(i.e., all of the frequently asked questions that people have for Anthony J. Alfidi, our glorious Founder and CEO)
Q. So Mr. Alfidi, what’s this company of yours all about?
Alfidi Capital LLC is my vehicle for communicating my investment ideas to the world at large. I am convinced that sound investment decisions are relatively simple to make, and I enjoy sharing the results of my own decisions with others. It is part vanity project and part moneymaking pastime for me. All of the reports I create on this website represent the actions I take with my own portfolio, and nothing more. I manage my investments in my personal accounts, and Alfidi Capital LLC exists solely to publish my investment ideas on http://www.alfidicapital.com. I strive to provide a perspective on the financial markets that is honest, humorous, and devoid of conflicts of interest.
Q. Do you make any money from this site?
Since I don’t have anything for sale on this site, I have to earn income somehow. The sponsored advertisements and web links on this site generate revenue for me by way of my corporate entity, Alfidi Capital LLC. This revenue helps accelerate my retirement date and pay for night life in San Francisco. I need the LLC structure to properly report the income and to protect myself from legal liability. Please note that Alfidi Capital LLC provides no endorsement or warranty for any products or services offered in advertisements that may appear on this site.
Q. Why does this site look so amateurish? My brokerage’s website has a whole bunch of fancy looking tools and gizmos that impress people.
First of all, I am too cheap to hire a web designer, so I built this website myself using some commonly available tools. Plus, this firm is not a brokerage, so the site doesn’t need things like login portals and searchable inventories of products. I am somewhat skeptical of many of the bells and whistles that appear on the sites of major investment firms. The difference between my firm and some major investment house is like the difference between homemade cooking and mass-produced store-bought food. I’d rather be authentic and original than cook up a bunch of hooey that would eventually get stale.
Q. Are UFOs real?
How would I know? Ask the guys at Area 51 instead of me.
Q. Do you provide customized investment advice and recommendations?
No. Absolutely not. I do not have the time or inclination to acquire clients and probe them on their goals, risk parameters, and time horizons for investing. Nothing on this site should ever be construed as a personal investment recommendation. See my legal disclaimer for more details.
Q. Will you manage my money? Please?
No. Get a financial advisor. I used to be a financial advisor, and everybody I talked to wanted the benefit of my free analysis but didn’t want to pay me for my trouble. Clients and prospects couldn’t make up their minds about what they wanted, and when they did they were too cheap for me to earn a living! The only money I will ever manage is my own.
Q. Is Alfidi Capital LLC for sale? If not, would you consider selling it to another investment firm at some point?
No and no. This firm is mine and mine alone to run for the rest of my life. I don’t see any possibility of an eventual sale because Alfidi Capital LLC has no assets, no clients, no patents, no market share, no nada. The only thing this firm has to offer is the intellectual ability and personal character of its founder, yours truly, Tony Alfidi. And I can’t be bought.
Q. Mr. Alfidi, you are remarkably handsome. You are undoubtedly a big hit with the ladies. Do you have a girlfriend?
Why, thank you! I’ve been getting asked that ever since LASIK surgery got rid of my Coke-bottle glasses. I normally don’t discuss my personal life, but suffice it to say that having a girlfriend in San Francisco is quite a bit more costly than having one in flyover country. As cheap as I am, I’m willing to pay a premium for quality.
Q. Say, I noticed you’ve never held any senior positions with a major firm. How can anyone take you seriously when you talk about investments?
I claim no more expertise than that which is available to anyone of normal intellect who is willing to learn about standard financial concepts. Analytical products stand only on their own internal logic, and little can be inferred about a specific work from an author’s formal title. Academic research indicates that 90% of professional money managers fail to outperform their index benchmarks over periods of ten years or longer (go look it up!), so holding an impressive-sounding title does not indicate an innate ability to beat even a random result. I have worked for two major investment firms whose internal funds were run by PhDs and CFAs with decades of experience, and yet they were unable to consistently outperform Mr. Market for any reasonable stretch of time. Titles and credentials impress the impressionable; actual results are far more meaningful.
Q. I’ve also noticed that you don’t have any professional certifications like CFA, CFP, CIMA, and others. How can you know anything about investing if you don’t have an alphabet soup on your business card?
