Gordogato

Mike Steele

Following (45) Followers (40)

General Information

Name:
Mike Steele
Fool Since:
February 28 2000
Aliases:
GreenSmurf (5/20/2006)

Investing Basics

Investing Experience:
Medium High
Risk Tolerance:
Medium High
Investing Style:
Long-Term Buy to Hold
Portfolio Size:
Large (12 or more Stocks)
Types of Investments:
All stocks in my non-retirement portfolio, plus some index funds, ETFs, and target-date funds in my 401k and IRA.
Stocks I Own:
AFL, ATVI, AMZN, ATW, BCPC, BRK-B, CAT, CNI, COH, COST, CTAS, CUB, DDD, DAR, DISCK, DIS, DLB, FTE, GWR, HAS, HEI, ITC, KMI, LNKD, MA, MSM, NFLX, NGG, NOV, NUE, PCL, PNRA, PT, SBUX, SDRL, SNI, SINA, SQM, TDG, TGH, UA, VE, VNQ, VNQI, VSS, VWO, WAB, WFM, WM, WPRT

Investing Favorites

Stocks:
BRK-B, COST, CUB, DIS, DISCK, SNI, UA
Industries:
Media & Entertainment
Books:
"One Up on Wall Street" by Peter Lynch
Newsletters:
Stock Advisor, Rule Your Retirement, Income Investor

Investing Expertise

Greatest Investment:
NFLX, CAT, Petrohawk, My First House
Worst Investment:
RWT, CX, My Second House

Education And Work Information

School(s) Attended
University of Maryland BS '96, University of Wisconsin MS '98
Job Title
Computer Scientist

Interests

Personal Quote:
"Aha! Once again, the conservative, sandwich-heavy portfolio pays off for the hungry investor!" - Dr. John Zoidberg
Favorite Restaurants or Foods:
Cheap burritos & Thai food, expensive mezze & sushi, and plenty of red wine.
Favorite Vacation Spots:
Disney World, Cruise Ships, British Isles, A Quiet Cabin in the Mountains
Favorite Sports or Teams:
Maryland Terrapins Basketball (and football to a much lesser degree), Washington Nationals
Favorite Movies:
Star Wars 1-6, Lord of the Rings 1-3, Office Space, Serenity, everything by Pixar.
Favorite Board Games:
Ticket to Ride, Dominion, Carcassonne, Bohnanza, Settlers of Catan
Favorite Video Games:
Civilization series, Puzzle Pirates, LEGO Star Wars and Indiana Jones, Scramble & Words with Friends
Favorite Music or Musicians:
Jonathan Coulton, Cliff Hillis, Pat McGee Band, The Odds, MC Frontalot, MC Lars, The Beatles, Ben Folds Five
Great Books Read Recently:
"Tribes" by Seth Godin; "The Davis Dynasty" by John Rothchild; "A Cook's Tour" by Anthony Bourdain

My Story

I started investing in 1999 with the "Foolish Four"; my first four stocks were CAT, DD, EK, and GM. I also tried some tech stock investing, buying SUNW, CSCO, and ORCL. After the tech stock bubble popped in 2001 and the Foolish 4 was discredited, I lost around half of my early portfolio value. I only kept CAT from that initial batch of 7 companies (and still own it today). Now I own mostly Stock Advisor companies. Within the Stock Advisor community, I am the "ticker guide" for Berkshire Hathaway. I also have a blog on the Motley Fool Blog Network. The name Gordogato means (loosely) "Fat Cat" in Spanish, and it has double meaning for me. (1) One day, I hope to be one of those Wall Street Fat Cats everyone is always complaining about. (2) The first time our cleaning lady saw my cat sprawled out on the bed, she exclaimed, "Ah, gato es gordo!". The cat instantly got the nickname "Gordogato", and I started using it here soon after. Contrary to what you might think, I'm not "gordo" myself, nor do I speak Spanish (I do know a little French, though).

How I Invest

My non-retirement portfolio is 100% stocks (about 90% of which are Stock Advisor recommendations). I focus more on a company's "story" and let the SA advisers and message board contributors tell me if the financial numbers back up my investing story thesis. My retirement portfolio is about 90% in my 401k, which is made of of some very good index funds. I have a much smaller Roth IRA, which is a mix of high-dividend stocks, the Vanguard lifecycle fund, and some other Vanguard ETFs to add REIT and greater international exposure.