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This portfolio started with $100,000 with $10 commission’s per trade. The structure follows Benjamin Graham’s approach of value investing. Taxes are ignored, and cash does not earn interest for ease of calculation.

This week I purchased two securities for my portfolio. I purchased Microsoft (MSFT) for $28.44 buying 200 shares for a total price including commission of $5,698.00. I also purchased Staples (SPLS) for $26.47 buying 200 shares for a total price including commission of $5,304.00. I feel both of these stocks will correlate nicely with the rest of the portfolio.

The portfolio performed modestly, in comparison to the market with Sanderson Farms loosing ground. I still have some cash remaining in my portfolio and am seeking actively to be fully invested in the near future. When the market is in a more favorable position I will purchase more and believe see my portfolio gain further.

Review of the portfolio:

Jon holds a position in Microsoft at time of publication.  Also, please review our disclaimer and Our Methods.

Please register and discuss this portfolio in our forums.  Your comments help mold our future articles.

Posted by Jon at 05:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

This portfolio started with $100,000 with $10 commission’s per trade. The structure follows Benjamin Graham’s approach of value investing. Taxes are ignored, and cash does not earn interest for ease of calculation.

This week I did not execute any transactions.

The portfolio performed modestly, in comparison to the market with Sanderson Farms loosing ground. I still believe that the stock is attractive and frankly if it would drop a little further I will purchase more shares. There is still a substantial amount of cash remaining in my portfolio, but I cannot find any attractive opportunity currently as the market, I feel, is overpriced. Given that roughly only half of my available funds are invested, I am pleased with the results even though I am slightly outperforming the market. When the market is in a more favorable position I will purchase more and believe see my portfolio gain further.

Review of the portfolio:

Neither of us held a position in any of the companies mentioned at the time of publication.  Also, please review our disclaimer and Our Methods.

Please register and discuss this portfolio in our forums.  Your comments help mold our future articles.

Posted by Jon at 08:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Due to lack of power this week on my part, I have been unable to update my weekly writing's. I was, however, able to post the undervalued stock of the week, but was unable to both review my portfolio and post the ValueInvesting Weekly issue. Rest assured that next week we will be back on schedule, as I have regained power as of 10:30 (CST).

Thank you

Jon Ritchie

ModernGraham.com 

Posted by Jon at 10:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This portfolio started with $100,000 with $10 commission’s per trade. The structure follows Benjamin Graham’s approach of value investing. Taxes are ignored, and cash does not earn interest for ease of calculation.

This week I accepted a bad call on oil prices and sold my position in Harvest Energy Trust (HET) for a net realized loss of $862.00. I bet wrong on oil, and the losses began to lie outside my comfortable loss boundaries. This is an important lesson that I learned, and I followed my preaching from this weeks ValueInvesting Weekly and stuck to my investing criteria. Besides the sale, I did not execute any other transactions this week.

In time when the market is more attractive, I will be fully invested. There is not rush though as, proven from my experience, I would rather earn 0% on my money than a loss.

This weeks snapshot:

 *Net realized loss of $862.00 on sale of HET (9/26/06)

Neither of us held a position in any of the companies mentioned at the time of publication.  Also, please review our disclaimer and Our Methods.

Please register and discuss this portfolio in our forums.  Your comments help mold our future articles.

Posted by Jon at 06:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This portfolio follows Benjamin Graham’s value investing guidelines, beginning with $100,000, $10 commissions, and taxes are ignored. Cash does not accumulate any interest for ease of calculation.

This week no transactions occurred as no opportunities were presented that looked favorable.

The performance of Sanderson Farms (SAFM) was extremely impressive gaining 9.47% this week, as well Tuesday Morning (TUES) gaining 3.28%. Harvest Energy Trust (HET) continues to perform poorly due to decreased crude oil prices, but I feel that in the unpredictable commodity market, this position in time will turn positive. Either way it is an adequate hedge against the impact rising fuel costs have on the market overall. Overall, the portfolio is underperforming the indexes, but I feel in coming weeks it will turn the corner and begin beating the indexes. In time the remaining capital will be invested, but no rush is necessary due to my long term thinking and approach when dealing with transactions of this portfolio.

