Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Gorilla and King Portfolio Candidates -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Eric L who wrote (14631)	1/8/2000 11:16:00 PM
From: Mike Buckley	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 54805

Eric, I don't disagree with you or anyone that Kings can be fabulous investments. Please don't ignore my comment that trying to invest in them inherently plays to my personal weakness as I mentioned in that post. Understanding one's strengths and weaknesses can be critically important when thinking we understand a company and its industry. So when I mention that Kings are less and less compelling for me, I'm speaking as much about an assessment of my personal weaknesses more than I am the potential of Kings. Kings and Princes (Dell, EMC, AOL, et al) were the best performing stocks of the last decade, not their zoological cousins). In the case of Dell, that's great to appreciate after the fact when 20/20 hindsight is in use. But for every 100 executive management teams in similarly competitive low-margin environments, I'd wager that only one of them would perform as well as the folks with keys to Dell's executive bathrooms. I'm not good enough to spot the 1 out of 100, making the risk a lot higher than simply looking back at Dell's success would indicate. As for EMC, I'm not sure whether it's a King or a Gorilla. That ambivalence proves my point that I'm leery of trying to spot the right King to invest in; if I can't determine whether or not it's a King, I can hardly expect to believe that it's the right King to own. As for AOL, it's neither a King nor a Prince as you suggest. It's a Godzilla. I wouldn't say it is among the best performing stocks of the decade since it wasn't publicly traded at the beginnning of the decade. Just my personal way of looking at "best of" that not everyone will agree with. And looking at such great stocks does not address risk. If you believe that Kings offer the same risk/reward scenario as Gorillas, we'll politely agree to disagree. I like the risk/reward scenario of established and wannabe Gorillas more than any investment on the planet, notwithstanding the eventuality that 30-year zero-coupon U. S. Treasuries get to an 18% yield. --Mike Buckley P. S. I'll betcha that my comment about Treasuries caught more than a few folks off guard! :)