Saturday, May 31, 2008

Paul Sonkin

Paul Sonkin isn't going to impress anyone at cocktail parties by discussing the companies he owns. He would probably impress with his returns, however.

Where does Sonkin find value? Small-caps and micro-caps: companies so small, that value can often be found for one of several reasons:

1) Many funds can't own them
2) Fewer analysts following the company

In addition, smaller companies are more nimble, and have better growth prospects (size can be a hindrance when trying to grow in percentage terms).

Sonkin adds another reason. Smaller companies are easier to understand. Their business models are far more simple, and thus value can be found without having to understand several lines of business or complex financial statements.

As we've seen with other value investors, Sonkin also looks for stocks that have been beaten down. He screens for stocks that are at lows, looking for stocks that have been neglected or punished by the market. Like Greenwald says, "If it ain't broke, don't buy it"

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