High entry barriers fortify Union Pacific (UNP). My UNP exposure, however, is minimal with my only purchase being 200 shares @ $142.17 on March 9, 2020 while I was on a ski vacation in British Columbia; we were days from experiencing a 'shut down' of the North American economy because of the COVID pandemic. My [...]
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is virtually irrelevant to my investment strategy, and therefore, I rarely look at this investment. With the release of the Q4 and FY2024 financial results on January 22, 2025, I figure this is the opportunity to look at it more closely. Twice a year I disclose which companies are my [...]
During the last several years of my career, my round-trip work/home train commute was ~2 hours. At 5 days/week, that would have been 10 hours/week where I could have read material to improve my knowledge. In hindsight, I did not use my time wisely. On my morning commute, I would be sound asleep within minutes [...]
Most people never set a goal and aimlessly go through life never achieving anything meaningful. Such are the people who ask 'Why?' when they hear of people of go to extremes to achieve what most people would never even remotely contemplate; this is pertinent to the financial aspects of life. In my recent The Illusion [...]
With ~$11.6T in assets under management (AUM) following a record $641B of full year net inflows, including $281B in Q4 2024, I view BlackRock (BLK) as a great long-term investment. What I need to determine is whether BLK's valuation is sufficiently attractive to increase my exposure. I last reviewed BLK in my October 17, 2024 [...]
At Berkshire Hathaway’s 1998 Annual General Meeting (AGM), Charlie Munger stated: The first $100,000 is a bitch, but you gotta do it. I don’t care what you have to do. If it means walking everywhere and not eating anything that wasn’t purchased with a coupon, find a way to get your hands on $100,000. After [...]
Perhaps it is just my DNA but I struggle to sit and read the same book for a few hours. This is why I generally have 4 - 5 books on the go. Currently, I am at various stages of reading the following books: Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power by Steve Coll Don't Fall [...]
We often hear and read what is important to achieve investment success. In this post, however, I want to delve into something a bit more unconventional but equally important and that is 5 things investors should ignore. Beating The Market A common fault of many investors is the fixation about consistently generating investment returns that [...]
Retail investors are bombarded with investment advice from today’s media of which most relates to before-tax investment returns. We, however, live in an after-tax world. This is why we need to view tax efficiency and investment decisions together. In this post, I touch upon the importance of allocating investments in the most tax-efficient manner. This [...]
'Stay the course' is a phrase used by navigators to encourage maintaining the current direction or plan, especially when faced with challenges or temptations to change. It is rooted in maritime history where maintaining a set course was crucial for reaching a destination safely and efficiently. The phrase has broader applications in life and in [...]