Brian Feroldi discusses his investing checklist, how he decides when to sell a stock, optionality, FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early), valuing a company, and so much more in this packed episode of Bulls, Bears, and Bourbon. Brian started investing in 2004 and has since become a contributor to the Motley Fool and grown a large Twitter following for his practical, easily digestible content.

[01:10] – Introducing Brian Feroldi

[02:38] – Stock Price vs. Value – “investing is the only purchase that we really make in our life where price really tells us nothing about value…price is a component of value.”

[07:50] – Brian’s Strategy Summarized – “my general strategy is to find the best companies that I can, buy the best companies that I can, and hold those companies until they are no longer great.”

[08:30] – An Investment Checklist – “step 1, write down all the attributes that you’re looking for in a company that makes that company attractive to you…then make another list of the things I don’t want in an investment.”

[13:30] – Types of Investors – “I don’t consider myself to be any one type of investor; I own a plethora of companies…if you force me to pin down and say this is the type of investor you are, I’d say I align closest with the GARP (growth at a reasonable price) camp.”

[18:30] – Being Overpriced and Undervalued at the same time

[22:30] – Optionality – “Optionality is a company’s ability to launch new products or services that open up brand new revenue streams in the future. That’s a really hard thing to screen for or look for in a company, but if I look at my own portfolio, some of my biggest winners are companies that had optionality in spades.”

[27:00] – Habits – “curiosity. I’m not the type of person who likes to sit down and watch movies; I’m terrible at keeping up with the news. I’m not up to date on fashion or television…I spend a tremendous amount of my free time researching and learning.”

[30:33] – When to Sell a Stock – “I really think it’s worth taking the time when your going slow and not looking at stock prices to write down what are the things that would cause me to reevaluate my thesis or would cause me to sell…selling is so much harder than buying.”

[37:25] – Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) – “Work becomes so much more pleasurable when it’s a choice.”

[42:42] – S-Curves and Innovation – “we generally struggle with the concept of s-curves because it always sounds so pie in the sky…but if you look at disrupted technologies, they are always, always disrupted with s-curves.”

[56:45] – What does wealth mean – “the reason that I’m pursuing wealth in the first place goes back to that FI part. I’m after financial independence, full stop.”

Links:

Brian’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrianFeroldi

Brian’s Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/brianferoldiyt

Brian’s Checklist: https://www.brianferoldi.com/checklist/

Crash Course Youtube Channel (One of Brian’s Favorites): https://www.youtube.com/user/crashcourse

www.bullsbearsandbourbon.com

www.vermillionprivatewealth.com

**The information in this podcast is educational and general in nature and does not take into consideration the listener’s personal circumstances. Therefore, it is not intended to be a substitute for specific, individualized financial, legal, or tax advice. To determine which strategies or investments may be suitable for you, consult the appropriate qualified professional before making a final decision. Thanks for listening.