The journey of one Buckaroo to profits and financial freedom
Many of our subscribers are probably familiar with Ed Kaulbars through the Buckaroos Speak section of the newsletter. Ed is in constant contact with Bowser Report World Headquarters. He comes to us to ask questions and to tell us of his successes in applying the Bowser Game Plan.
Recently, he related to us how well his portfolio has done over the past year. When a Buckaroo tell us how well his or her portfolio is doing, we are thrilled! So, when Ed said his portfolio was up almost 30% since June 2012, and he had a number of doubles recently, we wanted to know more. On July 31, Ed and I talked over the phone, discussing his Bowser journey up to the present.
Below is our chat:
Thomas: What got you into The Bowser Report?
Ed: Originally, I was dissatisfied with American Funds. The costs seemed astronomical for what was being provided. I was irritated that my wife and I were spending all this money, and I couldn’t get any information beyond a quarterly prospectus.
So, I began buying books on how to invest in the stock market, and pulling money out of American Funds. I got hit with a 20% penalty for pulling my money out, but at least I knew where my money was going. If I invested on my own, the gains were all mine; 10% a year, all mine; 8% a year, all mine.
Somewhere online, I came across a mention of ministocks. The search engine took me to some reading that mentioned The Bowser Report. Then, I ordered Making Dollars with Pennies. After reading that, I called and Cindy sent me a free sample copy of the newsletter.
T: What was your first Bowser Company of the Month experience?
E: My first experience buying a company was Accelr8 Technologies (AXK)—now Accelerate Diagnostics (AXDX)—and that thing doubled. My wife and I were scared because we were trying to invest on our own for the first time. So, we only bought 200 shares.
T: Where did you go from there?
E: We bought one or two more companies, but began to try and out-analyze the analyst. We did that for about 6-8 months; pouring through The Bowser Report, saying, “Why would Max pick this one? We don’t like this.”
T: What led you away from that mentality?
E: My wife and I were going through the newsletter and found Pizza Inn (PZZI). We had lived in Texas and knew the company. At that time, it had been two years since Max recommended it, and PZZI had gone nowhere with a Bowser Rating of 10. Even Max was saying, “I don’t know why this isn’t doing anything. It’s got to go up soon.” So we bought about 1,000 shares, and held onto them until they finally took off in October 2011.
T: So Pizza Inn brought about the change?
E: When that company took off, my wife got so excited. She said, “Maybe we should start buying every Company of the Month. You just don’t know.” Then, after being sick for some time, she passed away that November. So, there I was on my lonesome, knowing that I had to get my thinking straight. So, I went back to what I call the Bible (Making Dollars with Pennies), and just read, read, read. I also bought Graham’s The Intelligent Investor and Cobleigh’s The Hidden Stock Market. Those three reads threw me over the top.
T: How did you apply what you learned through reading?
E: In January 2012, I began buying $400 of every Company of the Month. The first company I bought was Perma-Fix (PESI), which floundered. But, the next company was FONAR Corp (FONR). There were a couple of poor companies, but they made me go back and read more each month. I stopped trying to overanalyze and began following the newsletter exactly. In June 2012, I upped my investment to $600 in each Bowser pick.
T: How many companies are you up to now?
E: As of last month, I had 15 companies. But, I had to sell Liberator Medical (LBMH) because it doubled and slid back 25%.
T: How is your Bowser portfolio doing?
E: From June 2012 to June 2013, by following the Bowser Game Plan and putting $600 in each month, my portfolio is up about 28%.
T: Does that include Proceeds from Sales?
E: Yes. Goldfield (GV) doubled, then a few months later Spine Pain Mgmt (SPIN) slid 50%. Then, Joe’s Jeans (JOEZ) and Innotrac (INOC) doubled. Now, Liberator has doubled and slid back. With all of that, I have cash sitting in my Scottrade account. My portfolio is self-financing. All of my money gets reinvested into Bowser recommendations.
T: What was your biggest gainer?
E: Pizza Inn was my biggest gainer. My wife and I hit a home run there because we bought so many shares of it. My wife loved that company, firmly believed in it. When Max said it was going to go up, she believed him.
T: You also got your grandsons involved in The Bowser Report. What was your motivation behind doing so?
E: In December 2012, I couldn’t think of a good gift to give the twins. A friend of mine said, “You’ve gotten so into stocks, why don’t you give them shares of Bowser companies?” Then, I thought, any questions that the twins would have to ask are answered right there in the newsletter or other Bowser materials. So, that was their Christmas present, a subscription to The Bowser Report and 100 shares each. That got them to watch their holdings, and we formed our own investment club called “Being ‘N Cents.”
T: Does “Being ‘N Cents” have a portfolio?
E: Yes, we have nine companies and we’re up over 16% with just the Bowser Companies of the Month since December 2012.
T: How does the club operate?
E: We meet every two weeks. We review The Bowser Report, and other publications. We all contribute to the club’s portfolio. The twins work for me on the weekends and get cash, which they put into their Bowser stocks.
T: How much time do you spend on your investments?
E: I spend about 1-2 hours a week. I do that because stocks can come and go really quickly, like Liberator. At the end of the day, I’ll go on Yahoo! Finance and my Scottrade account and look at them both for about 10-15 minutes. It’s all easy; nowadays, it’s right on your phone (or online).
T: You also purchase the Bowser Database each month. What do you look for in it?
E: I look at the Database to try and get a feel for the stock market. I run through the whole thing A to Z, circling companies that are a 10 or 11. Then, I come back and run through the 9s. Then, I look at 8s. I take note of debt, shares outstanding and book value. It’s kind of a little game.
T: So, each month you develop a list of the highest rated companies in the Database. What do you do with this list?
E: Once I’ve got my list narrowed down, I’ll go into Yahoo! Finance and look a little deeper. I ask myself, “Why did Thomas give this one an 8? Or, why did he do this?” All this does is make me feel better about The Bowser Report.
T: What have you learned from the Game Plan?
E: By following the Bowser Game Plan, I go home and sleep at night. You’ve got to be patient; you’ve got to be disciplined; and you’ve got to get your emotions out of it.
T: What is a lesson you’ve learned about emotional investing?
E: When I first started subscribing I got so excited that I would buy the latest Company of the Month the Monday following publication. Then, I read the Making Dollars and Max said, “If you’re looking for it to double right away, you’re not truly following the Game Plan.” Still, I purchased Tucows (TCX) in the middle of the hype, only to see it go down before rising again. Now, I wait until after the pullback to buy the company.
T: What are the goals for your Bowser portfolio?
E: I have a series of smaller goals leading up to the main goal: 18 Companies of the Month by December 2015 with $3,000 invested in each. Do you know why I’m confident about this?
T: Why’s that?
E: Because the Game Plan works. This portfolio of mine funds itself. No matter what happens with the market, I’m confident. I call it my financial freedom account.
T: What advice would you give to your fellow Buckaroos?
E: Trust is the first thing to pop in my mind. Trust in The Bowser Report. You have our interests at heart. And, there are not many places out there like that. With The Bowser Report, trust the information that you get, and use it. Also, read the Bible, Making Dollars with Pennies. Even though it was first published several years ago, it still applies.
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The Bowser Report is a monthly financial newsletter that specializes in small stocks trading for $3/share or less. Our goal is to provide the individual investor with relevant information on microcap stocks. Each month, we recommend a new company, provide information on past recommendations and report news surrounding the microcap marketplace.
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Information in this blog post contains references to past Bowser recommendations. This blog post contains no recommendations, and instead relies on data gathered on past recommendations from sources thought to be reliable.
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