January was quite a month

Every once in a while, the stars align and you get outstanding performance relative to the market in a brief period of time. January was one of those months for my clients and me.

I didn't do it my day trading. I didn't do it by forecasting the economy or market direction.

I bought businesses over the last 3 years that looked cheap relative to my assessment of their value. That's it.

It takes a while for the market to recognize long term value. The average holding period on the exchanges is 9 months. 9 MONTHS!!!

In other words, most institutional and individual investors, as a whole, are trying to forecast what will happen over the next 9 months. I, on the other hand, have a time horizon of 5 years or more.

This investing style takes a lot of patience. But, it pays off.

In January alone, my growth clients beat the S&P 500 by 4.6% and the Wilshire 5000 by 4.7%.

Over the last year, my growth clients have beaten the S&P 500 by 13.3% and the Wilshire 5000 by 13.7%.

Over the last two years, my growth clients have beaten the S&P 500 by 12.4% and the Wilshire 5000 by 13.2%.

Since inception (4/30/05), my growth clients have beaten the S&P 500 by 7.1% and the Wilshire 5000 by 4.4%. (for full disclosure of my performance, please go to my website)

It pays to be patient, and it pays to assess the value of the businesses you buy.

Nothing in this blog should be considered investment, financial, tax, or legal advice. The opinions, estimates and projections contained herein are subject to change without notice. Information throughout this blog has been obtained from sources believed to be accurate and reliable, but such accuracy cannot be guaranteed.