Fool Portfolio Report
Thursday, June 5, 1997
by Jeff Fischer (TMF
Jeff)
ALEXANDRIA, VA, (June 5, 1997) -- Early this morning, as we flew out of Washington National Airport, the air was warm and full of promise.We landed in Miami, switched planes, and continued to fly south. The sun was breaking over the ocean as we drifted, slowly, above the Florida Keys.
The thin seven-mile bridge of the highway flashed like a foil into in the sky -- the blue of the ocean surrounding it. Our single-engine plane whirred as we swung left, banking, and headed down through low clouds, over the flat clear water, before finally turning to meet the runway at Key West airport.
We set down the plane and rolled to a stop, the engine quieting. The few of us climbed out of the small cockpit, and into the humid air.
"You have the fishing gear?"
"Of course."
"What's that sound?"
"That's my cell phone. Hang on." Answer phone. Listen. Finally respond, "Really? I need to write the Fool recap?" Hang up the phone. Look at friends. They return the look. "I'm heading back up to Alexandria." Climb back into the plane. Crank up the engine, roll down the runway, lift into the sky, head north...
...Ahhh, the typical day!
I've returned in time to report that the Fool wasn't able to keep pace with the lusty markets, as the S&P gained 0.38% (okay, that's not very lusty), and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.75%. The Fool came in third, gaining 0.30%. We still have too much cash weighing down our plane.
AMERICA ONLINE (NYSE: AOL) continued to rise, up $7/8 on no news, LUCENT TECH (NYSE: LU) gained a dollar, and 3M (NYSE: MMM) rose over a buck, too. Other than that, nothing in the Fool portfolio moved much, and there wasn't an incredible amount of news -- though there was some worth mentioning.
AT&T's (NYSE: T) Wireless Services began to further expand its wireless communications network. The launch of new services mark the beginning of the company's presence in markets that it acquired at an auction for $1.7 billion. AT&T just barely edged out my good friend, Eric, at the auction table.
AT&T's wireless network now serves more customers than any other wireless carrier in America.
Which brings us to a question regarding pagers: how many of you use pagers for personal use, see increased use in pagers, and want to keep using pagers? How many of you have switched from pagers to cell phones? How many of you are looking to get a pager? Finally, how many of you use a pager simply for work? Will that change, do you think?
Please send along an email if you have a contribution on that topic. Your response may be included in a column or a special report on the subject, if you agree to be included. Thanks!
Back to the column.
AT&T Wireless expects to launch its services in as many as ten new markets by the end of the year, including Chicago, Boston, and Atlanta.
IOMEGA (NYSE: IOM) was flat today as IN-FOCUS SYSTEMS (Nasdaq: INFS) announced the first mulitmedia presentation player featuring Zip technology. As we learn all the time: the uses for da Zip are many. Meanwhile, the rumor that Pizza Hut or Boston Market is buying out Hewlett Packard, in hopes to then buy Iomega using Hewlett Packard's leveraged options, hasn't yet come to fruition.
(Please note: I'm kidding.)
Finally, CHEVRON (NYSE: CHV) was awarded a contract for an oil field in Venezuela. The field is estimated to contain 2.5 billion barrels of oil. That was good enough for a twelve cent drop in Chevron's stock. Oh well.
Let's end with something important and restate why this Foolish portfolio exists:
One, because 90% of mutual funds have not kept up with the S&P 500 over the past five years. Yup, 90% represents the number of funds that have trailed the S&P during the last five circles of the sun. This portfolio, as you well know, has more than doubled the S&P in less than three years since inception -- and of course the aim is to beat the S&P for the next twenty years, too.
That's not to brag. It leads to point two.
Two: As Tom Gardner so elegantly stated the other day, in conversation: the Fool Portfolio isn't about showing how "great" the Fool is; rather, it's about showing how weak the industry is. And how you and I, individual investors, can top the industry norm by investing our own money, Foolishly, for the long-term.
That's all this portfolio is about: an example from which to learn both good and bad, to watch, and to show that -- while 90% of the big, "professionally managed" funds can't top the market, you -- good Fool -- can, with a bit of Foolish savvy and with patience.
I'll end by shining the cyber-flashlight on one of the favorite things that I've read today.
You can end your day with a letter from across the big pond, from England, written in the form of a Fribble. Thanks to Dave Berger for sending along his Fribble about "Beating the Footsie" (on the London exchange). Very Foolishly written.
Cheers! And keep on Foolin'...
--Jeff Fischer, June 5, 1997
Fool Message
Boards -- what are Fools saying?
Evening
News -- Big movers, up and down.
Daily Double -- How
can you find the next double?
Daily Trouble -- Is
there value in this beaten down stock?
Boring Portfolio
-- Cisco, Oracle and more.
Fool Four -- These giants
are... almost too big.
Stock Change Bid -------------------- AOL + 7/8 57.50 T + 3/8 35.50 ATCT - 7/32 4.63 CHV - 1/8 72.00 DJT --- 9.75 GM + 1/4 56.88 IOM --- 20.25 KLAC - 1/2 46.25 LU + 7/8 63.50 MMM +1 1/4 91.00 COMS + 1/8 44.19Day Month Year History FOOL +0.30% 2.36% 5.00% 180.23% S&P: +0.38% -0.58% 13.85% 83.97% NASDAQ: +0.75% -0.73% 7.67% 93.01% Rec'd # Security In At Now Change 5/17/95 980 Iomega Cor 2.52 20.25 703.57% 8/5/94 355 AmOnline 7.27 57.50 690.92% 8/11/95 125 Chevron 50.28 72.00 43.18% 8/12/96 110 Minn M&M 65.68 91.00 38.56% 10/1/96 42 LucentTech 47.62 63.50 33.36% 8/12/96 280 Gen'l Moto 51.97 56.88 9.43% 8/24/95 130 KLA Tencor 44.71 46.25 3.44% 8/13/96 250 3Com Corp. 46.86 44.19 -5.70% 8/12/96 130 AT&T 39.58 35.50 -10.30% 4/30/97 -1170 *Trump* 8.47 9.75 -15.13% 10/22/96 600 ATC Comm. 22.94 4.63 -79.84% Rec'd # Security In At Value Change 8/5/94 355 AmOnline 2581.87 20412.50 $17830.63 5/17/95 980 Iomega Cor 2594.53 19845.00 $17250.47 8/12/96 110 Minn M&M 7224.44 10010.00 $2785.56 8/11/95 125 Chevron 6285.61 9000.00 $2714.39 8/12/96 280 Gen'l Moto 14552.49 15925.00 $1372.51 10/1/96 42 LucentTech 1999.88 2667.00 $667.12 8/24/95 130 KLA Tencor 5812.49 6012.50 $200.01 8/12/96 130 AT&T 5145.11 4615.00 -$530.11 8/13/96 250 3Com Corp. 11714.99 11046.88 -$668.12 4/30/97 -1170*Trump* -9908.50 -11407.50 -$1499.00 10/22/96 600 ATC Comm. 13761.50 2775.00-$10986.50 CASH $49211.92 TOTAL $140113.30
