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 : Value Investing -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Michael Burry who wrote (2865)	12/22/1997 11:35:00 PM
From: jeffbas	Respond to of 78670

Mike - I have been around the market a long time and as you know have spent a career evaluating more complicated risks than most companies offer. My biggest problem in picking companies is that I see most of the wolves hiding behind the bushes and, particularly in technology, do not have the special expertise to decide which ones I really need to pay attention to. (I am gradually steering away from such stocks for that reason or concentrating on electronics distribution or ECM companies where you substantially reduce the product risk.) My style is eclectic. I like sound balance sheets. However, I look for something special that I think will give extraordinary returns and which is unappreciated by the market. I hate poor mgmt and prefer some sort of leadership position whereever the company operates. I am very fond of strong insider buying by many people. An example. Probably my most successful investment has been COO. I saw several things - new mgmt restoring profitability, a leading position in its niche, exceptional insider buying, a balance sheet which was mediocre at the time but I estimated would look a lot better in one year, accessible mgmt and astoundingly detailed public reporting. The kicker was 250 million of NOL's which I saw as giving the company not just tax free income but a material competitive advantage. On PD, will look at tomorrow, but generally stick with my last paragraph on AR. I generally prefer commodity stocks when they have little earnings and these expansions (that AR talks about) have been shelved/cut back. The current price of copper is way above the cost of production for the big companies, which has always been the standard criteria for considering this kind of company. By the way, if I were to consider them, I would force myself to do a comparative analysis on the merits of competing natural resource companies, such as paper, lumber, oil, aluminum, etc. (But not including gold which I never thought had much merit as a commodity investment.)