Compounding Snowballs

A few months ago, I wrote a post on my investing process called: Why Do I Invest? . In section 4, I talk about connecting the story of a company (recent news, patterns in performance, products, predictable faults, etc.) to the numbers (debt, P/E, ROE, etc.).  I do feel it necessary for me to reiterate the importance of this because of a quote from a recent article. “I picked Pepsi because I love Sun Chips. Cheddar Sun Chips are my favorite — that’s how I pick most of my stocks.” Yes, I did buy Pepsi in part because of their products. But I picked it for more than just my growing love of the products, I picked it because a majority of our population buys Pepsi products. It started because I like their products, but it did not end there. I did more research than just open up a bag of chips and fall in love. Just as Aunt Ginny did, I looked at the company and tried their products, along with checking the numbers and learning more than just the calorie count of 12 servings of...

More than just Starbucks ’ addicting drinks, or Unilever’s cleansing soap they are both very focused on socially responsible practices, and they both take great pride in making a positive impact. Both of these companies track and report on what they’re doing to be socially responsible. Starbucks and Unilever are very different companies, but they find their own ways to impact the world for better. For those of you who don’t know (LOL), Starbucks is coffee shop known for their Pumpkin Spice Lattes (PSL) and their modern experimental drinks. Unilever, on the other hand, controls a variety of brands from a scent teenage boys love to drench themselves in, Axe Body Spray, to the delicious chocolate coated Magnum ice cream bars to Dove Soap, Lipton tea, and many more. Looking at both of their Sustainable Living or Social Impact tabs these companies have a range of things they are trying to improve. Here's some fun math to think about: If you haven’t already, go check out my ...

I'm so excited to announce that my book, Early Bird: The Power of Investing Young ,  is published! It has been a long five months. The publishing process ended with me listening to "Closing Time" by Semisonic on repeat until I was confident it was truly closing time for the book. I hope you all like it! Currently, it's available on Amazon  as a paperback, and it'll soon be on Kindle and local bookstores!

I knew Sam Davidson for such a short amount of time, and yet he made one of the largest impacts on my life. I met him during the summer of 2017 over email. Sam encouraged me to become more involved with the Motley Fool and their new program, Fool School. From then on, I got the chance to have weekly meetings with him and some colleagues about the plan for this program.  He was always a light-hearted person with a ton of energy. Sam always found a way to bring smiles to everyone's faces, and make a room of investors giggle.  Sam always made sure to push and help out others. He would always try to play to everyone's strengths. Sam always knew how to include everyone and made sure their opinions were heard. Sam was simply, a caring, thoughtful, easy going, intelligent man. I am very lucky to have known him, and I'm glad he's in a better place. Sam was a strong leader with a kind heart. He had a great mind for investing and could explain it backward, forwards, and...

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...