What's your current portfolio?

[DooDiligence]

UCC - I bought an Epi ES-339 because it sounds & plays great & I just couldn't warrant another $1500 just to get Gibson on the headstock.

 

I still have an irrational desire for an all wood Martin!

 

(does all this make me crazy...?)

[DTEJD1997]

I agree. My wife and I are both frugal and like the value of savings, living below our means and some spare liquidity, which helps make a harmonious relationship, but we' still take plenty of trips and vacations each year, eat out, go to shows and have plenty of fun, but we don't tend to overpay for things or buy much stuff that doesn't add much value to our lives, nor do we live in a place much larger than we need. We also try to be generous with friends, family and guests.

 

When we've lost a smartphone or had a bike stolen or suffered some damage to our car, we've been surprisingly blasé about it and didn't even let it ruin our day. (I was surprised how we weren't worried, and actually that was a really great day when we found we'd had the bike stolen overnight). We're now waiting for an opportunity to buy a replacement at a good discount.

 

I think there are cheapskates who take it too far, but frugal and seeking value can be very rewarding and remove stress.

 

This is it.  I/we take trips when we want.  Daily spending isn't monitored.  Some things drive me nuts like phone/inet/mobile data costs.  I made myself more accepting of this by buying enough BCE so the dividends pay the entire costs in this arena.  And I will get to keep the capital gains.  I always pick my entry points to add.  Also hold Enbridge - get much more in dividends than the bills will ever be. 

 

I/we are frugal but not cheap.  That said I have no need to spend on certain things such as expensive dinners out (> 100 per family for dinner).  I actually dont enjoy pretentious fancy dinners out.  With anything there is a law of diminishing returns.  The tripling of cost from a dinner at a roadhouse to a fancy French restaurant dimishes my enjoyment.  I dont really like being served hand and foot. 

 

 

The associate who now won't pay for food in a restaurant is NOT doing that in a high end French restaurant situation.  He has done this in a low end Chinese restaurant where most meals are under $10, a greek diner with most meals under $10, and similar places.  He has INVITED people to dinner at these places and won't order anything...very odd behavior.

 

Another example is that he was invited to a very high end casino buffet.  It was FREE, all he had to do was show up.  No obligation to gamble or anything else, he was invited and somebody else was paying.  He said he couldn't go because gas was too much.  He would have had to drive 20 miles each way and that would have been $6 in gas.  Foolish decision as the buffet was $40 and excellent.

 

So yeah, he certainly saved money.  BUT he ate dollar store food at home, didn't interact with friends and family, and missed eating all he wanted of excellent food.  A terrible cost/benefit analysis, missed food & further alienated others in his life.

[DooDiligence]

DTE - it sounds like your associate has not learned how to enjoy the fruits of his frugality.

 

Does he have any redeeming qualities which would make it worth the effort to guide him or is he just basically an intolerable dewsh?

 

"Success is having what you want; happiness is wanting what you have"

 

I have no idea who said that 1st but I say it constantly...

[DTEJD1997]

DTE - it sounds like your associate has not learned how to enjoy the fruits of his frugality.

 

Does he have any redeeming qualities which would make it worth the effort to guide him or is he just basically an intolerable dewsh?

 

"Success is having what you want; happiness is wanting what you have"

 

I have no idea who said that 1st but I say it constantly...

 

He is certainly not a criminal sociopath or terrible crazy person...but he has gone off the deep end with his miserly habits.  I've tried to counsel him that you get ahead by doing PROACTIVE things...like investing in the market, buying real estate, businesses, etc.  You don't get rich by saving.  At least he can't.  He makes about $45k a year in a very low cost area of living, so he can certainly spend a bit.

 

I've also counseled him that doing your grocery shopping at the dollar store is not a good idea.  Certainly not healthy to eat all the heavily processed foods.

 

However, it is not my place to tell him how to live his live.  I offer my opinion from time to time, but that is it.

[Uccmal]

DTE - it sounds like your associate has not learned how to enjoy the fruits of his frugality.

