Investment Style

I'm a contrarian at heart in my investment style. There is nothing better than to buy what everyone else is selling. Much like John Neff, I favor the P/E ratio when generating investment ideas. In my opinion, if you think like the masses your guaranteed to get nothing but average returns at best. Going against the grain is something that I find rewarding. I like to keep things as simple as possible. I'll have nothing to do with charting. Any purchase should be made on the basis that the asset is fundamentally undervalued. Patience is key. I love stocks that pay dividends and increase them on a regular basis. Regular share repurchases (at the right price) are also a plus.

Guiding Principles

All investors should have a set of guiding principles. I've listed below my set of guiding principles. If you review the successful investors of the past, it becomes apparent that each one had a distinct style and set of beliefs. As I've matured as an investor I've learned how important it is to create a set of rules. While many things will definitely change in the investment world; other things will always stay the same.

• Select investments that will be negatively coorelated.
• The easiest portfolio to manage is one that you do not need to monitor.
• The best investments are ones that you will never need to sell.
• Prefer companies with a strong long term competitive advantage
• Prefer companies with a proven track record.
• History repeats itself time and time again. Never think things are different this time.
• Never let your love for a product prevent you from selling a company with poor investment prospects
• Never panic when the market is down.
• Historically the best time to buy a stock is when everyone else is selling
• Do not try and time the market.
• Investments should be based on calculated returns. Not emotion.
• Dollar cost average investments. 3 months or a 25% drop in investment price must have occurred before making additional purchases.
• Transaction costs should be less than 1% of the total investment being made. Ideally, the transaction cost should be much less than this.
• Investment allocation should strictly follow a predefined investment allocation model.
• No initial investment should exceed over 5% of the total portfolio value
• Do not over-allocate your portfolio into any single industry or country
• Focus on countries with a high level of economic freedom. Countries with unstable or overly controlling governments should be avoided.