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

To: Uncle Frank who wrote (40507)	3/17/2001 1:45:04 AM
From: Mike Buckley	Respond to of 54805

I've got the best story, a true one. About five years ago I read The Wealthy Barber (a book about personal finance that I highly recommend.) It was about that time that I began enjoying an online relationship with a single parent, a barber in his mid-forties whose niche is cutting the hair of executives in southern California. (I don't know the exact city.) When we first "met," his daughter was 5 years old. I've remained in touch with my barber friend over the years and learned just minutes ago that he built up his portfolio to about $155,000. He started with only $3000 less than five years ago. How did he do it? Investing solely in common stocks (no options), many of them penny stocks, but all of them in companies that were either growing extremely rapidly or were severely undervalued. (He currently has his eye on a stock selling for $1.75 that the company has more than that in cash per share.) Though this is a domain that most people shouldn't tread because of the inordinantly high risk of penny stocks, he minimizes the risk by doing exhaustive research. At the opposite end of the investing spectrum, the same sort of research made it apparent to him that Berkshire Hathaway was a compelling buy. (The stock has done very, very well despite the bear market.) Speaking of research, he has one of the best techniques I've heard of. He builds up relationships with the execs who sit in his barber chair. When he gets about half way done cutting their hair, he asks questions about various companies and industries. If he doesn't get a straight forward answer, he stops cutting the hair when it's at the worst point to do so. He eventually gets answers. :) What did he do with the huge increase in his net worth? He bought a house paying cash for it. Now in his early fifties, he and his ten-year old daughter have the security of knowing they'll always have a roof over their head in a home they really love. The house has 40 acres behind it and 5 acres in front of it that can't be developed. How did he find the house? He met an executive of a high-tech firm in the park who needed to dump his house quickly at a 20% discount. I've always admired my friend, the really wealthy barber. But learning this great news tonight puts an especially warm smile on my face. --Mike Buckley

To: Uncle Frank who wrote (40507)	3/17/2001 8:16:37 AM
From: hueyone	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 54805

re: Buffet: But that old geezer billionaire, Buffett, doesn't he make it look simple? He just looks for great companies, buys them, and holds on. Don't forget the very important part about buying at a price with a margin of safety. I am sure Buffet found the purchase prices of great tech companies at overblown prices in recent years quite laughable. BRka often has a large cash hoard while waiting years for an opportunity to buy companies at a reasonable price. Huey