Fool Portfolio Report
Tuesday, December 5, 1995

Gong. . . gong. . . gong.

Three hacks at the Fool's Hanging Platter to celebrate Iomega's sweep past 200% growth today! Iomega rose $4 on the bid to $47 3/4; the stock is now up 215.94% for us since our purchase of it on May 17, 1995---less than seven months ago.

Gong. . . gong. . . gong. . . gong. . . gong.

And five thwacks to celebrate America Online's first sweep past 500% returns for us. Both of these stocks are riding all-time highs now. And Iomega's move, coupled with America Online's $2 1/2 gain to $44 1/2, drove The Motley Fool Investment Portfolio up 2.76% versus S&P gains of 0.65% and NASDAQ *declines* of 0.36%. Let's save you the trouble of having to click our Today's Numbers and show you our returns versus our nation's less popular indices right here:

         Day     Month    Year     History
FOOL     +2.76%   4.05%  79.23%  99.00%
S&P 500  +0.65%   2.03%  34.49%  34.75%
NASDAQ   -0.36%   0.63%  41.75%  48.01%
We're now a "hair's breadth" away from tripling the market, and exactly one percentage point away from clean doubling our portfolio in less than seventeen months. Our $50,000 portfolio on August 4, 1995 has risen to $99,500.84 today. 
That 99% growth is unmatched in the universe of over 8,000 mutual funds. It's the consequence of an approach that prioritizes earnings growth, high profitability, and hands down the highest level of accountability in the entire industry. And it is also an outgrowth of the entire Motley Fool organization---from over one hundred MFs to over 130,000 monthly readers---a figure that grew over 20% LAST MONTH.
I bring this up because it's remarkable that in the face of all this Folly, the financial media and the financial services industries STILL publicize and celebrate frightfully low levels of accountability, consistent market underperformance, and short-term, high-commission investing strategies. 
It's absurd, really, that none of our twenty-four industry experts have appeared even once on any of the major financial networks. And MF Chiros who has heavily-researched, publicly stuck his neck out and invested in one of a handful of the greatest stocks of the year, IOMG, is not being quoted in our nation's financial papers. If the financial world served the consumer by tying themselves strictly to performance and education, then pointy slippers, belled chapeaus, and wry smiles would be the rage.
Unfortunately---or fortunately---the examples of bad financial thinking are so visible and so various that I needn't waste time citing them individually. Just page through articles on mutual funds, flick on financial television, listen to and mull over the types of profit-taking, loss-cutting trading mentalities thrust upon retail investors. 
And remember this, Fool, retail investors pay full-service firms based on the number of trades. Institutions absolutely do NOT. Let's bring it all under the same umbrella of performance, once and for all, and turn the industry Foolish. Again, we believe doing so will *broaden* not limit the market for good, timely financial information---and we might begin digging ourselves out of our nation's heavy trading deficit.
To close, we won't spend time reviewing our stocks that didn't perform well today. Let's stick to the winners...winners, winners, winners! Online hype! Stock chatter that drives Iomega---rather than the Company that works through the weekend to manufacture and professionally market the greatest storage device that has ever been fashioned. Hype. The same sort of hype, the same sort of doltish individual-investor talk that dares hold that America Online might actually survive into the 21st century...nay, thrive!
Hype. Let's stick with the hype. Only the winners. Only the chatter that has driven America Online up 511% and Iomega up 215% in the short period we've owned them. Six million subscribers around the corner for the former, and a billion dollars in sales for the latter MIGHT have something to do with those market-thrashing returns.
Be Foolish.
Tom Gardner, December 5, 1995

Today's Moves

AMER  +2 1/2
AMAT  -1    
CHV   +  3/8
GE    +  1/2
GPS   -  7/8
IOMG  +4    
KLAC  -2    
S     +  1/4



Today's Numbers 

                   Day   Month    Year  History
        FOOL     +2.76%   4.05%  79.23%  99.00%
        S&P 500  +0.65%   2.03%  34.49%  34.75%
        NASDAQ   -0.36%   0.63%  41.75%  48.01%



    Rec'd  #   Security     In At       Now    Change

   8/5/94 680 AmOnline        7.27     44.50   511.86%
  5/17/95 335 Iomega Corp    15.11     47.75   215.94%
  4/20/95 155 The Gap        32.55     44.00    35.18%
   8/5/94 165 Sears          28.93     38.88    34.40%
  8/11/95  95 GenElec        57.91     70.00    20.87%
  8/11/95 110 Chevron        49.00     50.63     3.32%
  8/24/95 100 AppldMatl      57.52     46.50   -19.17%
  8/24/95 130 KLA Instrm     44.71     32.00   -28.43%




    Rec'd  #   Security      Cost     Value    Change
   8/5/94 680 AmOnline     4945.56  30260.00 $25314.44
  5/17/95 335 Iomega Corp  5063.13  15996.25 $10933.12
  4/20/95 155 The Gap      5045.25   6820.00  $1774.75
  8/11/95  95 GenElec      5501.87   6650.00  $1148.13
  8/11/95 110 Chevron      5389.99   5568.75   $178.76
  8/24/95 100 AppldMatl    5752.49   4650.00 -$1102.49

   8/24/95130 KLA Instrm   5812.49   4160.00 -$1652.49
   8/5/94 165 Sears        4772.65   6414.38  $1641.73

                             CASH  $18981.46
                            TOTAL  $99500.84