Cover Stories
February Is For Lovers, Football Fans and Successful Investors by Mark Robertson Feb 09, 2025
Super Bowl Sunday ... and Valentine's Day. Our "Super Bowl" was last week as we wrapped another Groundhog Challenge. This week features Buttonwood during Bull Sessions on Tuesday and Valentine's Day as another busy week of earnings reports wraps up. FactSet (FDS), Texas Roadhouse (TXRH),FedEx (FDX), Starbucks (SBUX), Southwest Airlines (LUV), Chipotle (CMG) ...
Projected Return On Enterprise Value (PROVE) by Mark Robertson Jul 01, 2021
Imagine a world of stock studies where you can “worry” a whole lot less about P/E ratios (and dividends) and instead focus on the business model and emphasize a few important characteristics of stewardship. Our quest to better understand the power and potential of using Projected Return on Enterprise Value (PROVE) actually began during the holiday season about a year and a half ago. After extensive consideration, we now feel that this characteristic is essential. PROVE can be used to (1) reconcile P/E forecasts and (2) we’re giving PROVE as much (or more) weight than PAR in screening, stock analysis and portfolio design and management.
Successful Investing III: Highlights by Mark Robertson Jun 01, 2021
We basically have One Job. It’s our mission to discover and share actionable ideas and then use those findings to demonstrate time-honored analysis methods and link them to portfolio design and management best practices. We nurture patience and discipline which manifests in diligence and vigilance. It’s at the core of successful investing.
The Rains of Castamere? by Mark Robertson Aug 31, 2018
Better Selling. Our explorations to build selling disciplines based on the time-honored lessons of the modern investment club continues. The August Round Table featured some deployment of selling discipline that some might compare to an infamous Red Wedding. The rate of return since inception stands at 18.8% over the trailing eight years.
Best Small Companies (2017 & 2018) by Mark Robertson Nov 01, 2017
Our Best Small Companies chosen one year ago delivered an average total return of 31.7% with five of them more than doubling. This annual feature now has an average total return of 15.2% over the last twelve years vs. 10.3% for the Wilshire 5000. What are the companies selected for the 2018 Best Small Companies?
Preserving Capital AND Capital Gains by Mark Robertson Jun 16, 2017
We think CAPITAL PRESERVATION and CAPITAL GAINS PRESERVATION both matter. This article provides an update of recent explorations and findings with respect to building a better selling discipline based on the time-honored precepts of the modern investment club movement.
Dow 20,000 by Mark Robertson Dec 15, 2016
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) crossed 1000 for the first time on 11/14/1972. Over the past 44 years, this group of stocks has delivered an annualized price appreciation of approximately 7%.
Best Small Companies, 2016 by Mark Robertson Nov 30, 2016
We lamented the decision by Forbes to discontinue their annual Best Small Companies list last year. 36 years in the running, the list provided a number of actionable opportunities over the last couple of decades for many of us. That said, while sticking to their core criteria, we may have actually improved the discovery and screening process.
Analysis In The GAAP? by Mark Robertson Oct 31, 2016
We’ve received a number of inquiries about accounting variations and the impact on business model analysis and return forecasts. We took a look at the forecast profile for the MANIFEST 40 and reach the conclusion that the arguments are pretty close to a square dance on the head of a pin.
Nicholson’s Triple Play by Mark Robertson Jul 31, 2016
The triple play possibility occurs when you find a stock that is very depressed in price and also appears to be on the verge of substantially boosting its profit margins.
Go Small Or Go Home by Mark Robertson Jun 01, 2016
One of our touchstones is that all-of-the-above investing makes it more likely that your long-term investing experience will be successful and rewarding.
Relatively Better Selling? by Mark Robertson May 01, 2016
“The ability to select stocks, manage them over time and know when to sell them is incredibly difficult, even for professional fund managers.” -- Barry Ritholtz
First, Break The Rules... by Mark Robertson Apr 01, 2016
This month, we take a look at the track record of Motley Fool founder and rulebreaking leader, David Gardner.
When Crystal Balls Get Cloudy by Mark Robertson Mar 01, 2016
Do your best, but bear in mind that sometimes even your best efforts don’t deliver the desired results.
Excellence Broadly Repeated by Mark Robertson Feb 01, 2016
Congratulations to our new individual champion Groundhog, Anna Gombar of Holly, Michigan. Anna is joined by three-time group champion Broad Assets investment club of St. Louis.
Dogs of the Dow: Howling Again? by Mark Robertson Jan 01, 2016
What happens if we utilize total return forecasts (instead of current yield) to go shopping among the Dow stocks? What can we learn about 1-year time horizons?
Where Imagination Meets Vision by Mark Robertson Dec 01, 2015
“Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it and, above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light.” -- Joseph Pulitzer
50 Best Small Companies by Mark Robertson Nov 01, 2015
This year as we do every year, we counsel investors to be vigilant for the Forbes list of the Best Small Companies for shopping ideas around the time of Halloween. This year, Forbes threw us a curveball.
Celebrating 10 Years of Favorites by Mark Robertson Oct 01, 2015
In the October 2005 issue, we launched the MANIFEST 40, built from the stocks that most frequently appear on subscriber dashboards, and this tracking dashboard has delivered a rate of return of 8.8% since inception.
The Best Is Yet To Come (Continued) by Mark Robertson Sep 01, 2015
I knew it would happen. I just didn’t expect it to be so immediate. NVO triggered an alert and I received that nudge I needed.
The Best Is Yet To Come (Alerts!) by Mark Robertson Aug 01, 2015
After a couple of challenging months on the personal side, we’ll return to our series of educational features that will probably provide yet another bolstering feature in support of our long-term investing efforts.
Strength In Numbers by Mark Robertson Jul 01, 2015
“It’s about creating strength in numbers ... finding common ground ... and supporting each other.” -- Jane Kim.
Where The Rubber Meets The Road by Mark Robertson Jun 01, 2015
An athlete can train all day, but the race is where the rubber meets the road and they’ll know how good they really are.
The Art of Stock Picking by Kim Butcher May 01, 2015
Finding stocks and especially faster-growing and smaller company stocks with the potential to become great investments is an art.
Things That Matter: Staying Foolish by Mark Robertson Apr 01, 2015
It’s been ten years since we featured David Gardner’s speech on “Once Upon A Time in the Land of Investing” on these pages. April is their turf and the month should be a celebration of thoughtful investing.