Certifications are nice to have, and I’d be willing to study for them if I weren’t so darn busy thinking about the world at large and trying to make this business work. There’s a small possibility that I’d learn something useful from those programs. I recognize those credentials too, and I’ve noticed over the years that investment professionals who hold them still can’t seem to outperform Mr. Market. I’ve also noticed that Warren Buffett, John Bogle, and George Soros don’t hold any of the industry’s prized acronymic credentials, and yet they have achieved extraordinary success as investment managers. Their success may have something to do with their avoidance of the herd mentality that is a natural byproduct of marching through an industry’s accepted gateways. The only acronymic title I presently hold is CEO, although people are welcome to refer to me as “Generalissimo”, “Supreme Super-Genius”, ”Grand Poobah”, “Greatest Man Who Ever Lived”, or other appropriate appellations. The only other credential I truly think I need is a PhD in kibology.
Q. Who is buried in Grant’s Tomb?
Grant. And Whistler’s mother. Okay, maybe not that last one, but that’s what somebody told me once and I haven’t checked it out.
Q. Should I model my own portfolio after your Alpha-D portfolio?
No. The Alpha-D Multi-Strategy Portfolio is not some model portfolio; it is MY portfolio. It represents the investments I make with my own money. The Alpha-D portfolio reflects my own goals and risk tolerance, and is therefore not suitable for the specific financial situation of any other human being. Please do not use it to make decisions with your own money; for that, you should consult a trusted financial professional as a fiduciary.
Q. Okay, Tony, so you won’t manage my money, give me advice, or say that I should invest the way you do. So what’s the point of anyone reading your commentaries?
The point is that you can learn from the perspectives I provide in conjunction with any other information you find in the investing universe. I plan to develop a loyal following of readers and fellow travelers who enjoy my insights. My analysis can be a source of education and amusement for the serious investor who values honesty and independence, in the spirit of Warren Buffett’s annual letters from Berkshire Hathaway. My portfolio gives me credibility because I put my money where my mouth is. If I gain or lose wealth, it is because of something I choose to do and not what someone else does for me.
Q. Do you charge anything for your analytical products?
No. I provide all research and commentary free of charge to all comers as a public service. You see, America is the land of the free. In practical terms, that means everybody wants something for free. Americans invented the free lunch and free love. I take this to the next level by giving away financial analysis for free. Let freedom ring!
Q. I’ve noticed that you’re interested in venture investing. Will you fund my startup?
Well, let’s put it this way. I’m willing to review any and all business plans sent my way by entrepreneurs, but I really will only commit my own money to firms that meet the eligibility criteria I spell out in my Private Equity Strategy. If I decide not to invest in a startup, I will at least respond privately to its leadership with a brief comment on the plan and some pointers on raising venture money. Entrepreneurs, here’s your chance to get an unbiased review, free of charge, of the opportunities and risk factors of your business model. Send me your plan anyway! Include an executive summary and financial projections at a minimum. Please note that I will not sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) in advance of reviewing a business plan. Who knows, maybe I can at least forward the plan to someone in the venture capital community who needs deal flow. I’m an entrepreneur myself, and I admire people who shoulder similar risks.
Q. I want to work for you because you are obviously a genius. How do I send you my resume?
Thanks but no thanks. Alfidi Capital is a one-person operation. Always has been, always will be. I will never hire anyone, ever. Not even an intern. Not even your mother-in-law.
Q. You publish equity research reports, but you don’t include a clear Buy/Hold/Sell recommendation like most other analysts. What’s up with that?
I’ve made a well-considered choice to stay away from ratings like that because I’m not in the “recommendation” business. I’m not selling anything at all, so it doesn’t make sense for me to tell anybody else what to do with their money. Note that Wall Street firms inevitably skew their equity ratings toward the “Buy” end of the spectrum to win investment banking business from covered companies. This bias degrades the power of a clear recommendation, causing confusion for investors who see some “Buy” stocks rise while others fall. Pressure from an investment bank causes sell-side analysts to say goodbye to objectivity and hello to conflicts of interest. My analysis is focused on discovering the intrinsic value of a business enterprise so that I can locate my entry point for including it in my own portfolio. A recommendation of Buy, Hold, Sell, or whatever would imply that I think other investors should do likewise. I do not want Alfidi Capital to go down that road. Investors need to figure out for themselves what they want to do with their money.
