Yesterday my 2009 portfolio closed up 201% for the year. It has been an interesting journey, and while it is rather self congratulatory to discuss it, there are lessons to be learned.

Before I review some of the reasons I was able to do this I want to make it clear that I do not think this can be easily repeated; I look at the portfolio every day thinking this is too good to be true, and we all know what that usually means.

Continue reading Chasing Value: Journey to 201%: APC, ISRG, WFC and more

Chasing Value: Journey to 201%: APC, ISRG, WFC and more originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

My wife and I met at USC where we both went to architecture school. She is a licensed architect and accredited in LEED (TM) sustainable design. We both worked for others for a while and then started our own practice. Before we had children that was the natural progression of things.

When our first child was born she reduced her hours from about 35 hours a week to about 30. When the second was born she further reduced her hours and by the time the third was born she was working about 18 hours a week. Eventually she decided to stay at home and manage the household full time. She also works in the community, reads avidly and has time to expand her religious interests. She prefers that to the trials and tribulations of the business world.

She enjoyed being an architect, but she hated business. I thrive in both, although there is much to do in business that is not rewarding. Our youngest is eleven, and my wife may return to work when it pleases her. There was a time when her contribution to the family income made a difference, but that time has long since past.

The new book "The Feminine Mistake" weighs in by trying to make the case that mothers assume too much of a financial and career risk if they stay at home to raise the kids. I think this is ridiculous!

Continue reading The Feminine Mistake: Moms pay a price whether they stay at home or not

The Feminine Mistake: Moms pay a price whether they stay at home or not originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 Oct 2007 14:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Terrible market not hurting Valero Energy (NYSE: VLO) stock....looks bullet proof for now. Almost everything is going down but not Valero and even more interesting it still has very strong fundamentals after a 20% run-up this year. I own Valero and find that the story is still compelling. I may even buy more. As I write this post, the market is down and Valero is up.

Last month when I wrote Valero - everyone jumping on the bandwagon I was marveling about how this company seemed to be the darling of so many that it made me self-conscious to be part of the group. However, I had pegged VLO in my stock picks for 2007 months earlier: Valero Energy: Unbelievable value for 2007.

Continue reading Valero: What goes up keeps going up?!

Valero: What goes up keeps going up?! originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 14 Mar 2007 18:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.