73 Reds

Trust and Integrity. There are not many public companies where these qualities are beyond reproach and an annual shareholder letter teaches so many valuable life lessons.

The credit all goes to Buffett and Charlie. There is no real skill in accepting Buffett's advice to treat stocks like businesses rather than exchangeable pieces of paper or clicks. With several other long-term holds, that has been by far the most important key to my investment success in stocks since I generally only buy the lowest of low-hanging fruit when it comes to public equities.

1st share cost me under $1k, including commissions (5% of pp back in those days). Many more since. Buffett created many multi millionaires. Count me as one.

@Viking. Nice post - thanks. If Fairfax can consistently underwrite at a <100 CR and if the investment side avoids the mistakes of the 2010s, the stock may never be a "sell" unless money is needed. This is the way I've viewed BRK for 42 years. In some ways it is great not to be a proficient trader, and as Buffett often says, just treat stocks like you would a business or piece of real estate.

Nah, I think @dwy000 makes a good point. The issue is not so much about Elon and Tesla but rather when does any CEO spread himself too thin? I view this similar to investing in a family controlled business. BODs have very little persuasion over "the Boss". You take the bad with the good and when the two get misaligned, you cut bait.

OK. Not sure I understand the distinction from simply being highly confident in one's abilities. Which is not necessarily bad for DOGE.

I think folks throw around the word "narcissist" all too often and don't even understand its consequences. In a business sense, there is nothing wrong with narcissism if it gives you an edge and shareholders can come along for the ride.

Selling OTM covered calls against SPY and rolling them as necessary pretty much assures you of beating the index over time. Selling SPY puts does not because you lose any potential excess interim upside.

I dunno. With good stocks you might be better off just holding the equities and forgetting about options altogether. When you sell a put you lose the upside of just buying and holding the stock (along with dividends) and when you use this strategy on a poor performing stock you're underlying is depreciating and all the while you are paying taxes on option premiums when they expire. Also if you use a more 'stable" stock the premiums are likely very low. Sounds like a lot of time and work for little in the way of potential gains.

@Viking, please submit your resume to Morningstar and get paid for your work! Is this guy a product of DEI?

What is an option wheel strategy? One easy option strategy to beat the S&P 500 index is to own SPY and sell well OTM covered calls against the position. If SPY rises too quickly so as to endanger assignment just roll the calls. You'll achieve what most professional money managers strive to do but don't: Best the index.

The vibe at the Miami Boat Show is always optimistic. In fact the vibe throughout Florida is almost always highly optimistic. Business friendly environment. Government encourages growth and development. Current Governor is pragmatic and even wants to eliminate the property tax. Increasing number of disgruntled people from other States come here to get away from messes elsewhere. Local sheriffs take no crap and zealously prosecute lawlessness. Pleasant to warm sunny winters and all the opportunity one could want with no State income tax and otherwise cheaper than other similarly populated States.

As someone who invests in single equities high valuations don't matter because there is always something to invest in. For younger folks and those just starting out, I have long ago come to the conclusion that discipline and patience are by far the most important factors for investment success. Probably next on the list is cost-efficient, tax efficient investing. Not far behind is a balanced approach to spending and saving/investing. Only for a select few, like some here on this board do analytical skills even come into play.

The example of the unluckiest investor who DCA'd the exact same amount each year into SPY/VOO at the exact yearly high price always comes to mind. This "unlucky" investor still did better than most.

Yeah, I agree with that and not only for retirees. Younger folks should also maintain cash reserves (not necessarily that much) so they don't feel the need to sell otherwise solid equities at the wrong time.