my good friend John Mihaljevič, founder of MOI Global. It occurred to me then that I could revisit the topic of sports and investing in this letter to shareholders.

What sports and investing have in common…

Sports and investing are governed by the same basic logic. Both are long-term disciplines requiring perseverance, where progress is gradual, daily effort does not yield immediate feedback, and results become apparent only after years have passed. A professional athlete competing in an endurance sport needs to train 700–1,400 hours annually for many years to have a chance of rising to among the elite. That individual’s daily program includes one, two, or sometimes even three training sessions. After a full day of effort, however, the athlete usually has no tangible results to show in the evening. Nevertheless, he or she believes that by persevering and doing the work every day, week, month, and year the results ultimately will come. After several years of regular hard work, that person’s performance will be on a completely different level than at the beginning.

Investing is similar. A typical day for a professional investor usually consists of reading and thinking. On the vast majority of days, the investor also cannot point to any tangible result of his or her work when evening comes. Again, however, the investor, too, is convinced that if he or she wakes up every morning with a desire to learn something new and devotes time to study, analysis, and reflection, then one’s knowledge and experience will gradually accumulate, and, along the way, he or she will find good investments. If an investor looks back after years have passed, that individual may be pleasantly surprised by how much the value of his or her investments has grown.