This weeks snapshot:

Posted by Jon at 09:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This portfolio follows Benjamin Graham’s value investing guidelines, with $100,000 initial seed capital and $10 commissions with taxes being ignored. Cash is not given any interest for ease of overall calculation.

This week I purchased quite a few stocks and also introduced a bond fund that meets my investing criteria. I am looking for a more aggressive investing mixture of bonds and stocks with a 10/90 split between the two. This 10% interest in bonds is merely a guide, not necessarily a mandatory requirement. I purchased the Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond Index (VBIIX). This fund is a no-load fund and I am very satisfied with Vanguard management and track record. I purchased 1,000 shares at $10.16 for a total cost of $10,170.00.

I further purchased three stocks that I feel will perform nicely within my portfolio. These include Tuesday Morning Corporation (TUES) which deals as a closeout retailer of high end home goods. At the end of 2005 the company was operating 732 stores in 46 states producing sales of $922 million. The store sells their goods at 50%-80% below the prices generally sold at department stores. I purchased 400 shares at $13.23 for a total cost of $5,302.00.

Next Kenneth Cole Productions (KCP) was purchased, with 200 shares bought at $24.41 for a total cost of $4,892.00. Kenneth Cole produces upscale clothing, accessories, and footwear under various brand names closely tied to the Kenneth Cole name. They sell their products in over 6,000 department stores as well boutique stores operated by them.

Finally, Sanderson Farms (SAFM) which is a poultry production company producing under their brand name to grocery chains nationwide. They also are engaged in the frozen food market as well that, again, is branded under their name. I purchased 200 shares at $31.43 for a total cost of $6,292.00.

My existing portfolio has performed very randomly over the past week with some stocks producing sizeable gains, while others have performed poorly. The big winner this week is Radio Shack which produced a 3.12% gain this week alone. On the opposite side, Harvest Energy Trust has suffered greatly on declining oil prices, as it has posted a negative 10.10% return. However, I believe that the oil markets are experiencing a temporary correction, but see long term growth positive.

Posted by Jon at 10:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by Jon at 04:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This week, I entered into no new transactions and let my cash sit on the sidelines. Here is the performance of the portfolio versus the major indices; all prices are used from closing of August 29, 2006.

This week I added only one stock selection to my portfolio, while keeping cash on the side continuing to look for opportunities that meet my investing criteria. I bought into Radio Shack (RSH), purchasing 335 shares at the closing price on Tuesday (22^nd) of $17.87/share. My rationale behind the purchase included the same reasoning as most of all my purchases, a high ROIC, low P/B ratio, and a somewhat healthy dividend yield. The company has a product line mainly pertaining towards electronic equipment and accessories. The main competitors are companies such as Best Buy and Circuit City. Where I feel Radio Shack has the leg up on both of the prior companies is customer ease of purchase and availability of low priced, but high margin items.

The performances of my selections from last week were lackluster, under performing the market as a whole for the week. I still believe in the selection of both, however, and still see growth on the horizon.  

I see no reason to rush into the market prematurely, until I find investments that I find attractive. I cannot remember the quote word for word, but Warren Buffett said something along the lines “if an investor is looking to do something foolish, I will be there to help them along the way”.

Performance:

Posted by Jon at 06:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

American International Group (AIG) I like their business model, as insurance creates steady cash flow consistently with only periodic payout’s in claims.  Insurer domestically and abroad with a low PE and high ROE, ended 2005 with $853 billion in assets on their books, with net income over $10 billion. I purchased 105 shares at a cost of $63.01 for a total cost of $6,626.05.

Cherokee Inc. (CHKE) I was initially drawn in by the high ROIC as well dividend yield being produced by this company. There is business is the marketing and licensing of brand names and trademarks for footwear and accessory manufactures. I purchased 121 shares at $37.07 for a total cost of $4,495.47.

That ended my purchases for this week, as I will look to invest the remainder capital shortly as I find attractive companies.    

Posted by Jon at 07:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

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