Be Back Soon

By Joe Ponzio on December 10, 2009  |  24 comments

Sorry folks. I'll be back soon. PROMISE!

I appreciate your patience! —Joe

A Prequel to F Wall Street

By Joe Ponzio on September 3, 2009  |  7 comments

I wanted to write a quick post about an interview I recently did with Miguel Barbosa of Simoleon Sense. Miguel's is a great blog that covers a number of aspects of financial behavior and psychology.

You can find part 1 here, and part 2 of the interview here. It shouldn't surprise you that it's in two parts: The interview was conducted through e-mail and, in my long-winded fashion, came out to seven or eight pages typed. As a comparison, my posts are usually between three and five; so, brew some coffee!

I titled this post as such in reference to a Twitter comment made by Jae Jun (@Jae_Jun) over at Old School Value in response to the interview:

@JoePonzio @SimoleonSense Actually it's a great prequel to F Wall Street

Enjoy!

Two Interviews

By Joe Ponzio on May 18, 2009  |  9 comments

If you're more into video and audio than reading my long-winded blog posts, below are two interviews I did recently.

For my video lovers, here's a link to a TV interview I did on First Business. It aired nationally on Wednesday morning.

Below is another clip from WBBM's Noon Business Hour from May 12, 2009.

Leaving For Omaha; Berkshire Updates

By Joe Ponzio on May 1, 2009  |  5 comments

I'm heading out to Omaha for the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. Though I'm still trying to figure out Twitter, I'll do my best to post updates on my Twitter page here.

If you're going to be in Omaha, drop me a line via e-mail and we'll meet up.

Now Available for Preorder

By Joe Ponzio on February 2, 2009  |  27 comments

Folks—F Wall Street, the book, is now available for preorder online at Amazon.com and Borders.com. (Barnes & Noble isn't listing it just yet.)

Needless to say, I'm excited!

Amazon.com is listing it at $10.85, a discount to the full price when the final release comes out on June 9, 2009. In the spirit of buying assets on the cheap, now might be a good time to preorder your copy!

You can find out more here.

How To Start Your Own Hedge Fund

By Joe Ponzio on December 8, 2008  |  69 comments

What does it take to start a hedge fund? The scary truth is that virtually anyone can start a hedge fund; and, it can be fairly inexpensive and easy to do. Why is this so scary? Among other reasons, hedge funds can attract investors while providing very little information; so, investors may not be able to make well-informed decisions. Then, hedge funds don't need to provide regular (or audited) information on an ongoing basis. If your manager is a crackpot and you have to stay invested for the remainder of the year (or quarter or whatever), you could wind up with very severe losses.

(Prospective investors should choose very carefully.)

Of course...that won't stop me from telling you how to set up a hedge fund. After all, I get a kick out of divulging Wall Street's billion dollar secrets for free.

Hedge Funds and the Early Buffett Partnership

By Joe Ponzio on December 2, 2008  |  40 comments

On a number of occasions, we've discussed Buffett's early partnerships—their performance, his investment style, or some other aspect of 1950s and 1960s Buffett. One of the great things about Buffett was that Warren put his money where his mouth was, unlike today's mutual fund manager that generally puts your money where his/her mouth is.

If you are considering starting a "hedge" fund, you might want to consider an Early Buffett Partnership structure.

Let's Talk Live on Blog Talk Radio

By Joe Ponzio on October 27, 2008  |  1 comment

Tomorrow (October 28, 2008) at 4:00 pm Central Standard Time, I'll be spending up to two hours with Andrea Garrison on BlogTalkRadio.com. We're going to discuss investing, the madness in the markets, the economy, and more, and then open the phone lines for questions and discussions.

You can listen online and participate here and please feel free to call in (347-426-3895) so we can talk. If you can't make it, the show will be archived after we're done.

Notes from the Pabrai Funds 2008 Annual Meeting

By Joe Ponzio on October 1, 2008  |  20 comments

On September 13th, I attended the 2008 Pabrai Funds annual meeting held here in Chicago. I met a few F Wall Street visitors and, unfortunately, missed meeting up with a few others. I must say that I am amazed at how many "Early Buffett" partnerships are out there.