 

Does he have any redeeming qualities which would make it worth the effort to guide him or is he just basically an intolerable dewsh?

 

"Success is having what you want; happiness is wanting what you have"

 

I have no idea who said that 1st but I say it constantly...

 

He is certainly not a criminal sociopath or terrible crazy person...but he has gone off the deep end with his miserly habits.  I've tried to counsel him that you get ahead by doing PROACTIVE things...like investing in the market, buying real estate, businesses, etc.  You don't get rich by saving.  At least he can't.  He makes about $45k a year in a very low cost area of living, so he can certainly spend a bit.

 

I've also counseled him that doing your grocery shopping at the dollar store is not a good idea.  Certainly not healthy to eat all the heavily processed foods.

 

However, it is not my place to tell him how to live his live.  I offer my opinion from time to time, but that is it.

 

I had a room mate like this in University.  Cheap as could be.  He would make a pork roast with cabbage and potatoes and reheat it the rest of the week, week after week.  Wouldn't go for a coffee at the local coffee shop, and wouldn't order pop with fast food when he was stuck.  I sometimes wonder how he made out.  And he never, ever, picked up the bill, even for a coffee.  Just irritating. 

[wachtwoord]

 

I see the opposite of your analogy with long/short. Working a typical job can only get you so far because most of your waking hours for all your prime decades are called for. Being independent has so many more ways to be fulfilling, even if you still work as much. Freedom means having a choice.

 

 

QFT. Very good summary.

[Graham Osborn]

Guys, these are interesting discussions, but I recommend starting a new thread to organize them.  Portfolios or updated portfolios are more relevant here.  For me - added IPGP and TWTR in past week.

[fareastwarriors]

Guys, these are interesting discussions, but I recommend starting a new thread to organize them.  Portfolios or updated portfolios are more relevant here.  For me - added IPGP and TWTR in past week.

 

TWTR ? Why?

[Graham Osborn]

Guys, these are interesting discussions, but I recommend starting a new thread to organize them.  Portfolios or updated portfolios are more relevant here.  For me - added IPGP and TWTR in past week.

 

TWTR ? Why?

 

Here's a couple links:

http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=30693403

(loop back for previous posts)

http://www.cornerofberkshireandfairfax.ca/forum/investment-ideas/twtr-twitter-inc/90/

 

[sarganaga]

Gold      31%

Cash      22%

SBR      16%   

DRFRX    8%

PDER      7%

FEMS      7%

DMLP      3%

FDT          3%

CHOEX    3%

 

7 figure portfolio

 

[Gray Fox]

VOYA: 26%

BRK: 16%

GOOGL: 8%

ADS: 7%

MCO: 7%

KR: 5.8%

SAVE: 5.7%

CABO: 4.2%

DVA: 2.9%

ST: 2.9%

 

Short CMG and KO

 

and have a roughly 10% special situation bucket

[DanielGMask]

Haven't heard about VOYA before! Could you elaborate?

[Yours Truly]

Haven't heard about VOYA before! Could you elaborate?

 

Rebranded ING DIRECT?

[DanielGMask]

Haven't heard about VOYA before! Could you elaborate?

 

Rebranded ING DIRECT?

 

Got it! Thx.

[Graham Osborn]

20 positions seems reasonable.  It may be true that with a smaller portfolio you can earn it back quicker, so you might be encouraged to take more risk.  But in my case, I'm running this portfolio to establish a track record - so if it blows up I just lost a year of my life. [..] So I have just as much fear (if not more) of losing money as the retirees or personal managers on this thread.

 

If you fail to establish a track record with a ~$100k portfolio you lose one year of your life? Please, keep things in perspective. If you're a full-time investor and you blow up you might have to sell your house, can't take care of your family, can't afford a retirement home and/or a good school for your children, just to name a few things. On the other hand, how your portfolio performs the next few years is mostly irrelevant in the greater scheme of things because the vast majority of your future net worth will come from labour, not capital. You can blow up $100k once or twice and still get a great job, your quality of life wouldn't be affected.

 

You say you can 'earn it back quicker' after a blow up but a retiree can't earn it back at all.

