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On Great Operators Always Average Down

  • Martin Sosnoff
  • 2 hours ago
  • 2 min read

Trump’s chop to American Express on limiting their card interest rate to 10% initially clipped it for a dozen or so points. But, no general market relapse on the Big Board emerged and AXP rallied some. 


Meanwhile, the constant jostling of crossed swords between Trump and the  FRB goes on with no end in sight. Presidents invariably press for easement from the FRB who normally gets its way to fight inflation. I found courage to buy more AmEx, as for other tech houses,  I found courage and added to Goldman Sachs, Amazon and Boeing. 


The press adding to my growth stock list is a fundamental belief to own more big capitalization paper that is reasonably valued. The business cycle won’t destroy earnings.  So, I added Boeing as a recovery play in aerospace. Then, I found more courage on American Express. 


My experience with AXP as a stock dates back to their salad oil swindle days when they emerged as a card operator some 50 years ago. The card was an emerging growth business then. Frankly, I expected a broader market relapse was coming, but I was wrongly bearish!


The jostling of crossed swords between Trump and the Federal Reserve Board leadership is a constant scenario but so far pure noise. In financial markets about the last thing you came to see is the FRB giving in to political forces. 


American Express was an early operator in the card sector. Tino De Angelis, their client, took them for around $50 million, a lot of capital in those days. Tino had siphoned off and sold his leased tanks salad oil. Then filled his tanks with water. That way when Amex employees tested the tanks for capacity fulfillment they would feel the liquid base. 


Tino then lost his purloined stake of $50 million or so speculating in commodity markets. I judged AXP as a survivor. Its money managers assured me they weren’t going out of  business. I believed them and so did Warren Buffett who built a sizable position in his fund. Warren has logged billions in AXP paper profits. 


I took a tidy profit after a couple of years but Warren still hangs in and his paper profits run in the billions. That’s why Warren has more capital than myself. I sold out prematurely. Always  Gimme Growth! Growth! Growth! Buy the biggest, most liquid properties and hang in. Go multi-industry. I own Berkshire Hathaway, Apple, Boeing, Amazon and Goldman Sachs. 


Yes, a recession would impact everyone's earnings but, that’s not my call. Interest rates won’t pop while inflation stays pretty tolerable. 


 
 
 

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