For the explosive growth of these types of partnerships, I give 100% of the credit to Mohnish Pabrai for structuring his partnerships like the early Buffett ones and bringing them to the public eye. (If that's Greek to you, or if you're Greek and that's Chinese, stay tuned because I'll explain "Early Buffett Partnerships" in a subsequent post.) Before Pabrai, few people knew what an "Early Buffett" partnership was.

But I digress (and I'll get back to these partnerships later). For now, let's look at the Pabrai Funds 2008 annual meeting.

Why Ask Me? Ask Mohnish...Again

By Joe Ponzio on September 10, 2008  |  12 comments

If you have been following F Wall Street for a while, you'll remember that I went to the Pabrai Funds annual meeting last year. Mohnish Pabrai runs an Early Buffett partnership — no management fee, just a performance fee of 25% of annual profits above 6%. While he's been getting some heat from various value investors and fans/former fans around the web, Pabrai's record of outperformance is still amazing.

Well, it's that time of year again...

Having Server Problems

By Joe Ponzio on August 26, 2008  |  20 comments

Sorry folks. The database that holds the site's comments is currently down which is why no comments are displayed and why you can't post anything. I hope it will be up again ASAP.

Thanks for your patience.

Free Cash Flow vs. Owner Earnings

By Joe Ponzio on July 14, 2008  |  32 comments

EDIT: This item is no longer available. Please see the book to learn more about owner earnings and free cash flow.

At the end of this post, you'll find a "Buy Now" button to purchase a 20-page report comparing Free Cash Flow to Warren Buffett's owner earnings. Though the two terms (free cash flow and owner earnings) are often used interchangeably, they are not always the same. Confusing the two can have a dramatic effect on your intrinsic value calculations.

Essays of Warren Buffett

By Joe Ponzio on June 12, 2008  |  4 comments

Back in April, Lawrence Cunningham, editor of The Essays of Warren Buffett, emailed me to tell me about the (then) upcoming release of the second edition of the book. (We all know what a nightmare April and May were for me. Sorry, Larry, for the delay.) In this new edition, Cunningham preserves the same structure, but addresses new topics like derivatives, currencies, and huge investments like Equitas.

Here is the Amazon description:

The definitive work concerning Warren Buffett and intelligent investment philosophy, this is a collection of Buffett's letters to the shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway written over the past few decades that together furnish an enormously valuable informal education. The letters distill in plain words all the basic principles of sound business practices. They are arranged and introduced by a leading apostle of the "value" school and noted scholar, Lawrence Cunningham.

What's new in the second edition? This new edition has extensive additional content that highlights topics of vital national or international significance, including:

• the proliferation of stock option compensation and excessive CEO pay;
• Berkshire's shareholder-designated contribution program and the controversy over the abortion issue that led to its termination;
• the explosion of derivative financial instruments and related perils and how Berkshire dealt with managing a sizable portfolio of them after buying Gen Re;
• the dramatic increase in foreign currency trading in the past five years along with the astonishing growth in the US trade deficit;
• management succession at Berkshire Hathaway as Mr. Buffett ages;
• commentary on his philanthropic thinking in giving his entire fortune to charities; and
• the fairness and other matters concerning taxation of corporations.

Here in one place are the priceless pearls of business and investment wisdom, woven into a delightful narrative on the major topics concerning both managers and investors. These timeless lessons are useful to members of a wide range of professions, including law, accounting, finance and management, and provide rich teaching materials for courses in those fields.

Back in November of 2007, I said that Cunningham's original book was a must read (in lieu of reading all of Buffett's annual letters on your own). I just ordered my copy of the second edition, but I already know it's good. After all, it's Buffett and Cunningham. How can you go wrong?

You can get it at Amazon.com.

Money Means Nothing If...

