I’m always on the lookout for discussions of wide moat companies.  So when Gannon on Investing announced a widest moat contest, I signed right up. 

In his latest podcast, Geoffrey Gannon discusses two of the contest entries he has received.  You can hear me discuss why I think Microsoft (MSFT) has the widest moat.  Read the rest of this entry »

I wanted to make a quick note that I purchased some Microsoft (MSFT) shares today as part of my long term holdings. I found the price of $24.50 per share for this wide moat company to be very attractive. I’m a bit short of time right now to provide further details, but I plan on providing more information about my decision later this week as time provides.

You can follow the performance of my model portfolio (FPF Value) by visiting Marketocracy. You can review my past purchases in this long term model portfolio by visiting my FPF Value archives.

McCormick (MKC) recently piqued my interest. I read a Motley Fool article about McCormick’s bland outlook by W.D. Crotty. Usually an article with the word bland doesn’t grab my attention but I found it hard to belive that the spice company, McCormick, could be bland.
Read the rest of this entry »

Are you ready for the next fat pitch that the stock market might throw your way? Preparedness is the key to taking advantage of great opportunities.

In the past, I struggled to take advantage of unexpected downturns in the stock market. In the emotional chaos that often hits after a market plunge, I often was unable to research enough companies fast enough to make a quality purchase decision while prices remained low.

My goal is to identify the highest quality companies now, so that I can swing hard and sure at the next fat pitch that comes over my plate. I am particularly looking for companies with sustainable competitive advantages and will keep them ahead of their competition for years to come. Warren Buffett refers to these companies as having wide moats.

What gives a company a wide moat that keeps the competition at bay? Some companies are very low cost producers, others have key patents on their products, and still others provide services that have high switching costs.

I’ll go into these characteristics in further detail in the examples I discuss in upcoming articles. Feel free to suggest your favorite wide moat companies and I’ll take a close look at them here.