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This blog is produced by David Merkel CFA, a registered representative of Finacorp Securities as an outside business activity. As such, Finacorp Securities does not review or approve materials presented herein. By viewing or participating in discussion on this blog, you understand that the opinions expressed within do not reflect the opinions or recommendations of Finacorp Securities, but are the opinions of the author and individual participants. Neither the information nor any opinion expressed constitutes a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security or other instrument. Before investing, consider your investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. Any purchase or sale activity in any securities instrument should be based upon your own analysis and conclusions. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Finacorp Securities is a member FINRA and SIPC.

David Merkel

At my blog there are two main purposes: teaching investors about better investing through risk control, and tying all of the markets into a coherent whole.

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    A Good Month — A Good Year, so far

    Of the 35 stocks in my portfolio, only 4 lost money for me in May: Magna International, Group 1 Automotive, Reinsurance Group of America, and Hartford Insurance.  My largest gainer, OfficeMax, paid for all of the losses and then some.

    I am only market-weight in energy, so that was not what drove my month.  Almost everything worked in May: company selection, industry selection, etc.  My other big gainers were: Charlotte Russe, Helmerich & Payne, Japan Smaller Capitalization Fund, and Ensco International.  I have often said that I am a singles hitter in investing — this month is a perfect example of that.

    Now, looking at the year to date, I am not in double digits yet, but I am getting close — I am only 3.6% below my peak unit value on 7/19/07.  My win/loss ratio is messier: 15 losses against 32 wins.  It takes the top 5 wins to wipe out all of the losses.  The top 5: National Atlantic, Cimarex, Helmerich & Payne, Arkansas Best, and Ensco International.  Energy, Trucking, and a lousy insurance company that undershot late in 2007.

    The main losers: Deerfield Triarc (ouch), Valero, Royal Bank of Scotland, Avnet, and Deutsche Bank.

    I much prefer talking about my portfolio than individual stock ideas, because I think people are easily misled if you offer a lot of single stock ideas.  I have usually refused to do that here; I am not in the business of touting stocks.  I do like my management methods, though, and I like writing about those ideas.  If I can make my readers to be erudite thinkers about investing; I have done my job.

    So, with that, onto the rest of 2007.  I don’t believe in sitting on a lead — I am always trying to do better, so let’s see how I fail or succeed at that in the remainder of 2007.

    PS — When I have audited figures, I will be more precise.  You can see my portfolio, for now, at Stockpickr.com.

    Full disclosure: long VLO AVT NAHC XEC HP ESV MGA GPI RGA HIG OMX CHIC JOF

    2 Responses to “ A Good Month — A Good Year, so far ”

    1. Tom F. Says:

      David,
      Tune in. We’re in 2008. 2007 ended five months ago.

    2. David Merkel Says:

      Tom, oops. Yes, 2008. Sigh. :(

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