I co-wrote this article in Forbes on an investment strategy called the “Shamelessly Cloned Portfolio.”

The shameless portfolio comprises of five of the highest conviction ideas of 9 value managers whom we shamelessly clone. Like the Small Dogs of the Dow and Uber Cannibals, we set it and forget it. I will publish the list of the top Shameless Cloned Ideas for a particular year on my blog on January 1 each year.

For 2017, even though it’ll be a partial year, one can buy the 2017 picks anytime. After that, rebalancing should occur right after January 1.

The Shameless Portfolio for 2017 contains:

1. Oracle (ORCL)
2. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B)
3. Apple (AAPL)
4. Microsoft (MSFT)
5. Charter Communications (CHTR)

We’ve laid out all our algorithm rules below.

One can begin testing this strategy with a small portion of one’s networth and do it through a great broker like Interactive Brokers with commissions under $3/trade for small quantities. We hope you’ll join our merry band of shameless cloners.

You can view the article here:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/janetnovack/2017/02/22/beyond-buffett-how-to-build-wealth-copying-9-other-value-stock-pickers/#7645cf00eaf9

I co-wrote the article with Fei Li, a talented quant at Dhandho Funds.

Enjoy!

Note, anyone who invests in any strategy needs to do their own research/due diligence and are themselves fully responsible for the outcome. 

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                                       Appendix: Shameless Cloning Portfolio Rules

Selection Criteria:

1. No utilities, no REITs, no oil and gas exploration, no metals and mining and no multiline retailers.
2. Positive trailing-12-month net income

Rebalance Methodology:

• Rebalance on Dec 31st of each year. 
• The old companies that are not in the new portfolio are sold. The “sell money” is accumulated and distributed equally among all new entrants.
• If the same company is present in our portfolio for another year, then we leave it unchanged i.e. no rebalancing trades.
• Dividends are reinvested into the same company that paid it.
• If there is an involuntary removal through acquisition/delisting/bankruptcy then the cash is distributed equally among the remaining cloners.
• If there are any spin-offs, the shares are sold and reinvested in the parent.​

Saving the first dollar you earn, versus saving what is left after you spend, is always a smart way to go. And making it automated is key. Set it and forget it!

A new smartphone app, Stash allows you to automatically save as little as $5/month and then immediately invest the same in Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares. They’ll even buy fractional shares with no trading costs. The B shares are changing hands these days at about $164/share. If you send Stash $5, then they’ll buy you 5/164th of a B share. Stash does charge $1/month or 0.25% annually, whichever is higher.  

Another one, Acorns, rounds up your credit card purchases to the nearest dollar and saves the difference. You can have the pennies that Acorns vacuums up go into a savings account. And you can have Stash periodically move those savings into Berkshire. 

My friend, Jason Zweig, wrote an interesting piece on Stash, Acorns and a third one, Digit in his column “The Intelligent Investor” in the Wall Street Journal past weekend:

http://jasonzweig.com/inching-your-way-toward-wealth-with-your-phone/
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When you buy that latte at Starbucks for $4.27 every day, it adds up. Taking those 73 cents every day and automatically investing them is such a no-brainer.
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