Bull Sessions (10/6/2026)

Going to school on yellow flags for too-good-to-be-true, a new perspective on categorizing company size and some best small company hunting.

In this October 6th, 2026 Bull Sessions episode, Mark Robertson and Ken Kavula discuss the current market landscape during "Red October," a period focused on identifying the best small companies for the coming year. They examine how to define company sizes and announce a significant reallocation decision for the Tin Cup portfolio. The speakers emphasize that while the market remains at all-time highs on major indexes, individual stock volatility has been substantial, with the "Magnificent Seven" vastly outperforming the remaining 493 stocks. Ken reports that the Manifest database shows slightly better-than-average conditions with MIPAR at 10.3% and Value Line's three-to-five-year projection at 11.2%, indicating a healthy market for quality stock selection.

The discussion covers the top 10 favorite stocks, which have delivered a combined 27% annualized return over the trailing 10 years, significantly outperforming benchmarks. Ken and Mark clarify the importance of understanding relative returns (how much you beat the market by), noting that anything above 5% is exceptional performance. They address the underperformance of small-cap stocks, including the Russell 2000 Growth Exchange Traded fund (VTWG), while reaffirming the long-term value of maintaining a diversified portfolio across company sizes. The speakers also evaluate top-performing ETFs and introduce their ongoing "Sweet Spot" experiment, which identifies daily stock selections positioned to outperform, currently removing picks that fall below MIPAR threshold.