Investorial

If you haven’t heard, let me catch you up by saying that Bell Canada (BCE) recently announced that it is in leveraged buy-out talks with a consortium of Pension Plans (including Ontario Teachers Pension Plan) and private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR). The stock price has been pushed up amidst the frenzy created by BCE’s senior management.

I couldn’t express my feelings on this any better than Mark Evans. Mark has been writing about the telecom industry for years. He lays out very nicely talkiing points that mirror my sentiments of this proposal.

But one thing is certain, in the age-old market system of buyers and sellers, both groups are always hoping to outmaneuver each other. To put it plainly, a buyer buys in hopes of profiting, so why would a seller sell if (more…)

Irwin Michael is my favourite fund manager because of his no compromise, no spin, non-apologetic approach to openly discuss investing. He talks and writes candidly about his investment decisions; allowing me to soak up his perspective and learn from it. You won’t catch him doing any sweet-talking to appease investors and audiences. As of the end of August 2006, Irwin’s ABC Fundamental Value has averaged an annual 17.82% return for the last 15 years while it’s benchmark indes S&P/TSX Total Return has only managed a 10.79% in the same timeframe.

If you haven’t yet, you should start by reading Deep Value Face-Off - Part 1, and Deep Value Face-Off - Part 2 first! (more…)

Ross Healy is the chariman and CEO of Strategic Analysis Corporation, an investment advisory firm. Though I feel at times, that Ross’s comments are too politically correct, too on the fence, I still recognize that Ross is very much respected in the Canadian investment scene. Ross is best known for his bearish call on Nortel when it was trading over $100 in 2000. As of June 2006, Strategic Analysis Corporation’s model portfolio has outperformed the S&P/TSX Total Return index to a tune of 20.9% to 11.7% since its 1993 inception.

If you haven’t yet, you should start by reading Deep Value Face-Off - Part 1 first! (more…)

Canada’s Report On Business Television recently held a series of live broadcasts from BCE place in downtown Toronto. On Monday, September 18th, 2006, they invited two venerable deep-value fund managers in a question and answer forum. You might think I’m hypocritical for advising people not to obssess over ROB-TV while highlighting this event. However, my interest was peaked because of Irwin Michael’s appearance. I hope you will see why I listen when Irwin speaks. It’s truly a no-spin zone (unlike Fox News, or Jim Cramer) and investors get to benefit from his wisdom! (more…)

I must thank Stephen Colbert (whose show I watch nightly) for coining the term “truthiness”. Wikipedia (besides having entries about elephants) also has an extensive section on the origin of “truthiness”. The expression is a reference to the quality by which a person claims to know something intuitively, instinctively, or “from the gut” without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination, or actual facts. The most famous proponent of this trait is the American president George W. Bush. Though Ann Coulter is closing in from second place in my opinion. (Don’t worry, there are far too many examples to support this assertion!) (more…)

After a satisfying dinner, some delicious desert would be nice. And if you’re Warren Buffett, you might be hoping for some Dairy Queen delights! As our series on Buffett’s tenets draws close to a conclusion, what can we do to leave you with a sweet remembrance? I hope you’re not too full after we’ve covered Buffett’s thoughts on the market, on selecting businesses, and on being an investor. We thought some thought-provoking contrary thoughts would be a thoughtful end! (sigh… I really need some writing lessons! Will somebody buy me a thesaurus?) (more…)

Warren Buffett loves playing bridge. I dabble in a little poker from time to time. And as much as I’d like to delude myself into thinking I have more similarities with the “oracle”, it ends with a penchant for playing cards. But that doesn’t stop me from learning more about how Buffett thinks investors should approach the game. After reading this installment in our ongoing Investorial series on Buffett’s tenets, if you don’t feel you fit all of Warren’s requirements for being an investor, don’t worry! There’s always a table game going on somewhere! (more…)

Warren Buffett has some tips for you! And if you’ve been following our series on Buffett’s tenets, you’ve become a bit more familiar with what Buffett thinks about the market and what “qualities” he looks for in a business. Today, we go into more detail about the quantitative measures he examines in order to further his assertions of a company’s investability. (more…)