Controlled Greed.com “Life of the Blog” Stock Picks Average +38.4% Through First Quarter of 2007

I’ve made 18 stock purchase recommendations since then launching this blog on April 27, 2005. Here’s how they have each performed from their selection through the first quarter of 2007, listed in the order of being recommended.

NOTE: Results include dividends and returns of capital to shareholders.

• General Motors was mentioned on 4/29/05 at $26.75. It closed 3/30/07 at $30.64. This position is +24.8%.

• Fairfax Financial was mentioned on 5/3/05 at $132.50. More shares were purchased for an average cost of $123.16. Some shares were later sold at $145.74. The stock closed 3/30/07 at $224.58. This position is +70.2%.

• 3i Group was mentioned on 5/17/05 at $15.06 (adjusted for two subsequent reverse stock splits). It closed 3/30/07 at $22.28. This position is +76.7%.

• Nikko Cordial ADR was mentioned on 5/26/05 at $8.64 (adjusted for a 5-for-1 ADR split). One-third of the position was later sold at $16.30. It closed 3/30/07 at $14.25. This position is +79.1%.

• Imagistics International was mentioned on 6/30/05 at $26.60. It was bought by Oce, N.V. later in 2005 for $43.00 cash. This position closed out +58%.

• Molson Coors Class B was mentioned on 6/13/05 at $60.35. The entire stake was sold on 2/13/07 at $82.35. This position closed out +39.6%.

• DirecTV Group was mentioned on 7/21/05 at $15.50. It closed on 3/30/07 at $23.07. This position is +48.8%.

• Liberty Media Series A was mentioned on 8/4/05 at $8.52. The company then distributed to shareholders two tracking stocks, Liberty Capital and Liberty Interactive, this year. I view those two as a single position in the portfolio. Capital closed 3/30/07 at $110.59 and Interactive closed at $23.82. This position is +34.8%.

• USA Mobility was mentioned on 8/24/05 at $26.34. It closed on 3/30/07 at $19.93. This is a prime example of why including payouts is important. Still, this position is -2.3%.

• Comcast Class A Special was mentioned on 11/28/05 at the split-adjusted price of $17.82. I later sold one-quarter of the position at the split-adjusted price of $24.28. It closed on 3/30/07 at $$25.47. This position is +41.3%.

• Deckers Outdoor was mentioned on 10/18/05 at $20.92. I later sold one-third of the position for $30.08, then later sold more shares for $46.80. I sold the remaining shares on 2/15/07 for $63.58. This position closed out +131%.

• CBS Class B was mentioned on 2/16/06 at $25.61. It closed on 3/30/07 at $30.59. This position is +22.3%.

• Media General Class A was mentioned on 3/21/06 at $47.05. More shares were purchased for an average cost of $44.76. It closed on 3/30/07 at $38.16. This position is -12.9%.

• Takefuji Corp. was mentioned on 4/20/06 at $62.50. More shares were purchased for an average cost of $57.30. It closed on 3/30/07 at $40.06. This position is -28.4%.

• Mueller Water Products Series A was mentioned on 7/19/06 at $15.88. I nibbled on a few more shares for an average cost of $15.64. It closed 3/30/07 at $13.81. This position is -9.5%.

• BCE Inc. was mentioned on 8/6/06 at $23.01. It closed 3/30/07 at $28.28. This position is +25.4%.

• ArmorGroup International was mentioned on 9/7/06 at $1.03. It closed on 3/30/07 at $1.86. This position is +82.9%.

• Walter Industries was mentioned on 9/27/06 at $43.21. It closed on 3/30/07 at $24.75. Mueller Water Products Series B was spun off from Walter and closed on 3/30/07 at $13.39. Taken as a single position, these two combine for +8.8%.

In all, the stock picks made on this blog have averaged a gain of 38.4% during the life of this blog.

Four points need to be made.

First, these are not “annualized” results or year-to-date results. These are simply how the stock picks have performed since being recommended. I will report YTD results in a separate post.

Second, as stated, these results include dividends and returns of capital to shareholders. I did this because not doing so distorted the performance of my stock picks -- especially in cases like 3i Group and USA Mobility. The only current holdings that pay no dividend are DirecTV, Comcast and the Liberty Media tracking stocks.

Third, these are not “audited” results. They’re just my calculator and me and I’m subject to correction.

Fourth, I live in the US so I track my portfolio in US Dollars. Someone following my picks and residing in Canada, the UK or another country may see results better or worse than mine.

Comments

[jaim klein]

Your comment on living in the USA is a good point. The US dollar has been weakening lately. You should diversify into other currrencies. I am in Israel and the shekel alone added 9% to my portfolio in 2006.

[John]

jaim: I don't invest in currencies, if by that you mean buy them directly. Several of my positions are in non-US companies, which gives a bit of currency diversification. Your comment reminds me of something I've been meaning to post about.

Also, currency fluctuations balance out over time. How much time? About a decade, which isn't too long since investing is something many of us do over the course of our adult lifetimes. Thanks for reading.

[Robert Freedland]

WOW. Those are really terrific results. You can be proud of your results and your conscientious work on this blog!

Bob

[John]

Bob: Thanks, though I'll have stretches of time where my portfolio lags the market. And your praise of this blog is doubly nice coming from someone who has an outstanding blog himself.