By Joe Ponzio on April 28, 2008  |  19 comments

April has been one of the most difficult months of my life. It started with identity theft and ended with a 24-year-old loved one in intensive care since Friday the 18th. Without getting into too much detail, the last ten days have been very difficult.

Folks, all the money in the world means nothing if you don't live long enough to enjoy it. This is not a new revelation; still, you shouldn't wait for someone to nearly die to remember it.

This whole mess might have been avoided if he had just gone for an annual physical and blood test. Instead, he has gone through hell and back and has a long road of recover ahead of him.

Close the browser, call a doctor, and get a physical.

Your portfolio will be there when you get back.

SEC Almost Gets RSS Right

By Joe Ponzio on March 31, 2008  |  1 comment

Thanks to George at Fat Pitch Financials for pointing out that the EDGAR system now allows you to subscribe directly to an RSS Feed. That said, the SEC's feeds are not showing the right date — not yet at least. On my reader, all of the SEC's filings show up with a December 31st date whereas mine show the proper filed date.

For now, I still like mine better. We have the same information, but the F Wall Street EDGAR Feed system:

• has the proper "filed" date;
• keeps the title similar (i.e., EDGAR Filings for [company]) so new feeds are automatically organized in my Outlook;
• offers the auto-suggest feature for quickly finding filings without having to constantly go to and back out of pages.

Will the SEC expand their system to offer more? I don't know yet so I'm going to stick with mine for now.

Feel free to use whichever one you want.

Did You E-mail Me?

By Joe Ponzio on March 27, 2008  |  3 comments

It has come to our attention that the site's e-mail system has not been working. It seems as though this has been a problem for more than a week (maybe two).

If you've tried to e-mail me over the past few weeks and did not get a response, I apologize - I didn't get the e-mail.

All I can ask is that you try again. It is working now.

Thanks for your understanding.

Joe

What Do We Think?

By Joe Ponzio on February 15, 2008  |  22 comments

While I respect everyone's opinion, the overwhelming majority said they would rather see an update and some ads. I don't think the web designer went overboard at all. I've decided against a donate button simply because I would feel bad accepting donations from my friends on this site.

The Workout forum and Resources section should be up over the next week or so. In the meantime, take a look around and let me know your thoughts.

EDIT: What happened to the recent comments? We opted for an RSS feed for the comments because they were coming in too fast and many were getting lost. The feed is located here and can also be accessed with the navigation bar on the left.

Thanks to everyone who provided feedback both on the site and via e-mail.

The Workout Forum; Site Changes

By Joe Ponzio on February 13, 2008  |  43 comments

Ask and you shall receive. My web designer got back to me regarding some ideas that have been posted here for forums, discussion boards, etc. He also gave me a price and, well, ouch.

Here's where we are at.

A New Year Wish

By Joe Ponzio on December 27, 2007  |  6 comments

As you can imagine, I am doing very little this week—hence the lack of posts. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! (I did) We ended the year on a strong note with the Tribune play. Some visitors have asked for more clarification as to how I analyzed the deal and I'll post that in the new year. A quick thanks to kfh227 for one of my new favorite quotes (I've used it a dozen times when talking about our Tribune play:

Don't try to pick up coins in front of the bulldozer.

Finally, a big, huge, monstrous thanks to all of you whom have visited, contributed, and keep coming back. Since the site's launch on June 25, 2007, F Wall Street has had more than 1,000,000 visits! In my six months of blogging, I have realized:

1. It is very difficult to post something every day because, well, investing is pretty boring.
2. There are some phenomenal blogs out there. (I never really looked before I started F Wall Street)
3. Spammers will do just about anything to get links on a site. (If you need airline tickets, coupons, cheap Viagra, or Russian babysitters, let me know)
4. If I wanted to make any money with the site, I's really have to bog you down with ads. (I've made just under $110 in six months, though I do not run F Wall Street for the money nor do I expect you to suffer through a bloated advertising website)
5. It takes a long time to sell and publish a book. (But more on that in January)
6. There are some wonderful people out there that are willing to go the extra mile for complete internet strangers. (Your willingness to comment and respond to comments is awesome)

And so, as we head into 2008, let me be one of the first to wish you a happy and healthy new year filled with peace, joy, and prosperity. See you next year!

