Kirk Lindstrom's Investment Letter

Core and Explore: I recommend a "core" portfolio for about 80 to 95% of your funds and an "explore" portfolio made of stocks from my newsletter portfolio for the remainder. My newsletter stocks are volatile by design to add to overall returns, but you need a good core portfolio to sleep well at night. I offer different core portfolios for aggressive & conservative investors. My newsletter portfolios are ALL significantly ahead of where they started 2000 at which I feel is quite an accomplishment given how well I did in 1998 and 1999.

For most investors in the accumulation phase, I recommend a total investment portfolio mix with perhaps 80% in my recommended Aggressive Core portfolio with the remaining 20% of your portfolio in my higher risk (more volatile) "Explore Portfolio."

For most investors in the retirement phase, I recommend a total investment portfolio mix with perhaps 90% to 100% in my recommended Conservative Core portfolio with the remaining zero to 10% of your portfolio in my higher risk (more volatile) "Explore Portfolio."

Annual Returns By Year - Total and Annualized Returns [1]
Year	VFINX Vanguard S&P500 Index Fund [2]	Kirk's Recommended			80% Core Aggressive + 20% Explore	95% Core Conservative + 5% Explore	BRKA Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Fund [3]
Year	VFINX Vanguard S&P500 Index Fund [2]	Conservative Core Portfolio	Aggressive Core Portfolio	Explore Portfolio	80% Core Aggressive + 20% Explore	95% Core Conservative + 5% Explore	BRKA Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Fund [3]
From 9/30/98	20.9%			56.8%			17.4%
1999	21.1%	12.84%	21.0%	117.0%	40.2%	18.0%	(19.9%)
2000	(9.1%)	0.5%	(6.0%)	(11.5%)	(7.1%)	(0.1%)	26.6%
2001	(12.0%)	(1.2%)	(7.0%)	1.3%	(5.4%)	(1.1%)	6.5%
2002	(22.2%)	(5.1%)	(13.1%)	(21.2%)	(14.7%)	(5.9%)	(3.8%)
2003	28.5%	19.1%	28.2%	76.7%	37.9%	22.0%	15.8%
2004	10.7%	9.6%	12.9%	(4.2%)	9.4%	8.9%	5.9%
2005	4.8%	5.6%	7.4%	13.2%	8.6%	5.9%	(0.7%)
2006	15.6%	11.0%	15.0%	12.6%	14.5%	11.1%	23.3%
2007	5.4%	6.5%	6.3%	(10.3%)	3.0%	5.7%	28.7%
2008	(36.4%)	(17.1%)	(29.9%)	(34.6%)	(30.8%)	(18.0%)	(31.8%)
2009	26.5%	18.4%	26.2%	33.5%	27.6%	19.1%	2.7%
2010	14.91%	8.93%	14.25%	20.4%	15.5%	9.5%	21.42%
2011	1.97%	0.07%	(0.87%)	(3.92%)	(1.48%)	(0.13%)	(4.73%)
2012	15.8%	8.8%	13.6%	7.1%	12.3%	8.7%	16.8%
2013	32.2%	14.9%	26.3%	23.6%	25.8%	15.4%	32.7%
2014	13.5%	5.8%	8.7%	7.6%	8.5%	5.9%	27%
2015	1.25%	0.29%	(0.16%)	1.53%	0.18%	0.35%	(12.48%)
2016	11.8%	6.34%	9.51%	18.6%	11.3%	7.0%	23.4%
2017	21.7%	11.2%	17.3%	12.1%	16.2%	11.3%	26.8%
2018	(4.5%)	(2.6%)	(5.2%)	(4.8%)	(5.1%)	(2.7%)	2.8%
2019	31.3%	15.6%	23.7%	24.0%	23.7%	16.0%	11.0%
2020	18.2%	9.81%	15.4%	19.2%	16.2%	10.3%	2.4%
2021	28.5%	11.3%	18.1%	16.6%	17.8%	11.6%	29.6%
2022	(18.2%)	(9.15%)	(15.6%)	(14.0%)	(15.3%)	(9.40%)	4.00%
Total Return since 1/1/1999	382%	264%	372%	713%	452%	287%	565%
APR since 1/1/99	6.8%	5.5%	6.7%	9.1%	7.4%	5.8%	8.5%
Total Return since 9/30/98	480%			1,174%			681%
APR since 9/30/98	7.5%			11.1%			8.8%
Avg. % in Stocks	100%	50%	80%	50-80%	76%	56%	70-90%

[1] The performance data featured represents past performance, which is no guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate; therefore, you may have a gain or loss when you sell your shares. Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance data quoted.

[2] The S&P Index Fund is the largest holding in both my Core Portfolios.

