Best Small Companies (2023): THE SELECTION SHOW

Special Edition: Blending Bull Sessions & Round Table. Ken Kavula and Mark Robertson will review the 2022 performance results and select our Best Small Companies for 2023. You can expect us to emphasize long-term performance as our 7-year winning streak appears to be ending. We will review our favorite sources of ideas for discovering promising faster-growing companies.

Mark Robertson and Ken Kavula of Manifest Investing and the Better Investing Mid Michigan chapter hosted their annual "Best Small Companies" selection program, reviewing performance results and identifying promising small-cap investment opportunities. The duo discussed the challenging 2022 market environment, where the Russell 2000 (small-cap index) significantly underperformed, declining steeply since late 2021. They attributed much of the downturn to the unwinding of zero interest rates that had artificially inflated valuations, particularly for companies with no earnings but high "price-to-hope ratios." Despite the difficult year, Robertson and Kavula emphasized the importance of staying invested during market corrections, noting that accumulation during downturns historically leads to substantial long-term gains—a lesson reinforced by their successful purchases during the 2008 financial crisis. The presenters encouraged viewers to focus on finding quality small companies at reasonable prices during periods of market weakness, emphasizing that market recoveries are always larger than the preceding declines.