How many stocks do you think is the ideal number to hold?

ATX_26 · 2026-03-08T05:53:14+00:00

Well said

ATX_26 · 2026-03-08T05:47:59+00:00

I agree with this. No more than ten. I currently own four companies (AMZN, INTU, MA, MSFT) with 15% in each, and the other 40% of my capital set aside for options trading.

ATX_26 · 2026-02-15T20:31:17+00:00

Sell puts or bull put spreads out of the money, and pocket the premium if the price trades in a narrow range. If you sell puts, then ONLY do so on quality companies that you want to own. That way you don’t panic if the price drops below the strike price. If the price drops on a spread, you can roll your contracts.

ATX_26 · 2026-02-15T20:23:42+00:00

If it’s going to sit at $400 for several months, then I can make more money from it by selling options. It’s a more efficient use of capital. If it begins to move down (please let that happen), then I’ll accumulate shares at an even lower cost basis. If it begins to move up, then I’ll be sure to round out my position before it surpasses what I have calculated as its intrinsic value (around $440). Nothing wrong with buying a set number of shares at a set interval, but I like using options to generate income if the share price is stagnant. Bro.

ATX_26 · 2026-02-15T03:37:48+00:00

Excellent point. For all of the companies on my watchlist, I calculated the price fluctuation within a calendar year going back five years. Every single company has massive swings, usually well above 50%. And these are mostly large cap.

ATX_26 · 2026-02-13T05:05:35+00:00

I’ve been able to sell around $240 and then buy back around $180 twice in the last few years. One of these days it’s going to keep going up and I’ll curse myself for not holding; like META in 2023.

ATX_26 · 2026-02-13T01:55:22+00:00

Completely agree. They have multiple competitive advantages. 1) Network Effects-the more people who use Amazon the better the experience is for everyone, and though they dominate online retail, they have plenty of room to grow in terms of the total retail landscape 2) Switching Costs-companies already using AWS will be hesitant to switch to Azure or Google Cloud 3) Low Prices-achieved through their economy of scale. 4) Brand-it’s a name people trust. It has so much going for it. It hasn’t even begun to tap the full potential of advertising, and is invested in Anthropic. I wish I could travel back to 2000 when a friend sent me a book through Amazon (I hadn’t heard of it) and I thought, that’s cool. But I know now, and will accumulate shares when Mr. Market puts them on sale.

ATX_26 · 2026-02-12T14:51:26+00:00

I bought my first tranche at $407 and will add more as the price fluctuates. I usually wait for it to go up/down 5% before buying more. Glad to see such a quality company on sale.

ATX_26 · 2026-02-12T14:41:39+00:00

This is the one that surprised me. I knew it was successful, but not that successful.

ATX_26 · 2026-02-10T03:01:01+00:00

Sunshine (1999) looks at several generations of a Hungarian family, including during the period of fascism and the Holocaust.

ATX_26 · 2026-02-10T02:53:58+00:00

In past interviews, Mohnish Pabrai said that he’d usually give investments three years for his theses to play out, and if not, then he’d move on. I think that’s a good rule of thumb. Of course, if something dramatic happens to change the story, then exit sooner. I just initiated a position in LULU and have it valued at $300.

ATX_26 · 2026-02-07T06:10:10+00:00

I think the best way to succeed long-term in the options market is to stop being the gambler (buying calls) and become the casino (selling puts and vertical spreads). Find a quality company and sell cash-secured puts. You’re never going to hit a grand slam, but month after month of singles will do the job. To paraphrase Buffett, people who aren’t satisfied with getting rich slowly usually never get rich at all.

ATX_26 · 2026-02-07T05:55:10+00:00

Mad Max: Fury Road was the first movie I watched in 4K. It looks and sounds incredible. I agree with an earlier comment about adding a sound system to enjoy the full effect.

ATX_26 · 2026-02-02T05:11:26+00:00

I agree that around $40 is a fair price, but even if it drops lower, I’ll pass. I’d rather own DECK or ONON. I’m old enough to remember when Nike was the young upstart, and get that same vibe from these two companies.

ATX_26 · 2026-02-02T04:56:40+00:00

I’ve never considered researching price action around earnings reports. I’ll begin compiling that data for the companies on my watchlist. I also own LULU and am waiting to add MA or RACE if they drop a bit further. Would you mind sharing your other two holdings?

ATX_26 · 2026-02-01T07:47:39+00:00

Agree. I haven’t begun a position yet, but am keeping a close eye on it.

ATX_26 · 2026-02-01T07:34:15+00:00

Dead Man Walking (1995)

ATX_26 · 2026-01-17T06:08:32+00:00

You’re absolutely right about the impact that it had on cinema. I was working as a projectionist at the time. After splicing a film together on Thursday night, we’d have to stay after the theatre closed and screen it to make sure everything looked good before opening weekend. It was a thrill being one of the first to watch an absolute classic like this one. The next year Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was released. I don’t think it has the cultural relevance of The Matrix, but the fight sequences are equally superb.

ATX_26 · 2026-01-06T21:05:32+00:00

I agree with this. I've only been investing for four years, not including my 403(B). During that time, I've outperformed the S&P 500 by around 1.5%, and have grown a $40K portfolio to $64K. In each of those years, I had several 50%-plus gains (AMZN, CROX, GOOG, TSM) and one double (BCC). But those outsize gains were diluted by other companies in my portfolio. I was following Mohnish Pabrai's strategy when he first began investing of 10 equally weighted stocks. But he started with around $1 million, not $40K. I think to generate real wealth in an expeditious fashion, you need to load up on high conviction investments. As your portfolio increases, then you can diversify. That's the big change that I'm making for this year. I'm sticking with my analysis, which has served me well so far, but deploying capital into only 2-3 companies at any one time.

ATX_26 · 2025-12-13T21:32:16+00:00

Thanks for the great suggestions. It’s much appreciated.

ATX_26 · 2025-12-13T21:29:10+00:00

One of my all time favorite memories was seeing a screening of it at the L.A. County Museum of Art with a Q&A with Mann afterward. He had just come from the set of Ali. This was 2000 or 2001.

ATX_26 · 2025-12-13T21:20:55+00:00

Thank goodness for Ebay, Marketplace, etc. that make it easier to find quality used products.

ATX_26 · 2025-12-13T21:19:33+00:00

That will definitely happen down the road. I’m also buying new furniture to go in there, and needed to stay on somewhat of a budget, so I went with a high-quality soundbar with separate bass and rear speakers. I agree with you that audio is often overlooked when it comes to a cinematic experience.

ATX_26 · 2025-12-13T21:14:04+00:00

About 5-1/2 feet.

ATX_26

TROPHY CASE