From the Heart

Eight months ago, I began managing a small fund. After three quarters, we are up a total of 25%. Not too bad I suppose. Especially since we were down more than 20% at one point. The best returns came from the rise in Mindspeed's stock price. It has risen 91% in the last six months, a nice jump. Makes up for the fits and starts associated with my learning curve.

I started out with the simple idea from my Financial Management teacher, who said that all one had to do was double $1000 ten times to get a Million Dollars. Well, heck, that didn't sound too hard. Even a high school dropout, ex-Army guy could do that, I thought to myself. It is very simple, but not quite so easy.

I have missed a couple of opportunities. But the exciting part is that I was watching and in the game. I have gained a lot of experience while in the market. The greed and fear emotions are very devilish in their ability to persuade me into action. Even though I was wary of them, I found myself unable to fully resist their temptations. It is enlightening to watch yourself be manipulated by the ups and downs of the market. It was weird, like I wasn't in control of myself.

I have read quite a bit about investing methods. I have pretty much relied on charting so far. However, as I got to reading about Warren Buffett, I am slowly seeming to turn in the direction of value investing. I am reading more and more annual reports. I am pulling out relevant data from them and the ratios are really starting to make sense. The more I dig, the more it seems possible.

Well, I gotta get back to researching.