The recent violent market overall market sell off is an event that should humble most investors. Such a sell off can wipe out years of an investor's gains or cause an investor to incur even greater losses. The swiftness of such a sell off should remind investors to dial back their hubris when investing in the stock market. We certainly feel the effects of such a sell off, especially on our most recent investments. With this in mind, we strongly recommend that all investors hold about 10 to 15 percent of its portfolio in stocks such as U.S. food giant General Mills (NYSE:GIS). On a relative basis, GIS is a safer "port in the storm" of market volatility that rewards investors with lower volatility, increasing dividends and ongoing share repurchases. We only wish that we owned GIS shares decades ago, rather than purchasing the company's shares a mere few years ago. Better late than never we believe.
During GIS's most recent quarterly earnings announcement, the company lowered its previous revenue and earnings estimates for fiscal 2016 to account for it Green Giant brand divestiture. The company also recognized cost savings from its restructuring activities and lower advertising costs that offset weak revenues to result in earnings growth. The company is currently engaged in multiple restructuring initiatives including job cuts and factory closings to generate cost savings and support key growth strategies. The company expects to record hundreds of millions in cost savings by fiscal 2017. GIS, like many other major U.S. food producers, has been struggling due to the shift in consumer's preference toward natural and organic food. To counteract weak revenue and profit performance, the company is increasing its investment in cereals to achieve growth, accelerating the performance of its healthy snacking products such as its yogurt and snacks businesses and driving double-digit growth in its natural and organic food