[3] Like Warren Buffett's BRKA, I don't beat the S&P500 every year but my long-term results crush it.

APR = "Average Annual Return"

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Great Portfolio Results!

The table below show my results vs the S&P500 since inception with the S&P500 and core portfolios normalized so they are all equal at the start of 1999. Why are other newsletters afraid to show you this data? The obvious answer is they are ashamed of their results and/or have something to hide.

My Explore portfolio inception was 9/30/98 with $100,000					80% Core Aggressive+ 20%Explore	95% Core Conservative+ 5% Explore
Portfolio Value as of	Conservative Core Portfolio	Aggressive Core Portfolio	Explore Portfolio	100% in VFINX (S&P500)	80% Core Aggressive+ 20%Explore	95% Core Conservative+ 5% Explore
9/30/98			$100,000		$129,746
12/31/1998	$156,820	$156,820	$156,820	$156,820	$156,820	$156,820
12/31/1999	$176,960	$189,760	$340,221	$189,862	$219,852	$185,123
12/31/2000	$177,923	$178,443	$301,245	$172,661	$204,325	$185,019
12/31/2001	$175,728	$165,896	$305,132	$151,907	$193,359	$182,971
12/31/2002	$166,776	$144,151	$240,443	$118,259	$164,885	$172,176
12/31/2003	$198,694	$184,859	$424,949	$151,963	$227,440	$210,086
12/31/2004	$217,823	$208,631	$407,035	$168,284	$248,921	$228,857
12/31/2005	$229,922	$224,169	$460,719	$176,311	$270,324	$242,445
12/31/2006	$255,183	$257,872	$518,631	$203,886	$309,634	$269,273
12/31/2007	$271,862	$274,132	$465,249	$214,876	$318,879	$284,607
12/31/2008	$225,286	$192,180	$304,500	$136,618	$220,580	$233,370
12/31/2009	$266,679	$242,437	$406,441	$172,808	$281,497	$278,010
12/31/2010	$290,496	$276,993	$489,492	$198,574	$325,100	$304,438
12/31/2011	$290,708	$274,597	$470,378	$189,185	$320,311	$304,055
12/31/2012	$316,165	$311,934	$503,607	$234,519	$359,679	$330,423
12/31/2013	$363,413	$394,041	$622,227	$309,987	$452,363	$381,224
12/31/2014	$384.559	$428,480	$669,428	$392,849	$490.855	$403,743
12/31/2015	$385,665	$427,794	$679,658	$356,265	$491,726	$405,155
12/31/2016	$410,123	$468,493	$805,993	$398,375	$547,432	$433,330
12/31/2017	$456,145	$549,383	$903,451	$484,703	$636,287	$482,145
12/31/2018	$444,454	$520,708	$860,379	$462,795	$603,651	$469,256
12/31/2019	$513,875	$643,956	$1,066,502	$607,789	$746,879$	$544,507
12/31/2020	$564,296	$743,197	$1,270,794	$718,406	$867,574	$600,477
12/31/2021	$628,203	$877,821	$1,482,091	$923,439	$1,022,147	$670,074
12/31/2022	$570,703	$740,622	$1,274,288	$755,096	$865,679	$607,111
Total Return since 12/31/98	264%	372%	713%	382%	452%	287%
APR since 12/31/98	5.5%	6.7%	9.1%	6.8%	7.4%	5.8%
Total Return since 9/30/98			1,174%	482%
APR since 9/30/98			11.1%	7.5%
Avg. % in Stocks	50%	80%	50 to 80%	100%	76%	50%

==>Keys:

All my portfolios use the significant amount in cash to buy when the markets are down and take profits when the markets are up for significant added return over buy-and-hold of the S&P500 index fund.
Exceptional stock picking in my explore portfolio has allowed significant out-performance over the long-term while the cash offers protection during the unexpected downturns that you do not get with 100% in stocks.
My "5% Core Conservative+ 5% Explore" recommendation has matched the APR of the S&P 500 since 12/31/98 with about half the risk due to contributions from my "Explore Portfolio," regular rebalancing and the roughly 49% cash/fixed-income position!

==>Bottom Line: For one of the most difficult periods in investing history, my newsletter "Explore Portfolio" shined with less risk than having 100% in stocks!!

Don't Miss out!!

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Notes:

My Explore portfolio inception was 9/30/98 with $100,000 but it was not widely circulated until late December 1998 so I start "documented returns" from the start of 1999. My average annual returns would be even better vs the competition if I added the 56.8% from 1998.
The returns for "80% Core Aggressive + 20% Explore" and "95% Core Conservative + 5% Explore" assume annual rebalancing between core and explore weightings every year on January 1.

