When it comes to anything in the financial sector, investors have been watching their stock holdings and waiting for the other shoe to drop. In the case of many companies, these holdings must resemble a financial octopus, as there seems to be third and fourth and fifth shoes dropping, with no end in sight.
That appears to be the case with one of my long-time holdings, MBIA Inc. (NYSE: MBI), which somehow decided today was the day to come clean. The financial guarantor said it had $30.61 billion in total multi-sector CDO exposure. MBIA has been a steady performer for 30 years, and this is one of the things that brought it to my attention about four years ago when I added it to several portfolios.
I suppose I should be happy I sold half of it before it tanked. However, this means that what was a wonderful stock pick has nothing to show for itself after four years, at least on paper. I am going to hold on to the remaining shares and ride this storm out, but it is harder to stomach, given management's bungling.
Now it seems MBIA is not only looking like high-risk garbage, having backed a whole lot of questionable securities, but the management seems sluggish (hiding something) in disclosing the company's exposure to these securities. Once again, something that I originally thought was a conservative investment turned out not to be the case. See: Conservative bankers? Surely you jest!
Recently in a Fortune Inc. interview, Vanguard Group founder John Bogle was asked about investing advice he received early in his career. He replied that someone told him, "Just remember, nobody knows nuttin'."
To find potential opportunities and verify my track record, read Chasing Value or Serious Money.
Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm.
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