In a recent interview with Yahoo Finance, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett explained why he is bullish on bank stocks: “They’re businesses I understand, and I like the price at…
One Fund's Long Time Frame is Paying Off
The Akre Focus Fund takes the buy-and-hold strategy seriously, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal. John Neff, one of the $9.8 billion fund’s portfolio managers, explains that…
Five Questions: An Academic Look at Factors with Lu Zhang
By Jack Forehand (@practicalquant) — One of the major challenges that the finance community has faced over the years is how to explain what drives stock returns over time. If…
Alumni from Airbnb and Uber are Fueling Tech
An article in The New York Times describes a trend in Silicon Valley whereby employees of tech start-ups are leaving to form new businesses, gaining support from “mafia” networks of…
Warren Buffett's Next Deal Looms Large
In this year’s letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, billionaire CEO Warren Buffett wrote that the mere thought of completing another big acquisition “is what causes my heart and Charlie’s to…
Successful Investing: Process Elements and Personality Traits
“To be good investors or research analysts, we need the right genetic predisposition and then must create the right circumstances to practice and hone these skills,” writes Joachim Klement, CFA…
Manager Says Stock Price Gap Signals Opportunity
The valuation dispersion occurring in the market is presenting the “opportunity of a decade,” according to a recent article in Bloomberg. The article reports that a portfolio manager at the…
Rules for Small-Cap Investing
An article in Bloomberg last month profiles Samantha Lau, co-chief investment officer of small and SMID growth strategies at AllianceBernstein. Lau subscribes to some basic rules of small-cap investing, including:…
Fund Fees, Already Driven to Zero, May Have Farther to Fall
A recent New York Times article reports that “something mind-boggling in on its way” with respect to investment fees, which it says “have dropped so low that you may have…
Expanding the Opportunity Set with Shareholder Yield
By Justin J. Carbonneau (@jjcarbonneau) — When most investors hear the word “yield” they immediately think about dividends. Things like stock buybacks and debt paydown typically don’t come to mind.…