Charlie Munger was a legendary investor. The former vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, and Warren Buffett’s long-time business partner, was known for his razor-sharp intellect and no-nonsense approach. His disciplined, independent thinking and focus on long-term value made him one of the most respected minds in the financial world, and an incredible investor in his own right.In keeping with his advice on the importance of having different checklists and using them properly when making decisions, here is Charlie Munger’s Investing
Checklist from his book: Poor Charlie's Almanack.
✅ Measure the risks
All investment evaluations should begin by measuring risk, especially reputational.
- Assess the risk before investing.
- Prioritize safety in your decisions.
- Avoid dealing with those of questionable integrity.
- Consider the impact of inflation and interest rates.
- Avoid of major mistakes that could cause permanent financial loss.
✅ Think Independently
"Only in fairy tales are emperors told they are naked."
- Objectivity requires independent thinking.
- Following the crowd doesn’t always lead to success.
- What matters most is whether your thinking is right, not whether others agree with you.
✅ Always Be Prepared
"The only way to win is to work, work, work, and hope to have a few insights."
- Stay curious and keep learning.
- Preparation beats ambition.
- Use mental models to sharpen your thinking.
- Always ask "why" to deepen understanding.
✅ Intellectual humility
"Knowing what you don’t know is more useful than being brilliant."
- Start by accepting what you don’t know.
- Stick to your areas of expertise.
- Seek out information that challenges your beliefs.
- Don’t fake certainty—stay humble.
- Remember that it’s easy to fool yourself.
✅ Be Analytically Rigorous
Use of the scientific method and effective checklists minimizes errors and omissions.
- Use a careful method and checklists to avoid mistakes.
- Focus on a business’s value, not just its price.
- Analyze risks from all angles.
- Approach problems with different perspectives.
✅ Master Capital Allocation
Proper allocation of capital is an investor’s number one job.
- Deciding where to put your money is the most important part of investing.
- Always compare your best option with the next best one (opportunity cost).
- Good ideas are rare—when the odds are greatly in your favour, bet (allocate) heavily.
- Don't get overly attached to one investment; be flexible.
✅ Be Patient
Resist the natural human bias to act.
- Fight the urge to make quick decisions.
- “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world” – Einstein; never interrupt it.
- Avoid unnecessary costs and taxes.
- Be ready for unexpected opportunities.
- Enjoy the process as much as the results.
✅ Be Decisive
When proper circumstances present themselves, act with decisiveness and conviction.
- Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.
- When the right opportunity comes, make a decision with confidence.
- Opportunity doesn’t come often, so seize it when it does.
- Success favours the prepared.
✅ Embrace Change
Live with change and accept unremovable complexity.
- Accept that the world changes and adapt as needed.
- Be willing to rethink your beliefs.
- Face reality, even when it’s uncomfortable.
✅ Maintain focus
Keep things simple and remember what you set out to do.
- Keep your investment strategy simple and stick to your goals.
- Guard your reputation and integrity.
- Beware of overconfidence and unnecessary complexity.
- Tackle big problems—don’t ignore them.