Joe Ponzio

Happy Thanksgiving!

By Joe Ponzio on November 22, 2007  |  3 comments

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! There is some interesting discussion going on in From Free Cash Flow To Earnings And Back. I just had to chime in.

Eat up. Lounge on the couch. And most importantly, have fun today!

Joe

It's a boy!

By Joe Ponzio on October 19, 2007  |  24 comments

Thanks all for your kind words and e-mails. On October 17, 2007, Paul Ponzio was born. He's doing great. Mom's doing great. His sister's diong great. Me—I'm great.

Just wanted to drop you all a line that everything went swimmingly and that I'll be back on Monday.

By the way—check out Sharper Image (SHRP). Its break-up value may be around $5.60 a share. If you think the company is going to close up shop, it may be providing a nice margin of safety. If you think it will pull out of the mess it is in, it may be providing a nice margin of safety. If you think it is screwed and it will spend all of its assets before declaring bankruptcy, run. And if you aren't sure, skip it! There's another boat coming.

And now, I'm off for some long overdue sleep.

Strategy Review: Buffettology

By Joe Ponzio on September 26, 2007  |  3 comments

A few visitors have asked me to review Mary Buffett & David Clark's Buffettology: The Previously Unexplained Techniques That Have Made Warren Buffett The World's Most Famous Investor. It had been years since I read it—eight, in fact. So, I had to take a day to revisit it (hence no post yesterday).

Buffettology was one of the first "Buffett" books I had read, and I loved it from the very first page. And who could argue the logic provided by someone who sat at the dinner table with Mr. Buffett for the better part of twelve years? I mean, of course, other than me...

What's On Your Mind

By Joe Ponzio on September 21, 2007  |  17 comments

Hi all. A couple of quick points as I won't be doing a full post today. Reason: I am out raising money for our charity—today we're helping raise money for intellectually disabled children. I'll be walking up and down the streets in a bright yellow smock, handing out tootsie rolls—if you happen across North Avenue and Harlem Avenue in Chicago, please feel free to donate a few bucks.

Site Redesign

What are your thoughts on the site redesign. The changes were small—different font, somewhat better categorization (still working on it) and a You are here navigation at the top of each page.

I'd love to get your feedback because you are the ones who read it!

Excuse My Follow-through

A friend mentioned that I ought to get an MBA. I told him that it wouldn't work...that I'm two people—half super-hyper, mind-wandering maniac, part wine drinking, relax-on-a-boat lazy man. Why do I mention this?

There are a few people whom have e-mailed me or posted comments that I promised I would respond to. With every intention of following through, I subsequently forget. I apologize. If there is something you'd like to see, let me know. Remember: I don't give investment advice or stock tips!

That's it for today. I'm going back to the streets—have a great weekend all!

Time is the friend of the wonderful company, the enemy of the mediocre. —Warren Buffett

Strategy Review: Phil Town's Rule #1

By Joe Ponzio on September 19, 2007  |  5 comments

Phil Town's Rule #1 is a hot selling item. Its promise of 15 minutes a week of work, guaranteed profits, and no risk is a lofty goal. Like virtually all popular investing books, Rule #1 has inspired groups of followers on one side—people actually making money with the system—and clusters of haters on the other side.

Strategy Review: Robert Hagstrom's The Warren Buffett Way

By Joe Ponzio on September 17, 2007  |  11 comments

Back on August 4, 2007, I promised Michael that I would look at the Quicken site and revisit Robert Hagstrom's investment strategies outlined in The Warren Buffett Way. Then, I completely forgot to do so. Sorry Michael—better late than never, right?

If you are not familiar with Hagstrom, he is the portfolio manager of the Legg Mason Growth Trust mutual fund and author of several books: The Warren Buffett Way, The Essential Buffett, and The Warren Buffett Portfolio, among others. The Warren Buffett Way presents a myriad of strategies for valuing companies...and that is precisely this book's weakness.

