Investor Feature: Peapod Lane Capital LLC
Peapod Lane Capital LLC is an investment manager that launched in 2010 that invests in the micro and nano cap space. Peapod’s managers, Erik Conrad and Martin Friederichs, are generalists that look for stocks that are “out of favor” and trade cheap on an asset basis (“net-net” style investments). Erik and Martin met during their time at Gabelli Asset Management. Erik is the portfolio manager and is responsible for their investment decisions, while Martin oversees operations, compliance, and other non-investing areas of the business. Martin also acts as a soundboard for Erik’s idea generation.
Read our one-page feature on Peapod Lane Capital LLC!
319 Golf Society Breaks Down Barriers, Launching in Charlotte, NC
“319 Golf Society, a club committed to breaking down gender, race, and income barriers among a new generation of golf is set to launch in Charlotte, North Carolina. The club’s mission is to build a network of members who belong to top private golf courses, who desire to experience the world’s most prestigious golf clubs while simultaneously supporting a scholarship program that levels the playing field among young golfers.
319 Golf Society (“319”) is founded by longtime Charlotte resident, business leader, and golf enthusiast, Michael Pruitt. Pruitt is the Founder of Co/Investor Club, Chairman of Amergent Hospitality Group, Managing Partner of Capstone Venture Partners, and Founder of Avenel Financial Group.”
View 319 Golf Society Press Release Here
Interesting Times
“Nothing is easier than self-deceit for what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true.” —Demosthenes
Common stock investing is important to most people. Many people don't give it much thought—they invest in their 401(k) plan every paycheck and don't worry about it until they get closer to retirement. That ownership in Corporate America helps savings grow above the rate of inflation (in average years) and builds retirement nest eggs.
For many others, common stocks are given more thought, especially during the bull and bear markets we've experienced over the last couple of years. In these kinds of markets, stocks and bonds are bought and sold, and reasons for those buys and sells are often made up after the desired action is taken. Sometimes, it’s based on value, but not often, at least not these days. But it often wasn't in the old days either. Benjamin Graham and David Dodd touched on this point in Security Analysis:
At this point it is necessary to consider the function of common-stock analysis in greater detail. We must begin with three realistic premises. The first is that common stocks are of basic importance in our financial scheme and of fascinating interest to many people; the second is that owners and buyers of common stocks are generally anxious to arrive at an intelligent idea of their value; the third is that, even when the underlying motive of purchase is mere speculative greed, human nature desires to conceal this unlovely impulse behind a screen of apparent logic and good sense. To adapt the aphorism of Voltaire, it may be said that if there were no such thing as common-stock analysis, it would be necessary to counterfeit it.
Graham and Dodd also discussed the 1927-1929 period in words that could have just as easily been written about 2020-2021:
But at the time that the interest in common stocks reached its height, in the period between 1927 and 1929, the basis of valuation employed by the stock-buying public departed more and more from the factual approach and technique of security analysis and concerned itself increasingly with the elements of potentiality and prophecy.
As the bubble parts of the bubble market burst in 2022, many investors have felt pain. But not necessarily all. Through the first 11 months of the year—after the recent climb up from deeper losses—the S&P 500 price index was down about 14.4%, and the Nasdaq down about 26.3%. But the Vanguard Value ETF, to use one example, was up about 1.3% over that timeframe. And Berkshire Hathaway, the company run by the most famous value investor, was up about 6.6%. So if you leaned toward value to start the year and are finally getting around to opening your brokerage statements, 2022 might feel uneventful.
As we've entered the year's final month and look ahead to 2023, many of the worries that have caused the volatility in 2022 might finally start to show up in corporate profits in 2023. The lag between higher costs and layoffs appearing in company profits and consumer spending will likely show up in the numbers soon enough. Examine your portfolios because, according to most opinions and speculations and wild guesses, 2023 promises a similar setup for interesting times.
“If investor expectations become more realistic — and they almost certainly will — the market adjustment is apt to be severe, particularly in sectors in which speculation has been concentrated. Berkshire will someday have opportunities to deploy major amounts of cash in equity markets — we are confident of that. But, as the song goes, ‘Who knows where or when?’ Meanwhile, if anyone starts explaining to you what is going on in the truly-manic portions of this ‘enchanted’ market, you might remember still another line of song: ‘Fools give you reasons, wise men never try.’” —Warren Buffett (March 1, 2000)
Tweets of the Week
In Case You Missed it…
GMO Quarterly Letter | Part 1: The Value Opportunity Updated & Part 2: Time to Dive Deep Into Value
Live Speaker Event: Mohnish Pabrai and Guy Spier with the Helvetian Investment Club
Getting Wealthy vs. Staying Wealthy - by Morgan Housel
Founders Podcast: #279 What I Learned Before I Sold to Warren Buffett
The Long View Podcast: Wesley Gray: Perspectives on Market Efficiency, Investor Behavior, and ETFs
The Transcript Podcast: Episode 84: A Chat with Ensemble Capital
A New Venture Fund By and For Charlotte
If you have not already upgraded your membership…
Avenel Financial Group, a merchant banking and advisory firm located in Charlotte, NC, launched a new business venture called the Co/Investor Club. The Co/Investor Club is a community of value-oriented investors that collaborate on investment opportunities and ideas. You are receiving this newsletter because you are a Free or Premium Member of the Co/Investor Club!
Chat with Mike
Whether you’re an executive with investment opportunities or a college student looking to network, we would love to chat with you!Email our Founder, Mike Pruitt, at mp@coinvestorclub.com with questions and ideas or schedule a meeting.
Don’t forget to follow us on social media too!
Twitter: @coinvestorclub1
LinkedIn: Co/Investor Club
For our disclaimer, please visit our website.
Have friends that want to join? The Co/Report is public, so feel free to share!
Thank you for reading. Co/Report grows through word of mouth. Please consider sharing this post with someone who might appreciate it.