Controlled Greed notes the news that Third Avenue Management is re-opening its Third Avenue Real Estate Fund (TAREX). This news is interesting on two regards. Many regard Third Avenue as particularly savvy investors so the fact that they now see some opportunities in the real estate operating companies (REOCs) that they focus on may be a sign that the bear market in these stocks may be slowing.

It also reminds us that we saw an interesting article in Forbes by Michael Maiello on the "evolution" of Marty Whitman. (Forbes requires a log-in, for those who still deal with ink-stained paper the article is in the July 3, 2006 edition.) The theme of the article is that Marty Whitman has developed a strong investment team that not only will take over for him when he eventually retires. It also demonstrates that Whitman was open to learning from his younger colleagues and "steals shamelessly" from them. Whitman acknowledges that he gets half of his investment ideas from them.

The bottom line is that smart investors are always learning. Whether it is about specific stocks, sectors or asset classes or about the investment process in general.