Questions and Concepts in Value Investing

By Joe Ponzio on August 7, 2009  |  12 comments

It's been quite a while since I've written an article, and for that...I'm sorry! The past few weeks have had me extremely busy — reading, researching, and ripping apart companies. We've made a few investments this quarter, but I haven't had time to write about any of them here. Sadly, F Wall Street's portfolio has gone from largely ignored to entirely ignored.

Of course, I couldn't ask for more out of a lazy man's portfolio. Being some 17% in cash brings me no joy; but, this portfolio has continued to outperform the S&P 500 Total Return Index (the S&P 500 with dividends reinvested) by 19.7% a year, growing 4.2% annually versus the S&P 500's -15.5% annual return. That said, the F Wall Street portfolio is going bye-bye. Though I will continue to write about investing and individual companies, I can't maintain the portfolio in real-time (or even somewhat real-time).

Still, this "value investing" stuff works. And though we've only been going two years, if you don't believe by now that buying good businesses on the cheap and ignoring the markets is the way to go, it will probably never sit right with you. As Buffett says: You either quickly get the concept of buying $0.50 dollars, or you never do. Let's jump into some interesting questions from visitors, and concepts in intelligent investing.

Is Buy and Hold Dead? Performance Update.

By Joe Ponzio on June 2, 2009  |  24 comments

I can't believe that it has been nearly two years since F Wall Street was originally launched on June 25, 2007. And what a two years it has been!

Since our launch, we saw the S&P 500 climb to an all-time high in October of 2007, only to watch it plummet nearly 58% to a level first seen in May of 1996. Some of the causes of the drop were highly predictable. Some of the events, such as the September 2008 disaster, were completely unpredictable. And through it all, we were largely, if not entirely, invested in individual stocks.

Let's see how we did.

F Wall Street Investment Performance II

By Joe Ponzio on October 31, 2008  |  47 comments

Some of you have been accusing me of becoming short-sighted here on F Wall Street, particularly because I dumped a lot of positions rather quickly. The problem with "blogging" is that I am (and your comments are) only as reasonable and good as the perception of the reader. So, I'm going to justify the sales in this post, bring readers up to speed on the portfolio...and this is the last time I'm going to discuss the topic.

If, after reading this post, you think I'm fixating on the short-term, feel free to send me an e-mail to spark up a discussion.

Timing Purchases; Portfolio Changes

By Joe Ponzio on October 23, 2008  |  29 comments

I am a bull on America and the stock markets, even if we see more short-term, quotational (and real) pain in the overall markets. On October 30, 2008, GDP numbers will be released, likely confirming what we've all known for some time — we're in (or technically starting) a recession.

No matter how short or long, shallow or deep the recession turns out to be, you can usually bet on one thing: The stock markets tend to rise before the economy turns around. So, forget timing the markets. Instead, let's look at timing your purchases.

F Wall Street Investment Performance

By Joe Ponzio on August 9, 2008  |  22 comments

It is just over a year since F Wall Street began on June 25, 2007. I first posted about the Blackstone (BX) IPO — a cautionary post warning visitors that excitement + lack of information = thanks, but no thanks. As many visitors know, my style is hardly predicated on activity. In fact, I'm more of a Charlie Munger assiduity-type investor — sit on your ass until a no-brainer comes along.

In this "rough and turbulent" market, let's take a look at the first year's success and overall performance.