# Bull Sessions (8/11/2026)

<div>Discussions centered around the lessons learned and successful methods deployed by the modern investment club movement. We design a portfolio and manage...

Canonical: https://www.manifestinvesting.com/community/events/4584

Discussions centered around the lessons learned and successful methods deployed by the modern investment club movement. We design a portfolio and manage a real money portfolio (Buttonwood) while flexing and demonstrating features, tools and resources at Manifest Investing. Explore relevant topics and/or actionable opportunities for deeper dives. The sessions are generally held on Tuesdays at 2 PM ET.

In this Bull Sessions episode, hosts Mark Robertson, Ken Kavula, Kim Butcher, and Matt Spielman discuss market valuation and portfolio performance following a two-week break. The team emphasizes that the current market is fairly valued at approximately 9% average return forecast, contrary to bearish sentiment from mainstream commentators. They highlight the strong performance of their most-watched companies over the trailing 10 years, which have returned 23% annualized while beating the market by 8%—described as "escape velocity" in investment terms. A significant focus is placed on mid-cap stocks as emerging "workhorses" in portfolios, with the team noting that inflation has made traditional company size definitions outdated and suggesting new thresholds for small, medium, and large cap classifications.

The group reviews portfolio performance across various tracked investments, including the Buttonwood Bulls portfolio which has recovered from double-digit negative relative returns to nearly breaking even with the market. They note recent underperformance in retail favorite stocks tracked by Goldman Sachs but maintain an optimistic outlook, advising persistence during market fluctuations. The session reinforces the Manifest Method's core principles: finding quality companies at reasonable prices, holding them long-term based on fundamental analysis, and seeking the "Sweet Spot" where returns exceed the Median PAR by 5-10%. Ken Kavula shares his simple investment rule of avoiding any investment he cannot understand after reading the prospectus, contrasting this with the recent collapse of the Situational Awareness hedge fund.