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 hesitate, strongly, about publishing this response. I’m not sure it is good for me to advocate what I would do in this situation as it might discourage people by making circumstances seem hopeless when hope is what is needed; it might even exacerbate the macroeconomic problem while solving the individual household challenge. Still, it’s the only honest answer I can give because this is what an analysis of the situation leads me to conclude.
Three years ago, I reviewed Amouage Jubilation XXV for Men, the scent released by the perfume house founded and owned by the Sultan of Oman in the Middle East. It’s a very heavy fragrance that, to this Westerner, seems far more appropriate for winter as it wraps around you like a blanket. It has top…
A short documentary has been released called Bankrupt by Beanie Babies that details the loss of $100,000 by one family during the 1990s craze. Aaron just sent me the story, with a short note that read something like, “It’s sad because they should have applied to become a wholesale dealer and owned a shop.”
I spent the past few days updating some of my own internal case studies, spreadsheets, and other documents, as well as wrapping up a few things that needed to be crossed off the agenda for the private businesses. I ended up putting together a collection of visual references covering some of the long-term holdings I keep for my household, among them Nestlé SA following my post on Monday.
Irony is one of those words you see misused all over the place. Most people think they know what it means, but they don’t. It’s irritating to those who care about the spirit of words, and has even prompted New York Times articles discussing the constant abuse the term endures at the hands of society. To spot, and utilize, irony, requires, as the paper puts it, “sophisticated writing” that the author “counts on the reader to recognize”. It takes skill. It is going to go over most people’s head a lot of the time.
I happened to check the contact form this morning (we’re up to 1,000+ messages, some of which are really great questions or comments, that I do try to get to but my problem is time) and happened to see one from a few hours ago from a reader named Mark E. This absolutely made my…
One of the biggest dangers an investor faces when he or she decides to buy individual stocks for a portfolio is the temptation to chase something “exciting”, regardless of valuation. That’s a foolish undertaking. Valuation matters a great deal. The exact same business might be a wonderful investment at 10 times earnings but a horrible investment at 50 times earnings. It’s not enough for profits to rise, or dividends to expand; they have to offer a good return, based on what you paid, relative to a reasonable opportunity cost hurdle such as the long-term 30-year Treasury bond yield.
Playing the Sims 3 reveals both my biggest strength and one of my biggest weaknesses: My obsessive focus. I was only going to play for a few minutes today, but then got side tracked because my family bought the town art museum.
After I explained the BHP vs BBL shares for BHP Billiton, I realized I may as well dive into the complexity of the Royal Dutch Shell Class A vs Class B shares. I had originally avoided it when writing about the shares I picked up for the KRIP the other day, but there seems to…
With the discussion of me buying some shares of mining giant BHP Billiton the other day for the KRIP portfolio, there seems to be some confusion about the difference between BHP vs BBL, and how those are related to the BHP and BBL ADR listings on the New York Stock Exchange. This is one of…
