Monday, 24 March 2014

Some Notes on Portfolio Strategy - Cove Street Capital

I read voraciously.  Here is a recent addition to my ports of call:
Cove Street Capital

The site is rich.  I recommend that you spend time in exploring the following offerings: strategy letter, thoughts, and recommended reading.  In contrast to many sites which offer large shoals of readings, the folks at Cove Street, focus on a few select fish of real value.

The most recent entry for the strategy letter has an excellent commentary on Prem Watsa.  I have invested in Fairfax Financial for three reasons:
  • the quality of management: Watsa is a consummate investor of the first order
  • Fairfax has an enviable track record over the long term, especially during "hard times"
  • my sense is that the company will outperform other members of the fleet in the event of a market downturn and that by owning it, I will have some protection against downside risk 
FFH has been added to the Financial Log Book.  As usual, I will leave it up to readers to undertake their own financial due diligence.  

Check out Mr. Watsa's March 2014 letter to shareholders.
Watsa letter to shareholders

Here's a very compelling entry in the recommended reading section of the Cove Street Capital site:
http://covestreetcapital.com/Blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Small-Slam-Article.pdf

Charles Ellis contends that it's best to focus and limit one's holdings to a select few.  Why?  It's one of the best strategies to deal with the element of risk.  Read the article to learn more.  A great read.

In order to access Cove Street Capital's quarterly newsletters, click twice on the "Mutual Funds" title on the site's navigation bar.  I really like management's openness in discussing both its successes and failures.  The commentary is concise, and direct and well worth pondering.

I learned about Cove Street Capital as a result of subscribing to a weekly e-mail from the Stingy Investor which is written by Norman Rothery.  I've followed him for many years and for a good reason: he has a fine mind and consistently offers a wealth of ideas which can knock you out of the rut of routine thinking.  Visit him here: http://www.ndir.com


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