Compounding Snowballs

Bill Mann is the Director of Small Cap Research at the Motley Fool. Prior to that, he was the founding Chief Investment Officer for Motley Fool’s investing arm, Motley Fool Asset Management, where he oversaw 3 mutual funds and 7 separately managed account strategies with nearly $2 billion in assets under management. Mr. Mann has an insightful take on the fun (and power) of investing internationally. I have very minimal experience with international investments, so I’m very excited to learn more! How do you look for competitive advantage in companies outside of the U.S. versus internal, US focused companies? So believe it or not the process is very much the same, except that in many countries there are additional types of competitive advantages that aren’t available in the US. In the US there are very strong rules that prevent commingling of public and private interests, but in many countries, there are companies that are provided additional protection from competitors. For e...

As a child, I would trade a dollar bill for almost anything I wanted, whether that was a doll, earrings or a friend's toy I desired. Most children, just like me, don't have a sense of the importance of money. Because they are unaware of the value, they are more forgiving about losing a dollar or two. Children also think simply. Companies that children use every day are easy to understand and tend to succeed. Children don't look into biotech penny stocks or Brazilan farming companies, so their investments are not as big of a risk. They also have time. Time is the magic key to investing. Looking around, there are many early birds that don't voice their investing genius. Here is a story about a teenager that has been using his time to his advantage.  “I thought you had to go to New York and yell at people to get money. I was so mad because it cost so much to fly out there,” says Isak D, teenager investor, and quiz bowl enthusiast. Even as a 10-year-old the only barrie...

You know why you should save your money, open a bank account and how to find a stock, but one thing is missing: how to open a brokerage account? This is important because it is how you actually buy stocks. Here are three quick and easy steps how to open a brokerage account and place an order to buy a stock. Consult a broker for more information. Step One: Finding a Broker A broker is a service. They stand between your stock and you. Depending on the company you are going with as your broker, the minimum opening balance and deposit fee is different. The minimum deposit can range anywhere from $0.00 to $2,500.00. That is one thing to look out for, make sure the minimum amount is an amount you can comfortably hold in your account. Next, you need to know the fees the broker will charge you. You want to make sure that your broker’s fee is low.  For any investor, but especially a young investor it is important to have a low commission or fee when you buy and sell stocks. For exa...

LouAnn Lofton has been proudly investing "like a girl" since she was young. After learning about the power of long-term investing she began her journey. That brought her to The Motley Fool in 2000, where she rose to the position of managing editor of Fool.com—an award-winning financial education website visited by more than five million visitors each month. "Warren Buffett Invests Like A Girl" is her first book—and the one that allowed her to finally meet her investment idol, Warren Buffett. She was an early, self-taught learner, with an inspirational story. Enjoy! 1. How did you start investing? What interested you? I didn’t grow up investing or even learn about it as a kid. It wasn't something we talked about in my family. However, when I turned 21, I inherited some money from a life insurance policy that my father had. Unfortunately, he'd died suddenly when I was just 14. The money I received from that policy wasn't a ton, but it was enough t...

Rose Blumkin (Mrs.B), there are so many things to say. Rose Blumkin was the founder of Nebraska Furniture Mart. She founded Nebraska Furniture Mart in 1937. Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK.B) acquired the company in 1983, making Mrs. B the first and only (at the time) female manager at Berkshire. Before all that started she was a Russian immigrant with a talent for business. At the time women were to earn a living for their family, while the men studied. Luckily, her mom had a knack for business. She learned the ways of business from her mother, and at age thirteen got tired of watching her mother strain to make money. Mrs. B took it into her own hands, walking 18 miles to another city in Russia to find a well-paying job out of town. She was persistent and stubborn even as a child, stopping at every door to look for a place to sleep. She finally came across a store owner who said, “You’re a kid.” To that, she said, “I’m not a beggar… Tomorrow I will go to work.” The shop owner c...

Money management is an incredibly important life skill. I believe putting your money into a bank can help with the ability to manage your spending. As a minor, you have a few options as to what type of account you want to keep your money in. I am going to talk about each one to explore your options. Keep in mind, this is not financial advice. Everyone’s financial situation is different. I am not a financial professional. Always do your own research! Banking and Savings Accounts As a minor, the first account I got was a savings account. Savings accounts are simple, you put your money into a savings account at a bank and your money slowly gains interest. This is the easiest way, in my opinion, to start out with a bank account. Savings accounts are very safe, considering you leave your money in one place to grow, but it doesn’t grow all that much. At the time of this writing, the average savings account has an annual interest of about 0.6%, it’s not that much. If you put in $100 tod...

I recently talked to David Gardner, one of the founders of The Motley Fool . In 1993, he started an investment newsletter geared toward families in an effort to get more people, of all ages, to invest. David Gardner is an intelligent, Foolish and an out of the box thinker. His approach to investing is light and fun, as it is shown in The Motley Fool’s mission, “ To Educate, To Amuse and To Enrich .” As Gardner says, “It’s that middle phrase that is surprising to people.” Most people don’t think of a financial publishing company as an entertainment center, but there is more to investing than putting money into a stock and waiting.I have a few main takeaways I would like to share with you from our talk. Investing Mentality I’ve said it, David Gardner has said it, investing is a mentality. When you become a part owner, you become engulfed in the company. Investing is about much more than money, David Gardner says, “The word invest comes from the Latin word investire which means ...