Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, said last month that economic moats are lame: “If your only defense against invading armies is a moat, you will not last long. What matters is the pace of innovation. That is the fundamental determinant of … [Read More...] about Are moats really lame?
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Revisiting the lost decade of U.S. stocks
If you were following business news in 2010, you must have come across one or two headlines bemoaning America’s “lost decade”. Between 2009 and 2012, there were many discussions in the business media and many columns were written in the press on this … [Read More...] about Revisiting the lost decade of U.S. stocks
My lucky break with Roth IRA
This was the year 2000 -- at the height of the Internet craze. I had two years of cash contributions ($2K max was allowed at the time) piled up in my Roth IRA. So, in March 2000, I bought $4K worth of Amazon shares (at about $70 per share) in my … [Read More...] about My lucky break with Roth IRA
My quest for commercial real-estate
My portfolio has some real-estate (RE) assets but not much. The only commercial real-estate that I have come to own (indirectly) is via public REITs (publicly traded real-estate investment trusts). I have been looking into adding a dose of commercial … [Read More...] about My quest for commercial real-estate
Why I am buying Blackstone
You can see from my 4Q portfolio update that I have been buying shares of Blackstone (BX). I first bought some shares in the third quarter last year – bought again in the fourth quarter – and my last purchase was in January. Blackstone is a … [Read More...] about Why I am buying Blackstone
Get more out of your cash
Most of my capital is invested in stocks. You can see my portfolio here. I keep some cash as rainy-day fund and also for my dry-powder strategy. In today’s low-rate environment, cash does not return much. Short-duration CDs yield 1% to 1.5%. One-year … [Read More...] about Get more out of your cash
Apple, Starbucks, Facebook, Tesla
These are all well-known companies. They are also very successful stocks since their respective IPOs. And they all have been rising with the market for last few years. Then what am I doing still buying them today? I own all four companies for many … [Read More...] about Apple, Starbucks, Facebook, Tesla
Quarterly portfolio update – March 2018
I don’t pay much attention to quarterly stock market changes. I don’t spend time trying to read tea leaves either. However, when the market goes down 10% or more from its peak, it spurs me into action. Why? As I detailed in this blog entry, I have a … [Read More...] about Quarterly portfolio update – March 2018
Rise above dividends!
Some investors are fascinated with dividend paying stocks. They invest in them exclusively. Often times, these investors are looking to generate income. Some investors also believe that dividend paying stocks are safer to invest in. There are … [Read More...] about Rise above dividends!
Stock investing is not a zero-sum game
Why do I say that? Because people often think of the stock market as a roller coaster. It goes up for a while, but then goes down, eventually ending up at the same place where it began, and then the cycle starts over. The implication is that one must … [Read More...] about Stock investing is not a zero-sum game
Don’t fall for steady returns
Why everyone and their grandmother don’t get rich investing in the stock market? It sounds straightforward enough to invest. All one has to do is buy an appropriate market index fund (or ETF) and hold it for ten or twenty years (the well-known … [Read More...] about Don’t fall for steady returns
A lesson from Buffett
Warren Buffett’s shareholder letter came out last weekend. It’s an annual ritual and it makes for great weekend reading. I am a long-time shareholder and I appreciate how he comments on the general state of investing – besides his own company, … [Read More...] about A lesson from Buffett
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Let smart people work for you!
The best thing about long-term oriented stock investing is that it doesn’t require lot of work by us, the investors. Instead, we loan our money to people running actual businesses – and they work for us. We own shares in these public companies – so … [Read More...] about Let smart people work for you!
How media get things wrong
Be wary of news briefs from the financial media – they are designed to catch reader’s attention but in reality often mean nothing – or worse could even be misleading. I follow mainstream news but with care. On one hand we investors need to stay … [Read More...] about How media get things wrong
Yes stocks are volatile
… but only in the short run. As we saw in this previous post, stocks go down 10% or more every year. More often than not, they also recover quickly. So what return could we expect in a given year? Here is a good chart from J.P. Morgan. It shows … [Read More...] about Yes stocks are volatile
4Q 2017 quarterly portfolio update
There weren't many changes made in my portfolio last quarter. I did not start any new stock position - though I did add to three of my existing positions. I closed a couple of small stock positions where I took capital losses. There were no changes … [Read More...] about 4Q 2017 quarterly portfolio update