Warren Buffett once famously said that his number one rule in investing is to never lose money. And yet, as I had pointed out in a previous blog post, his own company Berkshire Hathaway’s shares had dropped by 50% more than once. How would he … [Read More...] about I avoid losing money
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Portfolio update 2019
It has been two years since we took a deep dive into my investment portfolio. A few things have changed over the last two years—even though my portfolio’s overall allocation is more or less the same. I have discussed bits and pieces of these changes … [Read More...] about Portfolio update 2019
Update on my Apple bet
About seven months ago, I wrote a blog post on an Apple protective-collar position I invested in. It was a defined-outcome type investment where I only took limited risk (less risk than holding long Apple shares). I called it my Apple bet. It was a … [Read More...] about Update on my Apple bet
My unfinished business with Kinder Morgan
In a blog post last month, I wrote about my investments in real assets (see An opportunity to invest in real assets). Real assets are physical assets like real estate (homes, office buildings), infrastructure (bridges, pipelines), and commodities … [Read More...] about My unfinished business with Kinder Morgan
Investing in startups through SoftBank
I prefer investing in established well-run businesses that have defensible business models. Even though some of them are technology companies, I invest in them not because they are considered tech but because they have dug some level of economic moat … [Read More...] about Investing in startups through SoftBank
My gun is reloaded
In his 2010 shareholder letter, Warren Buffett wrote that his elephant gun had been reloaded, and his trigger finger was itchy. He was referring to Berkshire’s dry powder cash that was intended for major acquisitions. Extending the same metaphor, … [Read More...] about My gun is reloaded
A coffee can approach to investing
I just finished reading Chris Mayer’s book, The 100-Baggers. It’s a book about public companies whose shares have returned 100 times or more for those who held on. How long to hold on? In most cases, it took twenty years or longer. The book is … [Read More...] about A coffee can approach to investing
A quick look at my real assets portfolio
Over the last few months, I have written multiple times about real assets. So I won’t belabor the benefits and opportunities in real-estate (and other hard assets) investing here. To wrap up the series of posts on this topic, I’d like to roll up all … [Read More...] about A quick look at my real assets portfolio
An opportunity to invest in real assets
One of my all-time favorite authors on investing is Howard Marks. He is a practitioner (not an academic) but also has a way with words. It’s not just me—Marks’ memos are widely read. His first book, The Most Important Thing, was a best-seller. His … [Read More...] about An opportunity to invest in real assets
My uber dividend payers
CenturyLink (CTL), a large U.S. telecom operator, has just slashed its dividend by more than one-half. For the last two years, it had sported a mouth-watering double-digit dividend yield that reached as high as about 16% recently. It was no surprise … [Read More...] about My uber dividend payers
Bear market: a curse or a blessing?
I wish all investors get at least one bear market in their investing journeys. A lot of people would consider this a curse—but it really is a blessing in disguise. I will explain why. Today, financial media is focused on when this bull market will … [Read More...] about Bear market: a curse or a blessing?
Gratuitous advice with no accountability
At the Markel’s shareholder meeting in Omaha in June, someone from the audience posed this question to the company management: “I met a very large international money manager last night for dinner and he warned me that now is not the time to invest … [Read More...] about Gratuitous advice with no accountability
Careful with defined outcome investing
I wrote about my principal-protected investments in a February blog post (Market neutral investing). Those are only a tiny fraction of my portfolio. I only use them for my liquid capital—money that I might need in short order and therefore can’t be … [Read More...] about Careful with defined outcome investing
Investor anxiety
2018 was a brutal year for individual stock investors. Following the relatively calm performance in 2016 and 2017, the US stock market in 2018 was marked with high volatility. It went down by 10% in the first quarter, and then gradually recovered. It … [Read More...] about Investor anxiety
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A gauge for my portfolio
A lot of investor underperformance comes from them trying their utmost to avoid seeing losses. Emotionally, losses hurt twice as much as gains feel good. But there is no way to avoid seeing short-term losses in long-term investing. It’s inevitable … [Read More...] about A gauge for my portfolio
Revisiting my Blackstone investment
I have written several times in last two years about my investment in Blackstone (BX). Blackstone is the largest alternative investment asset manager in the world. I have been gradually building up my stake in it for two years. Its shares have mostly … [Read More...] about Revisiting my Blackstone investment
A very short bear market?
I came across an interview that CNN’s Poppy Harlow did with Warren Buffett in September 2018. She said investors were worried about cracks showing in the U.S. economy after a long nine-year run. And then she asked if Buffett was worried about an … [Read More...] about A very short bear market?
Invest in high-quality businesses
High quality businesses keep on giving—year in and year out. This is one key lesson I learned in my early investing years. Take the case of Wal-Mart (WMT) for instance. Ten years after its IPO in 1970, Wal-Mart had presence in just about 15% of the … [Read More...] about Invest in high-quality businesses
My two-year bet on Apple
A week ago, I heard Blackstone’s COO, Jon Gray, talk about his company’s recent growth tilt. He said that decline in the U.S. interest rates that has gone on for last 30 years has come to an end. And with that, expansion of valuation multiples too. … [Read More...] about My two-year bet on Apple
Weekend worrying about the economy
A couple of weeks ago I was at our local library checking out the Barron’s weekly. They had their annual roundtable issue out. Every year in January, Barron’s invites a few successful well-known money managers to gather around a table and discuss … [Read More...] about Weekend worrying about the economy
Market neutral investing
Last week, John Rekenthaler of Morningstar wrote an article on worst alternative investments of the decade. Market-neutral funds were among his top-five worst investments. Average annual return from the funds in this category was 0%. He wrote this, … [Read More...] about Market neutral investing
Investing amid volatility: My 4Q update
What a quarter that was! The US stock market first reached a new high in October and then dropped 10%. It bounced around for a while. And then in late December, it dropped again—this time more than 15% off its peak. By some measures, it actually … [Read More...] about Investing amid volatility: My 4Q update