The Eight Best Investing Blogs
The always active 24/7 Wall St. recently published a new list of The 25 Best Financial Blogs. Sadly (but not surprisingly) Gannon On Investing didn't make the cut this time.
This blog had been included in the list's first incarnation (which was actually limited to 20 blogs). They gave me fair warning then: "Geoff Gannon writes as well as any senior editor at Forbes or Fortune. We just wish he wrote more often." Since then, I've actually written far less often and I expect that trend to continue while another project occupies the majority of my time.
It's a good list – check it out.
Although I like 24/7 Wall St.'s list, I thought I might present my own list. To make the list a blog had to offer something of value to investors. As you'll see that "something" could be an investment book review, a news item, an analysis of a specific company, a list of possible bargains, etc. This is a diverse group of blogs, but they are all true investing blogs in the one sense that matters, they can help you invest.
By the way, that doesn't mean the authors themselves have to be good investors. They can be downright terrible investors as long as their writing tends to stick to the things they do well.
This list of the eight best investing blogs includes several bloggers who write a bit less often than most. I'm not sure why this is. It could be that they spend less time blogging or more time on each post. It's probably some combination of the two. Regardless, here are the eight best investing blogs:
Value Discipline: If I was limited to reading only one investing blog this would be it. The posts are consistently excellent, often involve specific companies, and are always presented as analysis that is heavy on facts and reasons and light on self-important assertions. If you have never read this blog, you have to go there now.
Cheap Stocks: This is the NCAV blog. Part of the project I'm working on now involves Ben Graham. So, I spend a portion of each day with the man (dead though he may be) reading his memoirs, articles, books, interviews, etc. Ben was born in 1894. To put that in perspective, when Ben was born, the Trent Affair was a more recent national memory than Watergate is for us today. In other words – it was a long, long time ago. Times have changed. Stocks have changed. Net current asset value bargains may be an endangered species, but they aren't totally extinct – not even in 2007, not even in a bull market. Grahamian bargains live on in today's market and the Grahamian spirit lives on at Cheap Stocks. This is another blog you absolutely have to sample. May I suggest "Companies Trading Below Net Current Asset Value: A Refresher and Recent Study".
Fat Pitch Financials: George wears a lot of hats. He writes Fat Pitch Financials, a blog. He maintains a Contributor's Corner where you can pay to participate in online forums that discuss special situations (as I mentioned in an earlier post, the ideas you pick up will cover the price of admission several times over – I know this from personal experience). He also runs Value Investing News, a great value investing community site. At first glance, the blog doesn't appear to have a lot of information on it. But read the posts a little more closely and you'll find this is a blog worth watching, because George is worth watching. At the Fat Pitch Financial's blog, you'll effectively track both what's happening at Value Investing News and at the Contributor's Corner (but with a delay that prevents you from making huge profits off paying contributor's ideas). You'll also know what stocks George considers "Fat Pitches". The most recent addition was US Bancorp (USB). Bookmark this blog and read it whenever it is updated. You won't spend a lot of time at Fat Pitch Financials, but your time will be well spent. Your money would also be well spent if you pay to join the Contributor's Corner. You'll often find me there. More importantly, you'll always find profitable ideas there – to date, George's Special Situations model portfolio (a real account) has returned 27.60% annually since its inception in 2004.
Value Blog Review: This blog reviews other blogs – and books too. Actually, the majority of the book reviews at Gannon On Investing also appear at Value Blog Review, because they were written by Steven Rosales, the author of Value Blog Review. There are enough reviews at Value Blog Review to keep you busy for a long time. You'll want to bookmark this site, especially if you are new to investing or enjoy reading lots of investment books or investment blogs.
Controlled Greed: John Bethel's blog. This one, like a lot of my favorite blogs, is a little idiosyncratic – but that's what a blog is supposed to be, right? John writes a lot about the stocks in his portfolio. He also mentions articles that interest him. These articles might discuss a specific stock, a specific country, or a specific money manager. John's posts are short and insightful. He doesn't feel compelled to comment on the big stories of the day if he doesn't have anything insightful to say about them. I think that's a good attitude to have in an online environment that often seems to be nothing but a sea of echoes.
Bill Rempel: Talk about idiosyncratic. This blog combines investing, politics, and a few other subjects. But, it's mostly investing – or trading if you prefer – and it's mostly quite good. I'm not interested in trading, if you are so much the better. But, even with my lack of interest in trading, I'm able to enjoy many of the posts on this blog. Bill is often insightful and always witty. It's a very good blog – an acquired taste – but a very good blog nonetheless. Don't give up on it after reading just one post, try a few. May I suggest: Air T takes Off, Undeniable Short Setup – One More Time, On Or Near the Sell Block, Fidgeting with Stock Screeners, Position Update – May 3, 2007. Reading these posts will give you some idea of what the blog is like. Bill posts frequently. He also writes longer pieces for Market Thoughts.
24/7 Wall St.: I like this site for several reasons. There is something to read there every day, it tries to be different from other blogs, it posts a list of stocks at 52-week lows, and it creates its own great lists like The 25 Best Financial Blogs. Most importantly, the posts are quick and informative. This is one to visit everyday.
Streetinsider.com 13D Tracker: Everyone should subscribe to this feed. The blog's merits are simple and obvious; see for yourself why I love it.
That's only eight blogs. I'd rather give you eight great blogs than mix the good with the great (or the unproven with the proven). There are other good blogs out there. I read many of them. I've linked to some of them. However, these are the eight investing blogs worth watching day in and day out.
The Twenty-Five Best Financial Blogs