Back to the Basics: What is Mr. Market? Why Are Prices So Volatile?
Updated – 12/14/23 The stock market is a very emotional place. Why? Because it is made up of humans beings. Fear and greed are felt and then played out, which is why you’ll see irrational bull and bear markets. Warren Buffett’s mentor, Benjamin Graham, tried to explain this phenomenon with a fictional character he called […]
A Beginner’s Guide to Cloud Computing
What is cloud computing? How does the cloud work? To invest in companies such as Microsoft, Shopify, Google, or Crowdstrike, we need to understand the basics of cloud computing. In today’s world, most of us use some form of cloud computing. For example, your Gmail, Hotmail, or Outlook accounts utilize the cloud. Instead of running […]
What is Minority Interest and How Do I Find It?
Acquisitions, as a part of growth, continue to play a role in the markets. Many companies use this strategy. Berkshire Hathaway, Google, and Constellation Software use acquisitions to grow their companies. Many of these acquisitions become 100% ownership for the acquirer. But many don’t rise to 100%, and how companies account for the smaller ownership […]
Commercial Paper For Beginners
“The commercial paper, when that dries up, you know, that’s just like sucking the blood out of the economic body of the United States.” Howard Warren Buffett Commercial paper’s nature makes it worthy for institutional and wealthy investors to buy direct, while smaller investors get exposure via their money market funds or brokerage accounts. Most […]
Using Porter’s Five Forces to Determine a Company’s Moat
“The key to investing is not assessing how much an industry is going to affect society, or how much it will grow, but rather determining the competitive advantage of any given company and, above all, the durability of that advantage.” Investing in companies whose competitive landscape we don’t understand offers some challenges; we need to […]
Shark Tank Valuation Formulas Explained: What Stock Market Investors Can Learn
Post Updated: 7/12/2023 Shark Tank is a wildly popular show with star investing tycoons like Mark Cuban and “Mr. Wonderful” Kevin O’Leary. If you’re an entrepreneur about to pitch your company to these venture capitalists, you absolutely must know your stuff, especially your numbers. The name of the game in Shark Tank is valuation, and […]
Understanding the 12 Most Common Types of Business Models
Updated 4/4/2024 In a speech in Switzerland, Warren Buffett discussed what he means by buying businesses he understands. “We don’t look for specific sectors; we look for businesses that I can understand. When I say, understand, that means I feel that I have a high degree of confidence in my ability to see what they […]
13F Filings: The Easy Way to Find Awesome Investment Ideas from the Greats
Updated 3/6/2024 Looking for a place on the internet to get a detailed portfolio snapshot of the world’s greatest investors, all regularly and for free? These documents are called 13F filings, and we can find them at SEC.gov. Using the 13F filing makes it easy and free to find what some companies your favorite investors […]
Beginner’s Guide to Value Investing and Intrinsic Value, From the Top Investors
Updated – 12/6/23 Value investing is all about finding stocks trading at a discount to their intrinsic value. Investors have used this strategy for decades to find outsized returns; the very best have outperformed the market with this strategy. In a 90-year-long study done by Merrill Lynch, it was determined that value stocks returned an […]
Starting an Investment Firm: LLC, Limited Partnership, or Incorporate?
As an investor for over 9 years and LLC co-owner for over 5, I’ve thought a lot about utilizing my passion for investing in the most optimal way. Maybe you’re thinking of starting an investment firm, wanting to invest on your own or on behalf of others. Well, there’s so many ways to do it, […]
