Stand
firm for long-term gains
By Kim Boodram
Trinidad Express
Port
Spain
Petroleumworldtt.com
12 10 06
"To
invest successfully over a lifetime does not require
a stratospheric IQ, unusual business insight, or
inside information. What's needed is a sound intellectual
framework for decisions and the ability to keep
emotions from corroding that framework." -
Warren Buffet - the world's most successful investor.
The
best way to prove that you were right - show 'em
the goods.
It
took nerves of steel for those who stuck it out
at on the AIC Advantage Fund and now, they've got
the goods in hand-a fund that is performing far
beyond it nearest competitors and a theory that
withstood one tough crowd.
After
a sweat-inducing slump between 2001 - 2005, the
fund has now surpassed its former glory of the 1990's,
when astounding returns had investors flocking.
Billionaire founder Michael Lee Chin's credo-'Buy.
Hold. And Prosper'-had come under fire when the
fund posted a five-year growth of 7.3 per cent,
while its counterparts boasted 10.3 per cent for
the average fund and 13.6 for the Index.
In
the midst of it, Globe & Mail writer Keith Damsell
ran the headline - "Buy. Hold. And Suffer...".
Investors started deserting what they saw as a sinking
ship, even some senior staff bailed. Trying times
for an otherwise sound company.
Lee
Chin and some of his team stuck it out, held on
to their credo that long-term investments required
a long-term attention span and at least a dash of
faith.
Today-return
on AIC Advantage over the 12 months to September
30 is 19.8 per cent. The average Canadian equity
fund is now quoted at seven per cent and 9.2 per
cent for the S&P/TSX total return index.
This
is despite the fact that its assets are actually
a bit lower than they were last year, what with
investors running scared or being lured by trendy
metal and energy stocks. Which, by the way, have
slumped lately.
AIC
Investment Services Inc's Senior Vice President
and Portfolio Manager, Robert W Almeida, is not
gloating. He's driving home a point that most investors
need to take to heart. As one of the people who
helped to turn the fund around, he has seen many
industries from many angles and knows about uncertainty.
"This
was not a fluke," Almeida said on Friday, speaking
to Business Express at AIC's Securities office on
Stone Street, Woodbrook. "In the midst of pressure
we stood firm, stood by our credo. We went back
and took a look at our investments and asked a few
questions-are they sound, timeless investments?
Are the prices good? The answer was yes each time.
We didn't allow our emotions to corrode the framework
and it paid off.
So
deeply does the management team at AIC Investments
believe in the credo of Warren Buffet - the world's
most successful investor - that it's printed on
the back of Almeida's business card.
It's
been AIC recipe for success - they focussed on a
small group of timeless industries, they understood
what they had gotten into and they kept their emotions
out of it.
Almeida
also commented that this country would do well to
invest heavily in its most remarkable asset - the
people.
"I
have not seen a shortage of smart people in this
country and that's its biggest asset," he said.
With
more emphasis on tertiary education, Almeida said,
the service industry could be this country's next
gold-mine. It's much more dependable and sustainable
than oil and gas revenue, in a world that is shrinking
daily.
"Educate
the heck out of them," Almeida stressed, "Then
provide them with a cheap telecommunications industry,
a critical key to success. Then take away the red
tape. Smart people, enabling technology and no red
tape - recipe for success.
Trinidad
Express
Wednesday, December 6th 2006
Copyright
©2006 Trinidad Express. All Rights Reserved.
