Each year I pick a reading theme that fills in my time. My primary blocks of reading time in our marketable security business line are filled with companies I have already researched before. Once current on those I like to explore. Having a theme for the year helps give me structure so I don’t wander Read more about Reading Annual Reports of Public Companies to Influence Your Small Business[…]
We scan and assume. It’s in our nature as humans. Little influences pile up. We see red and think bad. We see down and think the worst will continue. As a value investor and armchair philosopher, I pre-empt this natural tendency by making “down” green in our internal dashboards. Huh? What? Our business partnership is Read more about Self Correcting Dashboards[…]
People have different ways of uncovering investment ideas. I have tried many of them. When it comes to investing in marketable securities, stock screens and friendly idea sharing appear to be the most popular. For the socially awkward –myself included– a stock screen seems like a great idea. Setup some mathematical filters and only the Read more about Reading Every Annual Report for an Industry[…]
In January 2021 I scratched out a quick blog post on Reading & Writing Annual Reports. I was compelled to write again on the subject and figured that a “Part 2” title was creative enough for the two or three nerds that might read both of my posts. I write reports to our investments partners. Read more about Reading & Writing Annual Reports (Part 2)[…]
My evolution as an entrepreneur and investor has been marked by two distinct phases. I may be entering into a third phase. Phase 1 began at age 19, when I got my first true line of credit. My father co-signed my first note, set me up with a sweetheart deal that was almost guaranteed to Read more about Generating Cash[…]
We are strong proponents of picking an operating system and using it religiously. Establish a true north and incentivize and demand regular accountability. The key to a good map is focus. The cartographer eliminates the unnecessary. One key element of our playbook is the use of objectives and key results (OKR’s) to establish partnership level, Read more about Establishing OKR’s for the Marketable Security Business[…]
I recently re-read Phil A Fisher’s classic, “Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits.” After first speed-reading a book, I return to those I think worthwhile, and the second time through take notes. On subsequent times I refine my notes. Below are my refined notes after several re-reads. Most of the words are the authors. Any errors Read more about Notes & Commentary on “Common Stocks & Uncommon Profits” by Phil A Fisher (with applications to private companies)[…]
We wrapped up yesterday’s case studies at our monthly CEO Lunch and a new member asked me what I thought of the markets. This is not the sort of question I am asked very often. My response was, “I don’t know.” Everyone went quiet and he asked a clarifying question: “What do you think happens Read more about What do you think about the market?[…]
Over the last several years we have reviewed nearly one-thousand private companies. A handful held marketable securities. In each case I believe it was the result of a restricted dividend policy. The family business wanted to hold on to more current assets than were immediately required in the business and rather than sit on cash Read more about Marketable Securities in a Private Company[…]
An implosion is when something collapses under it’s own weight. At the risk of being a doomsday contrarian, I’ll propose a pre-mortem scenario worth thinking about. Act according to your own insights. This is not a recommendation but an exercise I’ve challenged myself to consider. The ETF indexes failed. How did it happen? There is Read more about Implosion of the Index[…]