Berkshire Reports June Buys, Sells, and An Arbitrage Play

By Joe Ponzio on August 15, 2007  |  10 comments

Every three months, Buffett and Berkshire have to report their holdings to the SEC. Good news for us because we can see them for free. Click here for the report. Let's see what Buffett is buying, selling, and arbitraging.

Be Back On Monday

By Joe Ponzio on August 9, 2007

I just wanted to quickly post that I am going on vacation today (August 9, 2007) and will be back on Monday. If I get a chance, I'll try to get something online for Friday...but no guarantees (or should I say, weather permitting).

I will have access to email if you want to drop me a line.

And no, I won't be watching my stock prices while I'm gone.

Last Random Post Saturday

By Joe Ponzio on July 21, 2007

Barring any major happenings that require a post, this will be my last weekend message. I will no longer post a "Random Thought Saturday", opting instead to post a Random Thought "Whenever". F Wall Street has more than exceeded my expectations, and I have to scale back a bit.

To Answer Your Questions...

By Joe Ponzio on July 12, 2007  |  3 comments

It is not easy running a new blog. Being just 17 posts young, F Wall Street has had more than 28,000 hits, has been reprinted on Yahoo! Finance, is quoted on CNBC's Buffett Watch, and more. Of course, there aren't enough posts to satisfy everyone's curiosity or interest, so I have been getting a ton of emails from visitors.

I'll continue responding to emails, but I would like to post my answers to some of the common questions people have from the contact page.

Is Buffett Losing His Edge?

By Joe Ponzio on July 9, 2007  |  5 comments

Back in May, Todd over at ValuePlays threw out a challenge to his visitors—explain why Buffett is no longer investing 10%, 20%, or more of Berkshire's assets into any one company, like he did with Coca-Cola in 1988. With all due respect to Mr. Buffett's track record, Todd has a valid point—Berkshire Hathaway isn't buying massive stakes in relation to his company's size.

Does this mean we should be diversifying too—buying less of each company...and more companies? Does Buffett finally see that value in Wall Street's "diversification" advice?

Happy Fourth Of July

By Joe Ponzio on July 4, 2007

It's the 4th of July here in the U.S. I figured a post about holidays and how they affect your investments—or wonderful businesses—would be appropriate. After all, we invest because we want our retirement to be "Independence Day" every day—a celebration of financial independence.

So here goes: The fact that the market is closed on a Wednesday has absolutely no effect on the value of a business. No matter what the gamblers do tomorrow or Friday, your business is operating the same.

No go eat a hot dog and play in the pool. Happy 4th of July!

Tax Lien Certificates

By Joe Ponzio on June 30, 2007  |  2 comments

I certainly won't say it's impossible; but, it is extremely difficult. While some experienced people can make money with tax certificates, the problems the individual investor faces today are numerous:

1. You are up against institutions. They bid the % on the certificates to 0% so you can forget about 1st year income;
2. Once you have the certificate, generally more than 99% of them will repay their taxes/become current in the first 6 months. Of the remaining, 90% of them will get current by the end of the first year.
3. While you hold the certificate, you will have very strict requirements imposed on you as far as sending/posting notices, filings, etc. before you can get the property 3 years later. One missed step and you could lose your entire investment.

Taking The Morning Off

By Joe Ponzio on June 28, 2007

I appologize but I have some personal things to attend to. I will be gone this morning and may be gone for the entire day.

What's Up With The Book?

By Joe Ponzio on June 25, 2007  |  7 comments

As of today, June 25, 2007, the book is complete-though unedited and rough. It is currently under review by Literary Agents—the people who handle the day-to-day management of authors' affairs and shop books to publishers.

Right now, F Wall Street is a 210-page, conversational guide to investing in stocks from a business perspective. It will teach you how to value a business, how to identify a buy price, and how to check up on your companies once a year—completely ignoring the stock market.