Newell Brands and Uncle Carl

I have been following the Newell Brands (“NWL”) saga for a few months.  I was hoping to write a post at some point discussing a purchase of stock, where I would be teaming up with Carl Icahn (“Uncle Carl”)(regrettably I am sure, no relation), Martin Franklin and the Jarden gang, and Starboard Value/Jeffrey Smith/Jeffrey Smith’s hair stylist. Continue reading “Newell Brands and Uncle Carl”

Buying What No One is Selling

I was just looking at the ads on my site and on another couple of finance sites and was inspired to post this. On my site (although I have been proactive about rejecting ads) and others you will see ads for peer-to-peer lending services, privately traded real estate investment trusts, initial coin offerings, tax liens, gold, oil and gas leases, etc…

Most of these have serious fee, tax, or other short comings.  This led me to think, “Maybe good investments are the ones that no one is selling?” continue

I pulled on a thread and found…a book

I found the book I am currently reading based on a little detective work involving a promising young investor and Warren Buffett.  The subject of the book seems to fit within a theme of successful wealth accumulators, so I thought I would share a little about both the book and the path which led me to discover it. Continue reading “I pulled on a thread and found…a book”

Bet with the GOAT or the goats on AAPL?

The Financial Times Alphaville Blog is a great read and you should consider adding it to your roster. It is not behind a paywall, so check it out (I also subscribe to the FT). Today, Alphaville published The world is overweight Baba, which prompted another thought about Buffett, his opportunity set, and Apple (“AAPL”).  Continue reading “Bet with the GOAT or the goats on AAPL?”

Is Berkshire too Big to Succeed?

Is Berkshire now too big to beat the market?  I have been thinking about this question after reading the most recent annual report and some related commentary. Berkshire has underperformed the S&P 500 over the most recent decade. So is the run over? It is an obvious question and one very ably examined by Jason Zweig of the WSJ Money Beat Blog (subscription required). I enjoyed reading Mr. Zweig’s work, as always, and have a few thoughts of my own.  Continue reading “Is Berkshire too Big to Succeed?”

I’m Just Saying…Berkshire Annual Report Edition.

So the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Report came out yesterday.  Here’s a link to the PDF.  This will, no doubt, be dissected elsewhere more capably.  I do, however, have a few thoughts to share on cash levels, Buffett’s comments about indexing/destruction of high fee options, and his comments on acquisitions/management.   Continue reading “I’m Just Saying…Berkshire Annual Report Edition.”

I’m just saying…COTY

So, posting lately has been challenging as I have a new little one.  I keep reading how writing regularly is essential to improving.  I write frequently for my profession, however, drafting documents and memoranda aren’t really the same as putting together interesting blog posts.  In order to try and write more regularly and hopefully churn out some decent content on this site (and create a diary of my own thoughts), I am going to start writing “I’m just saying” posts on like a weekly basis.  For this one, I thought I would quickly run down an investment and briefly state why I am long.   Continue reading “I’m just saying…COTY”

Resource Roundup: Multpl.com and some thoughts inspired by Buffett

Warren Buffett recently appeared on CNBC to announced the elevation of Ajit Jain and Greg Abel, both to vice chairmen of Berkshire Hathaway, setting them up as potential successors in the event of his eventual retirement.  His appearance was interesting as always (with the exception of the awkward responses to the ideologically laced banter from Kernen).  But the most interesting point to me, was his discussion of bonds.   Continue reading “Resource Roundup: Multpl.com and some thoughts inspired by Buffett”