Testimonials about Kirk's Investment Newsletter (Contact them via Facebook)

Steve Thompson: "If my better than average returns continue I'll be able to retire at a higher standard of living and sooner than I originally thought. Kirk's newsletter for me has been a true life changing event."
David Gratson: "Kirk's understanding of investing, and in particular the technology of which he recommends, is excellent. He understands how the small investor needs to be wary of headline information, and he does his homework to value companies and decide when to buy or sell. I have also learned a lot about fixed income (bonds etc) investing from Kirk's newsletter, and that understanding is particularly important as I age. I think you would find Kirk's newsletter a great complement to your investment process and I highly recommend subscribing to his newsletter."
Steve, David and many others, like Steve Merrick, Carol Sun, and Roberta Hamilton, have volunteered to personally vouch for me. Just ask and I will put you in contact with them via email or telephone to verify my results are real.
More Testimonials or ask directly people who post on or like my Facebook Newsletter Page

My "Newsletter Explore Portfolio" is designed for those who wish to add an aggressive growth component to their diversified "core and explore" investment portfolio. My newsletter stands on its own as a great value even if you don't want to buy individual stocks and want to stick with my core portfolios.

Besides great results, I provide personal individualized response to all of my subscribers. Every e-mail you send me, you will get a response, no exceptions. That is perhaps the most rewarding part of my service and I am proud that I've made friends with a great many of my long time subscribers. I truly believe in customer service and making my subscribers feel they are getting their money's worth. The truth is I love helping people learn to make money!

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Too good to be true? I DOCUMENT every buy and sell I've made in my newsletter since it started, including commissions. I update this buy and sell list for subscribers every month so all my dirty laundry (bad picks) are never hidden. This is a real, documented record that I invite you to verify after you subscribe and have my list of ALL buys and sells since inception on an Excel spreadsheet backed up with Quicken to verify my math. If you find I have made a major return error, say 1% or more on any year but not something like forgetting to credit my portfolio with a dividend, then I'll happily refund all your money plus give you $100 for finding the error AND let you have the subscription for free for a year. I believe my accuracy is far better than 0.1% so I feel safe making this offer.

A subscription to "Kirk's Online Newsletter" is only $180 a year ($175 if you pay by check)

I have a fairly diverse list of companies from many industries (semiconductor capital equipment, biotechnology, telecommunication, banking, shipping and energy exploration). When the Nasdaq was going to the moon in 1999 and 2000, I didn't add net money to technology but took profits and put them into beaten down areas like banks, bonds and a strip zero coupon fund that I took profits in just after the 9/11 attack for a 50% gain! This taking profits and moving the money to beaten down areas is a proven strategy to reduce risk while still getting good gains. I still hit my share of duds (that is part of investing - all honest advisors have losers) but the overall results are what count and those results have been fantastic (if I may humbly say so).

Kirk Lindstrom.com	Kirk Lindstrom (me) - a GARP or "Growth At a Reasonable Price" investor "who made a fortune in the market" and is now teaching others my techniques via my newsletter. Any changes to my portfolio or my thinking goes out to subscribers between issues via email so they are kept up to date. I currently write about investing on my blog 'Kirk's Market Thoughts", at Facebook's Investing for the Long Term, Seeking Alpha and various other web sites and blogs on a less regular basis I wrote for 10 years at "Investing - Personal Finance" at Suite101.com which eventually failed after I left. More: I Graduated from U.C. Berkeley (Go Bears!) with a degree in Electrical Engineering and computer science in 1979. I went straight to Hewlett Packard to work in the R&D lab of the Optical Communication Division (Now a division of Agilent) and and spent 20 years designing Optical Transceivers and leading design teams. I like both design and leadership so I did both. I was not pleased with market timers and mutual funds that I owned that sold out at the bottom after the 1987 correction so I taught myself how to invest. I did well and made roughly 30% compounded between 1992 and 1998 in my personal account.
More (cont) After 20 years, I semi retired from HP and now work for myself while helping and teaching others. Even after the great Bear markets of 2000/2002 and 2007/2009, my personal portfolio is beating the S&P500 by a wide margin and ended 2016 near an all time high. This is a portfolio that funded my lifestyle for a decade while I built my online writing business. (It is very hard to give accurate return numbers since I now spend some of the gains my portfolio generates.) I am even prouder of how many long-term subscribers are living comfortable lives and offer to recommend me when needed. I still do some engineering but mostly I help others and manage my own investments to fund my lifestyle. In the early 2000s, I consulted for a local investment firm as a part time stock analyst. I may even go back to work for someone else someday if the stock prices get low enough to tempt me for the stock options and I find something really interesting to do. With my asset level, it is nice to be able to work when and where I want to and not be forced to take a job just to put food on the table and pay my expensive Los Altos, California lifestyle.