The investment process of a remarkably successful investor
This page describes the blog and website and explains how to get the most out of it
The author
Rodney L.K Smith Q.C. is an investor and retired trial lawyer. He has a documented 50 year investing track record. Since the early 1970s he has achieved a compounded total return on his family savings of 13.35%. This includes time in bonds and treasury bills.
This performance compares with an S&P 500 Index compounded rate of return with full dividend reinvestment of 10.93% over the same time frame. During this period the average rate of inflation was 3.88%.
He has an S.J. (Doctor of Laws) degree from the University of Toronto and a B.Sc. in mathematics and physics from Bishops University.
What the blog and website are about
This blog describes and explains an approach to investing in common stocks that works.
The blog is not about trading or speculating or chasing hot stocks or making a fast buck or making a huge fortune. Done properly investing is businesslike. Done properly it provides truly remarkable returns over the long haul through the magic of great companies reinvesting excess capital back in the business and generating compounded returns. But, investing in common stocks done well is not easy.
There are over 275 individual posts. The blog has been read by investors in over 150 countries worldwide. Search on Google for terms like ‘economic goodwill’ or ‘Buffett and Fisher’, and the Nuggets blog comes at the top or near the top of results. It’s also appearing in AI search responses. The largest group of readers is from the U.S. But, investors all over the world enjoy the blog.
Each of the posts covers a different topic. There is timeless wisdom. The insights will be valid as long as there are investors in stock markets. There are unique insights in each post. There are no suggestions for specific stock purchases. There are essentially no comments on the economy or market conditions. It’s simply about how to invest in common stocks.
And as an aside, don’t forget to check out the Collaboration Invite.
How to get the most out of this blog and website
There are three ways to get the most out of this blog and website: TAGS, SEARCHES and CATEGORIES
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The first way – TAGS
Look through the tags index on the right side of this home page to find a topic of interest, say Asset Allocation. Clicking on this tag will take you to all posts dealing with this subject. Click on Efficient Markets and you will be taken to all posts touching on this subject.
The tags give you access to over 275 timeless posts on everything from the subtleties of intangible assets to Warren Buffett’s concept of Economic Goodwill vs Accounting Goodwill.
The tags work like an index at the back of a book.
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The second way – SEARCHES
The site is fully searchable. (See Search… Q on right of this Home page.) Want to find out what posts refer to Philip Fisher, just put in the name ‘Fisher’ in the search box. Want to find out if a post refers to gambling, just search ‘gambling’.
As well, posts are searchable by date. (See ARCHIVES on right of this home page)
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The third way – CATEGORIES
Click on CATEGORIES on the right side of this page and then click on the drop down menu. It will give you access to all posts in that category. They are all described in the links below.
They operate like the table of contents in a book and will take you to all posts on that broad subject:
In this Part we look at subjects like whether Stocks Beat Every Other Asset Class, Risk and Uncertainty, the Efficient Market Hypothesis, the Inefficient Market Hypothesis, Volatility and The Economy and the Stock Market – Cycles and Trends. The Field of Play is where the action takes place like on a football field. To invest successfully you need to understand the Field of Play.
Here we review the difficult subject of investment psychology. These posts describe the problems we face from our all too human frailties and suggest simple rules to overcome them. Readers are invited to start with Investment psychology explainer for Mr. Market – introduction This will give you a better understanding of some of the terms and ideas and give you links to other posts in the series.
The topics here are things like the Aptitude investors need to succeed, The Right Stuff, Developing Expertise, Luck and Investing and Decision making under uncertainty.
This part is all about the investment process. We can think of this as the sine qua non of investing. You can be brilliant about everything else, but without a sound investment process you will flounder.
Here you will find posts about how much to allocate to stocks (my default is 100% stocks with the exception of bubbles), the fascinating and critical issue of Bubbles, crises, panics and crashes, and finally Cash Reserves
The subject here is stock picking which includes General Approach to Choosing Common Stocks, Sectors and Company Attributes to Avoid, Bottom Up and Various Qualities and Capital Structure, Strength and Economic Performance.
Here the topics include Diversification, Balance and Strategy, The Problem of Determining Intrinsic Value, Use of Ratios to Value Shares, How to go about Finding and studying companies to invest in, things to be leery of like Pundits, market explanations and forecasts, Buying, Uses and misconceptions about charts, Monitoring your Portfolio, and Selling.
There is also a useful glossary of terms.
Happy reading.
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