Although I bought my first stock some 18 years ago, those early "investments," were not well thought out and my track record was wildly variable. I would make money on an idea, think I had it figured out, only to lose the gains on some other idea. I became interested in buying stocks again 3 years ago when I had made some nice bonuses at work coupled with the fact that my employer gave me the chance to invest a portion of my own 401K myself. Thinking I was pretty smart since I had picked my 401K mutual funds correctly in the past, I set off on my current investing track. Even thought I was on the right track, I bought a few companies with large, unsustainable deductibles or bought others due to low valuation ...More compared with past valuation, but I didn't look at the underlying company as well as I should have. Overall I did pretty well, due to the rising tide, but I knew there was a better way. I started reading all of the Berkshire chairman letter's and reading every book on Buffett I could find, which lead me to Graham and Fisher. In doing more research I came across Greenblatt and some of the other recent authors. All of this in an effort to be able to make intelligent investment decisions. Seeking Alpha's knowledgeable authors have taught me a lot as well. I know that I am relatively new to investing, but I am willing to do the work since the results are so profitable.
csbosox