Joshua Kennon is a Managing Director of
Kennon-Green & Co., a private asset management firm specializing in global value investing for affluent and high net worth individuals, families, and institutions. Nothing in this article or on this site, which is Mr. Kennon's personal blog, is intended to be, nor should it be construed as, investment advice, a recommendation, or an offer to buy or sell a security or securities. Investing can result in losses, sometimes significant losses. Prior to taking any action involving your finances or portfolio, you should consult with your own qualified professional advisor(s), such as an investment advisor, tax specialist, and/or attorney, who can help you consider your unique needs, circumstances, risk tolerance, and other relevant factors.
I spent a big percentage of my day reading indenture documents for corporate debt securities because I was helping someone pick up some additional fixed income investments for a retirement portfolio. I managed to get my hands on a nice block of high-grade, non-callable debentures from a major packaged foods company with a 4.3% yield-to-maturity on the remaining decade before maturity, but still have a bit of their dry powder left to spend.
Though I didn’t intend it, I’ve been away for the past week trying to finish several major projects that all seemed to align at precisely the wrong time. Unfortunately, they are all hard decisions; things that will affect the businesses and our household for many years down the road. The biggest among them is the re-platforming project for the sporting goods companies.
Despite the largest position in my personal household portfolio being Wells Fargo & Company, bought when it was practically being given away for free during the stock market crash, I’m at the point where I think the major global banks should be smashed and, here in the United States, at least, restrictions on inter-state banking put back in place so there is wide geographic diversity in deposit institutions to spur competition and prevent the probability of a banking crisis in the event of another Great Depression.
Since the energy saving program 4 months ago, the real world results are exceeding projections. Thank you, again, to those of you who wrote me with suggestions! I estimated that the energy efficient light bulbs alone would save an average of 288 kWh per month, or 3,456 Kwh per year. They are actually saving 317 kWh per month, or a run rate of 3,804 kWh per year. That means my net cash savings are around $410 per annum. Over the next 25 years, if I put it to work at average rates of return, it will add an extra $40,300+ in net worth to my family’s balance sheet. By the end of my natural life expectancy, it will add $933,800+ in extra wealth to my family’s balance sheet.
Back in October when I fell off the Korean Drama bandwagon, there was a suggestion in the comments that I watch a show called Pasta. Needing something to do while I was on the elliptical machine in the gym, I once again thought, “Ah … just one episode”. I’m 18 hours into it. [mainbodyad]The problem…
Indirectly, at least. The Norwegian sovereign wealth fund, arising from the events set in motion in 1969 when the country struck oil in the North Sea, has managed to avoid using the wealth it generates from crude on temporary boosts in government spending, instead conservatively investing it for the good of the nation. It’s grown…
This is, without a doubt, one of the simplest, coolest, most useful investment tools I’ve ever come across on the Internet. Enter a ticker symbol and – Bam! – the records for the company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and divided into their own boxes, separating financials such as the 10-K and 10-Q…
I’ve spent my entire day buried in documentation for Magento, playing around with the test server I setup. Installing themes is horribly inefficient compared to what it should be, but otherwise, this open source platform is truly revolutionary in terms of what it’s doing for e-commerce.
We spent Christmas Eve this year with my in-laws, and Christmas morning over at my parent’s house having breakfast. Unfortunately, with my sister and her family living a couple hundred miles away now, they weren’t able to be there. (My mom and dad, not being able to stand not to see their grandkids, got in…
Heather Mac Donald has written an astonishingly good piece over at The Wall Street Journal called “The Humanities Have Forgotten Their Humanity“. It details the academic coup that occurred in one of America’s premier English departments a few years ago when the junior faculty at UCLA overthrew the core curriculum. These misguided fools threw out the…
