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Having
a goal of trying to write something every day can be intimidating.
Especially when there is a lot on the agenda and it’s hard to let
go and focus on one thing. On those days, it’s hard
to find a starting point. But, I always remind myself of what Twyla
Tharp says in one of my favorite books, The Creative Habit, “Don’t
wait for the beginning to get started. Just start and figure out the
beginning later.
So,
this morning, in trying to focus, I started by taking a look at the bivio
dozen. Are you aware of this? Each month, Mark Robertson of
ManifestInvesting posts a list of 12 stocks which he has top rated for
quality and projected return. You’ll find the posting in his
Expected_Returns coIumn on our home page. It is a very good
source of ideas for stock studies. Here is a link to this month’s
list:
bivio
Dozen 5/27/2010
This
morning what struck me in looking at this list is the windows that studying
these companies open to us into business and into the world. I think
trying to pick investments helps us to see through the haze of endless
anxiety provoking headlines and helps us stay a little more focused on the facts.
As
I look at the list, I first notice companies I’ve never heard
of. Like a new recipe, these are always intriguing to
me because they might provide a journey into something new that might be very
special. I am curious what companies like Neutral Tandem, Jinpan,
Ctrip, and Mercadolibre do. It’s always interesting to me
to understand the different types of industries and the different ways
businesses make money.
Next
are big companies like Microsoft, Abbott Labs and Oracle that I think I know
something about. I’m interested to find out why they are
projected to continue providing good returns. As we all know, it’s
not easy to keep a big business growing. But, I certainly like
companies like this in my portfolio because I don’t feel that I need to
watch them quite as closely as some others.
Then,
there are companies like Aflac which I’ve heard about for years but
never owned. I’m not even sure why. I looked at it again
recently and then was spooked when someone mentioned they might have too much
exposure to some of the Greek debt problems. I don’t
know if that’s something to worry about or not but it did mean to me
that I should put a little more effort into looking at it before I made a
decision. It points out a situation where my investing activities
lead me to further engagement and understanding about what is going on
in the world.
Similarly
with Baidu. Baidu is the Chinese Google. China is a force
to be reckoned with and a country that will probably continue to affect our
lives in the US more and more in the future. Baidu is an
interesting company and following it as an investment leads to further
insight into the Chinese people, their economy and their government.
Finally
there are Capella and Mastercard. I certainly do my part to help
Mastercard’s profits but it’s interesting to me to look at it as
an investment. While I do think they provide a service that is
valuable, I also am uncomfortable if they are making too much profit by
taking advantage of human weaknesses. Capella and the
other for profit education companies are also being targeted in that light
these days. I’m not sure that’s justified. As a
parent sending a lot of money these days to a public university to
educate my son, it’s very interesting to me to watch the debate
going on about these companies and learn more about how the business of
education is conducted.
So,
the bivio dozen gives me not only ideas to use to try to make money but also
an insight and connection to the world and current events. This is one
of the reasons I continue to invest. There are a lot of headlines out
there bent on creating a lot of anxiety. I think an activity that
encourages us to focus more on the facts is a valuable pursuit.
Laurie
Frederiksen
www.bivio.com
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