These days, there is a steady drumbeat in the financial media about an imminent economic recession in the country. I don’t have a position on whether one is inevitable. I try to only invest in quality businesses that can survive (and even thrive) in a recession. Like Chris Davis … [Read more...] about Who is afraid of a recession?
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Mid-year dry powder update
As the S&P 500 swooned to a new low in late May, down 20% from its peak, I bought more shares. I have now nearly one-third of my dry powder cash invested in stocks. What did I buy? Here’s a list of all my stock purchases since this drawdown began late last year: In my … [Read more...] about Mid-year dry powder update
Long live Berkshire!
As I sat down this week to research for a new blog post, I read several news headlines on how Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) has outperformed the stock market this year so far. This motivated me to take a look at my own investing history with Berkshire. Berkshire and I go … [Read more...] about Long live Berkshire!
From Buffett’s letter
Warren Buffett’s annual shareholder letter came out last month. As usual, it was widely covered by the mainstream media and numerous financial analysts. There is not much I can add to what was already written about it in the press. Though there is this one minor angle on … [Read more...] about From Buffett’s letter
Ready for a 50% drop?
In May 2020 annual shareholder meeting, Warren Buffett said this: “You’ve got to be prepared when you buy a stock to have it go down 50% or more and be comfortable with it, as long as you’re comfortable with the holding.” He went on by pointing out that Berkshire Hathaway’s … [Read more...] about Ready for a 50% drop?
Keeping it simple, unlike Mr. Ackman
Bill Ackman is a well-known and widely followed hedge fund manager. During the Covid market selloff in early 2020, he made several billion dollars by timely moving in and out of the markets. First, he bought credit default swaps to hedge against panic in the bond market. That … [Read more...] about Keeping it simple, unlike Mr. Ackman
How my stocks did in 2021?
As promised in my last blog post, here’s a recap of my stock holdings’ performance in 2021. In this post, I will let the charts do most of the talking. For context, see this post for my year-end 2020 performance. For my one-year performance, see below chart. I underperformed … [Read more...] about How my stocks did in 2021?
My portfolio ten years ago
This post is a trip down the memory lane. Ten years ago (December 29, 2011, to be specific), I had a smaller investment portfolio that also looked much different. It sported more cash. It had more stock mutual funds than individual stocks. I still had some employer-granted stock … [Read more...] about My portfolio ten years ago
My top-10 holdings today
This blog post is about my top-ten stock positions—today and since the Covid recession. The pandemic induced economic recession lasted only two months in the USA—from February through April 2020. The resulting bear market in stocks lasted about a month (peak to trough) and then … [Read more...] about My top-10 holdings today
Two companies, two great share buybacks
I own shares in two companies whose CEOs have been at the helm for over twenty years. These two businesses are not in the same industry. They don’t have much in common—one is in the video game business, and the other is in investment banking. As you can imagine, their business … [Read more...] about Two companies, two great share buybacks