Review of Ben’s Portfolio

This portfolio will follow our modernized Benjamin Graham value investing approach, starting with $100,000 and $10 commissions.  Taxes are ignored.  For ease of calculation, cash will not be given any interest.

This week I decided to purchase Quanex Corporation, our Undervalued Company of the week.  I purchased 250 shares at $29.25.  Also, McClatchy Company paid a dividend of $0.18/share, which I reinvested at $41.48.

The performance of Brookfield Homes Corp (BHS), Marine Products Corp (MPX), and Westwood One(WON) this week was very disappointing, while Intel Corp (INTC) and Tuesday Morning Corp (TUES) were up.  Overall the portfolio has slightly underperformed both the S&P 500 and the Dow. In the weeks ahead I plan on investing the rest of the cash, but if I do not find companies I would like to invest in, there is no need to.  I’d rather have cash gaining 0% interest (and losing 0%) than own a company I don’t have faith in.  When the portfolio is fully invested, I believe it will see greater gains as a whole.

This week’s snapshot:

Ticker

Total Cost

Current Value

%Gain/Loss

BHS $6,502.50 $7,287.50 12.07%
DG $9,514.68 $9,926.79 4.33%
FAGIX $20,004.32 $20,134.96 0.65%
INTC $6,520.00 $7,713.75 18.31%
JH $7,496.00 $7,232.00 -3.52%
MNI $6,824.98 $7,006.59 2.66%
MPX $6,510.15 $7,152.75 9.87%
NX $7,322.50 $7,312.50 -0.14%
TUES $6,625.00 $7,330.00 10.64%
WON $7,250.00 $6,920.00 -4.55%
       
Cash   $15,458.79  
       
Total $84,570.13 $103,475.63 3.48%
       
Performance   Week’s Change: Overall:
S&P 500   -0.17% 4.85%
Dow Industrials   0.50% 4.92%
Portfolio   -1.05% 4.57%

 

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.

Previous article

Job Hunt is On