 

That's a great point. Stakes are way more important in investing especially when you are evaluating a portfolio manager. I wouldn't consider anyone who doesn't have his whole net worth in line for multiple years. Skills are way overrated and its hard to distinguish them from luck.I understand Buffet now when he says its easy to compound small amounts. Not because you can find more opportunities but the psychology starts to take over when stakes are raised.I would be extremely wealthy had my success in monopoly translated into real life.

 

Great post.  Amen.

[oddballstocks]

Haven't heard about VOYA before! Could you elaborate?

 

Rebranded ING DIRECT?

 

No re-branded ING Direct is CapitalOne 360.  YOYA is one of ING's divested insurance offerings.  I was an ING Direct customer and my account is now with CapitalOne360.

[SugarRE]

Real Estate is all i know...otherwise my $ are in one value manager or another, with an index fund sprinkled here and there.  Below are based on a side pocket of funds with 25% in cash.  %ages are based on current mkt value of holdings.

 

LAACZ 17%

JCAP 14%

HMG 12%

TPRP 8%

AHH   7%

FRPH 6%

NYRT 6%

GYRO 4%

RAFI 4%

SELF 3%

TWOC 3%

IRT 1% Marker, doing more work

ABCP 1% Sold and took profit now watching

RYPTF <1% No volume, can't buy at my price

PKTEF <1% Doing Work

[brendanb22]

AC

AAPL

BAC-WT-A

FCAU

RELY

3828.HK

STAR

TGONF

WMIH

[Graham Osborn]

VOYA: 26%

BRK: 16%

GOOGL: 8%

ADS: 7%

MCO: 7%

KR: 5.8%

SAVE: 5.7%

CABO: 4.2%

DVA: 2.9%

ST: 2.9%

 

Short CMG and KO

 

and have a roughly 10% special situation bucket

 

Curious on your criteria for longs and for shorts.  Of your picks,  DVA on the face of it seems like the most compelling short candidate (although I admit KO is starting to look interesting fundamentally, not much technical weakness yet).  Thoughts appreciated.

[Liberty]

VOYA: 26%

BRK: 16%

GOOGL: 8%

ADS: 7%

MCO: 7%

KR: 5.8%

SAVE: 5.7%

CABO: 4.2%

DVA: 2.9%

ST: 2.9%

 

Short CMG and KO

 

and have a roughly 10% special situation bucket

 

Are you short KO in proportion to your ownership of it through BRK just to hedge it out, or is this a bigger short? Thanks.

[kab60]

Interactive Brokers

Wells Fargo

General Communications

Videocon D2H

Flughafen Wien

Aimia Pref

 

[whiterose]

Of your picks,  DVA on the face of it seems like the most compelling short candidate

 

Can you elaborate, what makes you say that?

[shhughes1116]

Of your picks,  DVA on the face of it seems like the most compelling short candidate

 

Can you elaborate, what makes you say that?

 

Suggest that you take a specific discussion of DVA to the DVA thread.

[rb]

Interactive Brokers

Wells Fargo

General Communications

Videocon D2H

Flughafen Wien

Aimia Pref

Can you please elaborate on your process on how you got to awn FLU?

[kab60]

Interactive Brokers

Wells Fargo

General Communications

Videocon D2H

Flughafen Wien

Aimia Pref

Can you please elaborate on your process on how you got to awn FLU?

There's a recent write up at OTC Adventures (which I'm sure you've seen). I've liked Airports as an investment since I've seen first hand in Copenhagen how much value one can extract from what's often a monopoly-like business, but the valuation of CPH Airports has me turned off, and I'm not allowed to invest in Danish equities anyway. I can't say I've done a deep dive into FLU but I like the valuation, the low leverage (opportunity to lever up if they're not too afraid), the structural growth and the opportunity it has to increase capacity as well as improve the retail experience (the ability to re-invest earnings at a high ROIC if management is decent). It's a bonus that you have an infrastructure fund that'll probably want to increase its ownership even further. Did you take a look yourself? What do you think?