RULE MAKER PORTFOLIO

<THE RULE MAKER PORTFOLIO>

The Gap FAQ

By Tom Gardner

ALEXANDRIA, VA (August 12, 1999) -- Tonight's report comes to you in abbreviated form, so that you might have a little time to consider a growing service at fool.com that I consider invaluable. Over the past year, an increasing number of investors in our community have taken the time to build Frequently-Asked-Question (FAQ) pages for the companies they're following.

These FAQs represent a compilation of the best and brightest contributions to the discussion, over 1-, 2- and 3-year periods. You can find excellent collections at the base of the message board window for investment ideas and stocks ranging from Uniphase to Amazon.com, from discussions on Discount Brokers and Living Below Your Means, to those trying to manage their Credit Cards and those hoping to increase efficiency on our Tax Strategies board. There's even a Rule Maker Beginners FAQ.

If you have a favorite folder that has hundreds of posts or more, if you've taken a lot of value from the contributions of Fools around the planet, I encourage you to block out some time to collect the best contributions, to frame it in the form of an FAQ, and to e-mail your creation to RichardD@fool.com (Richard Dressner) who will review and then post your FAQ page to its folder. It can provide immediate context to thousands of readers and contributors to our site -- context that just was never available prior to the development of the Internet.

In fact, I've just done as much myself, floating back through the 1,300 some-odd posts to the Gap folder and trying to gather the very best offerings from our community. The end result is an astonishing amount of useful information about a company that we consider to be a Maker of Rules in the delivery of casual clothing to the world. If you have a moment, take a peek at the work of hundreds of investors, pooling their information, their interests, their opinions, and their analysis -- all shared openly with others. Here's the link: The Gap FAQ

While I put a considerable amount of time into this effort, I was just humbled throughout my rereading by the extraordinarily valuable cooperative endeavor that is at the root of all this Folly. As a shareholder of Da Gap, I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to pitch in and enlighten me and others to a company that has compounded in excess of 40% growth annually since 1982.

Check for FAQs in any folder you read at boards.fool.com. If an FAQ exists for a particular folder, it is listed in the lime green box at the base of the message board window. Click here to see an example of a message (from the @Home folder) that has an FAQ listed directly below the message text.

This morning, Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) reported second quarter earnings of $0.22 per share, a penny ahead of estimates. Tomorrow, Matt will offer up his thoughts on what's happening at the retailer these days.

Fool on!

Tom Gardner.

08/12/99 Close
Stock Change    Bid
AXP   +2 3/4    129.75
CHV     ---      96.06
CSCO  -1 1/4     61.69
DPH   +  1/2     18.25
EK    -  7/16    70.88
GM    -1 7/16    60.56
GPS   -  5/8     37.88
INTC  -  1/16    75.94
KO    +  11/16   60.13
MSFT  -2 7/16    81.75
PFE   +1         34.00
SGP   +1 3/8     49.31
TROW  -  3/16    33.25
XON   -  1/8     81.81
YHOO  +  5/16   128.38



                  Day     Month  Year    History
        R-MAKER  -0.33%  -2.60%   8.95%  37.20%
        S&P:     -0.29%  -2.30%   6.19%  31.38%
        NASDAQ:  -0.60%  -3.37%  16.27%  54.24%

Rule Maker Stocks

    Rec'd    #  Security     In At       Now    Change
   6/23/98   68 Cisco Syst    29.21     61.69   111.22%
    2/3/98   54 Microsoft     45.13     81.75    81.12%
    5/1/98   82 Gap Inc.      23.05     37.88    64.30%
   2/13/98   52 Intel         46.93     75.94    61.82%
   5/26/98   18 AmExpress    104.07    129.75    24.68%
    2/3/98   66 Pfizer        27.43     34.00    23.94%
    6/3/99   11 *Delphi Au    17.19     18.25     6.17%
   8/21/98   44 Schering-P    47.99     49.31     2.75%
    2/6/98   56 T. Rowe Pr    33.67     33.25    -1.26%
   2/27/98   27 Coca-Cola     69.11     60.13   -13.00%
   2/17/99   16 Yahoo Inc.   126.31    128.38     1.64%

Foolish Four Stocks

    Rec'd    #  Security     In At     Value    Change
   3/12/98   20 Exxon         64.34     81.81    27.17%
   3/12/98   15 Chevron       83.34     96.06    15.26%
   3/12/98   20 Eastman Ko    63.15     70.88    12.24%
   3/12/98   17 *General M    61.28     60.56    -1.17%

Rule Maker Stocks

    Rec'd    #  Security     In At     Value    Change
   6/23/98   68 Cisco Syst  1985.95   4194.75  $2208.80
    2/3/98   54 Microsoft   2437.28   4414.50  $1977.22
   2/13/98   52 Intel       2440.28   3948.75  $1508.47
    5/1/98   82 Gap Inc.    1890.33   3105.75  $1215.42
   5/26/98   18 AmExpress   1873.20   2335.50   $462.30
    2/3/98   66 Pfizer      1810.58   2244.00   $433.42
   8/21/98   44 Schering-P   2111.7   2169.75    $58.05
    6/3/99   11 *Delphi Au   189.09    200.75    $11.66
   2/27/98   27 Coca-Cola   1865.89   1623.38  -$242.52
    2/6/98   56 T. Rowe Pr  1885.70   1862.00   -$23.70
   2/17/99   16 Yahoo Inc.  2020.95   2054.00    $33.05

Foolish Four Stocks
    Rec'd    #  Security     In At     Value    Change
   3/12/98   15 Chevron     1250.14   1440.94   $190.80
   3/12/98   20 Eastman Ko  1262.95   1417.50   $154.55
   3/12/98   20 Exxon       1286.70   1636.25   $349.55
   3/12/98   17 *General M  1041.80   1029.56   -$12.24

                              CASH    $100.83
                             TOTAL  $33778.21

Notes: The Rule Maker Portfolio began with $20,000 on February 2, 1998, and it added $2,000 in August 1998 and February 1999. Beginning in July 1999, $500 in cash (which is soon invested in stocks) is added every month.

*Although DPH is not a Foolish Four stock, it was spun-off from GM on June 3, 1999

Read More Rule Maker Reports