re: Whitman. Mike, don't kid yourself that he made every decision in the past on his own. He has amassed a great track record because he hired great people, and of course has the insights to say "yes" and "no" at the right times. I am an analyst working under a value investor with a track record, and believe me, every pick I write up does not get into the portfolio. If you're not going to second guess Whitman's track record, don't second guess his choice of people, because that track record is a function of his choice of people. Nobody can cover the whole market on his own, except maybe Buffett who has the discipline to make just one or two buy/sells a year.
On another note, I was reading about a real estate investor today who said "I make all my money in just six days of the year" (when he does deals). His wife asks, "so why do you work every day?" To which he replied "Because you never know when you are going to find the idea." This is so typical of great investors. You don't need to find a great idea every day. As an individual investor, I need to find two or three great ideas per year. I look back and see that the investments I researched hard and was sure of were almost all winners. I gave a lot of the winnings back, though, investing in marginal ideas for various stupid reasons because I was bored or cash was burning a hole in my pocket. I'll learn eventually.
Jim |
