When I review different investors portfolios, I’m quite often surprised at the exposure to bond mutual funds.  This has a lot to do with the cookie-cutter asset allocation philosophy that is pervasive throughout the financial advisor community, where recent historical returns are used as a proxy in building a portfolio allocation.  Of course the last...Read More

To whom much is given, much is expected.  These words exemplify the reign of Steve Ballmer who took over one of the finest companies in the world at its peak.  Over the last decade, Microsoft has more than doubled its earnings, but this was largely due to its entrenched Windows and Office franchises.  Ballmer allowed...Read More

The story surrounding the GSEs’ continues to get more interesting, as Bloomberg is reporting that Bill Ackman has acquired large stakes in the common stock of Fannie and Freddie.  This comes on the heels of Bruce Berkowitz’s proposal to buy parts of Fannie and Freddie through converting preferred stock to common, while executing a rights...Read More

Those who are familiar with me know that there are very few investors that I respect more than Bruce Berkowitz of Fairholme Funds.  His analysis is always cogent and persuasive, while he doesn’t cater to short-termism like 99% of Wall Street.  I was disgusted in 2011 when he had his only really rough year, when...Read More

Last week’s semi-encouraging jobs report has once again brought about calls for the Federal Reserve to begin the tapering process.  I find myself to be rather agnostic and wouldn’t make an investment decision based on this type of short-term issue, but the key is understanding that interest rates are likely to stay very low due...Read More

I agree with just about every sentiment in the article below by Pimco’s Mohamed El-Erian.  He makes the case that the Central banks’ are basically attacking global economic problems on their own, without the aid of fiscal policymakers’.  This is a huge problem and is the primary reason that unprecedented monetary stimulus is resulting in...Read More

I feel like the below article makes some really good points about the many risks that exist when buying Netflix (NFLX) at current prices.  While I like the product and find it a reasonable value, I don’t love the business model of constantly having to acquire and renegotiate content deals, while having questionable pricing power....Read More

Assured Guaranty (AGO) has been a wonderful investment for myself and clients of T&T Capital Management.  The municipal bond insurance industry is extremely confusing and it has taken a ton of work to really understand the complexities and nuances of the accounting treatment.  Basically, GAAP accounting is extremely limited and operating metrics tend to provide...Read More

One of the most prominent investors in the Hedge Fund industry, Daniel Loeb was interviewed on CNBC today and discussed some of his various investments.  At T&T Capital Management, we also took advantage of the sell-off in Herbalife but I just wish we would have invested considerably more capital into the position.  Loeb’s shareholder letters...Read More

Today Fiesta Restaurant Group (FRGI) announced that it is issuing $100MM of common stock to buy back some of its most expensive debt.  This is extremely intelligent because the stock is trading at extremely expensive multiples in relation to book, earnings and cash flow.  FRGI owns two incredibly promising quick service restaurants, Pollo Tropical and...Read More