My three goals in these e-mails
In my daily e-mails, I try to do three broad things: enrich, educate, and entertain...
Enrich
I regularly discuss companies and stocks I'm looking at – like the ones I see or hear pitched at conferences I attend, such as the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the ICR retail and restaurant conference in Orlando, Guy Spier's VALUEx in Switzerland, my own Value Investing Seminar in Italy, the Robin Hood Investors Conference in New York City, etc.
I also get many ideas from talking to and e-mailing with my "Rolodex" of friends and folks I know across the investing world.
And lastly, I read constantly...
I'm like the late Charlie Munger, who once said, "My children laugh at me. They think I'm a book with a couple of legs sticking out." (I'll admit that this has sometimes come at the cost of being an engaged and present husband, father, and friend, but that's a topic for another day.)
You'd be surprised how many good investment ideas I've gotten over the years by simply reading the major newspapers every day – like the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and the Financial Times (I read all four).
My goal in regularly writing about stocks is to enrich my readers in two ways...
Most importantly, I want to find moneymaking opportunities. But I also aim to help folks avoid the value traps, scams, frauds, and promotions that are everywhere in the market – especially today, when it's not far from all-time highs.
While I don't always get it right, I'm proud of my track record here...
For example, many of my readers profited handsomely after reading my six-part series beginning on November 1, 2022, in which I pounded the table on Meta Platforms (META) when shares had collapsed to below $100. (You can see all of those late 2022 e-mails here: November 1, November 2, November 3, November 4, November 7, and November 8.)
As I said when I kicked off the series:
Investors – as they usually do – are projecting [the company's recent weak trends] indefinitely into the future, which is why the stock has sold off so much... But I think they're making the classic mistake of driving with their eyes firmly affixed in the rear-view mirror.
As I instead look through the windshield, I see a bright future for Meta...
I've remained bullish ever since, as the stock has skyrocketed by more than 5 times. Take a look at this three-year price chart:
Or just three days ago, I shared this price chart showing how the shares of retailers Boot Barn (BOOT) and Five Below (FIVE) have diverged since I wrote favorably about the former and warned about the latter's valuation in my January 5 e-mail:
And looking ahead to upcoming e-mails, I've got my eye on a handful of stocks that recently made headlines. I'll put together similar analyses like I did with Five Below earlier this week – so stay tuned!
Turning to stocks to avoid, the 25 stocks I named in my "Short Squeeze Bubble Basket," in which I nailed the top of the meme-stock bubble on January 27, 2021, are down an average of 66% versus a 45% rise in the S&P 500 Index.
Almost a year later, on January 4, 2022 (and many times thereafter), I named my "Dirty Dozen" stocks to avoid, which are down an average of 62% versus a 13% gain in the S&P 500.
While I give away some great ideas, my team and I here at Stansberry Research do in-depth reports on our absolute best ones and send them each month to subscribers of our flagship newsletter, Stansberry's Investment Advisory.
(If you aren't already a subscriber, you can learn how to become one and take advantage of our 30-day money-back guarantee – plus gain immediate access to our entire portfolio of open recommendations – right here.)
Educate
The second goal of my daily e-mails is to educate.
I suppose it comes naturally to me, as my parents were both teachers (they met during Peace Corps training in Hawaii and married three months later in the Philippines, where they taught from 1962 to 1964). Incidentally, here are pictures of them on their wedding day and today:
My goal isn't just to toss my readers a few fish, to assuage their hunger for a day or two... but to teach them to fish so they can feed themselves for a lifetime.
That's why, for example, in my e-mails on Monday and Tuesday, in which I discussed Five Below, I didn't just say, "It's a good company, the shares are down by two-thirds in the past few months, so I think the stock is probably a good buy."
Instead, I showed my entire process for how I evaluated the company initially – starting with the historical financial data I always look at first, then a look at what the company does and whether its competitive advantages are sustainable, followed by a careful analysis of what has gone wrong, and, finally, a discussion of whether these problems are likely to be temporary/fixable, tapping into outside experts I know.
And as I concluded about Five Below on Tuesday, after running through a more detailed analysis:
I would also be hesitant to buy the stock today... but I would be keeping an eye on it.
I also try to educate my readers by covering what's going on in the broader markets and economy. While I'm a bottoms-up stock picker, I think it's worthwhile – both to be a successful investor as well as a thoughtful person – to be well-read and well-informed.
So I regularly discuss economic growth, unemployment, inflation, interest rates, Federal Reserve moves, housing, markets or sectors that are doing especially well (or poorly), etc.
Most importantly, I'm keeping an eye out for the rare times when my big-picture view dictates that I should make a major change – for example, getting out of tech stocks in early 2000, selling (and shorting) housing and financial stocks in early 2008, buying every stocks by the truckload on in October 2002, early 2009, and late March 2020, and buying big-cap tech stocks in November 2022.
I nailed them all – and did so very publicly in my e-mails and, in many cases, on national TV (e.g., 60 Minutes on December 12, 2008).
Most recently, on the very day the market bottomed on March 23, 2020, I wrote:
We've come to the firm conclusion that this is the absolute best time to be an investor in more than a decade. To borrow a phrase from one of my friends, "we're trembling with greed" right now...
Entertain
Lastly, at the end of most of my e-mails (including this one!), I like to throw in something personal that has nothing to do with investing: advice on marriage, parenting, or car safety... travel tips... and, most often, tall tales (with pictures) of my latest travels and adventures.
Some readers send me e-mails telling me what an egomaniacal blowhard I am... but far more tell me that it's what they enjoy most about my writing.
For example, in response to this Facebook post (in which I described and shared pictures of climbing the North Ridge of Mount Baker and the West Ridge of Forbidden Peak last week – both 15-hour all-nighters, with only one day of rest in between – to raise money for my favorite charity, KIPP charter schools), longtime reader Dale S. sent me this e-mail:
Oh my God. I feel exhausted just reading about your adventures. I don't know how you do, what you do. You must have some super powers Whitney. I think your focus, discipline, determination, tenacity and intellect are the key factors for all your success and accomplishments throughout your life. Please keep doing what you do because it's very inspiring for the rest of us mortals.
Best advice I ever got from you was to buy and hold Berkshire Hathaway. Before I got to join and follow you with Empire Financial, I used to trade stocks rather than invest in incredible businesses. I remember buying 4 shares of BRKA in 2009 for around $77K in my 401K account. Sold 'em in 2010 when it reached around $121K. I was really proud of myself as I made almost as much in profits from BRKA trade as my annual salary at the time.
Knowing where BRKA is today, it was a boneheaded decision then because I was merely a mediocre trader at best. Later, I got to know about you and started following your advice to invest in the best retirement stock Berkshire Hathaway. I read as much about Berkshire as I could, watched most annual Berkshire conferences with Buffett and Munger, and took your advice to read lots of annual statements online. I started accumulating BRKB (as I could not afford BRKA given its price) with slow and steady buys at dips and then serious buys during the COVID downturn. Accumulation and appreciation has made Berkshire 50% of my retirement portfolio today. I do not plan to sell this company in the foreseeable future even after Mr. Buffett is gone because I believe Greg and Ajit will sail the ship safely and steadily.
Thank you for your advice and help during the past few years. My personal admiration and goodwill towards you will never expire. God bless you and your family.
Thank you for the kind words, Dale... they really made my day.
Feedback like this makes it easier to ignore the haters – sadly, of which there are plenty – and motivate me to keep doing what I love doing!
Best regards,
Whitney
P.S. I welcome your feedback – send me an e-mail by clicking here.