sae85400

http://brontecapital.blogspot.com/2017/05/selling-our-telecom-position.html?spref=tw&m=1

It's real.. They even have a webpage advertising it https://www.tdameritrade.com/investment-guidance/advisor-referral.page Here is a more elaborate explanation http://riabiz.com/a/2017/4/12/td-ameritrade-shocks-rias-most-accustomed-to-its-largesse-with-a-letter-a-contract-and-a-tight-deadline-to-sign

Being in the RIA space and using IB, formerly used TD: 1. Custodian have begun to compete with RIAs for clients(Schwab, TDA and Fidelity mostly) 2. Investment mixture matters: A lot breakaway advisors use Funds or ETFs that are free to trade on the other platforms 3. Peformance reporting, soft dollars, client referral: 3 big issues for RIAs. I have a friend who hates TD, but they refer him close to $10mm AUM per year, so he won't risk leaving.

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/03/the-netflix-for-fitness-company-raging-with-millennials--with-zero-competition.html Similar private company offers online cycling classes, even sends you the stationary bike. "It streams 12 hours of live cycling classes, and connects riders with more than 4,000 on-demand classes." "the company now has over 200,000 riders around the world, and zero competition." "$39/month" Beachbody(p90x, etc) now has a streaming service where you get access to their entire library of workout videos and nutrition planning for $99.99/year

Does Canada have a 13D equivalent? And where do you find that?

But their ads are getting better!

http://m.obj.ca/Technology/2017-01-13/article-4719057/Update:-Analysts-say-Halogen-worth-up-to-$321M-as-takeover-talks-swirl/1 Analyst Nick Agostino of Laurentian Bank Securities wrote in a research note that Halogen is an attractive asset, and placed odds of an acquisition at more than 50 per cent. He calculates a potential sale price of between $11.50 and $15 per share, which would value Halogen as high as $321 million. Blair Abernethy, an analyst with Industrial Alliance Services, estimated similar values of between $11 and $14 per share in a research note. Both Abernethy and Agostino assigned a “buy” rating to Halogen’s shares. Halogen did not name the companies that are interested in acquiring the Ottawa firm, but Mr. Agostino told OBJ in an interview that he believes potential suitors may include traditional HR software vendors that historically focus on payroll and benefit services but are now looking to expand their presence in the talent management space. He added in his note that it is likely Halogen already has an offer in hand, and is now looking to maximize value from a potential takeover.

$9.60/share

EL would be another one in this sector to look at

Not a rookie... but Terry Smith of UK Fundsmith has been doing real well and quotes a lot of Buffett.

That is a great chart... Would have thought Druckenmiller would have had more years..But I bet they don't count the years (88-00) when he was running Quantum fund for Soros(so technically Soros number isn't his)

I have seen people average 50% for short period of time, they hit a huge first year(100%+) and follow it up with decent years.. Example 1: 104.33%, 49.82%, 29.47% 31.23% Example 2: 158.99%, 36.23, 9%, 12.47%

This was mentioned in Greenroad Capital 3Q letter and is now a top 5 holding for them

Any reason for the 16% drop this morning.?

Price is up to high for me since April to make an entry point. However here is some good information from Greenhaven Road 2nd quarter letter: IDW Media ($22) Our purchase of IDW Media is very much in the vein of focusing on the journey of the company, which is very promising, as opposed to the quarterly earnings, which are not particularly promising or indicative of the future of the company. Since IDW has no analyst coverage, does not do quarterly conference calls, and historically has not done any investor presentations or investor relations, there is arguably not a consensus view of the company. IDW Media is a large holding of Adam Wyden of ADW capital. He was helpful in both highlighting the trajectory of the business as well as providing historical context. Adam generally holds fewer than 10 positions, so he knows as much about what is going on beneath the surface as is possible for his companies and was a far better guide than the whale watching captain. IDW Media has several attributes that we look for in an investment, including high insider ownership. In fact more than half of the company is owned by Howard Jonas. Howard’s name may be familiar, since IDW Media is a spinout from IDT, another Howard Jonas company. In the past we made several multiples of our money on our investment in Straight Path (STRP), was also a spinout from IDT and yet another Howard Jonas company. In addition to the Jonas family ownership, management owns another 15% of the company. In addition, the company has been able to grow revenue by more than 50% and EBITDA by more than 100% the last five years without raising additional capital through a combination of frugalness, execution, and the asset light nature of the industries they operate in. There is also an “ick” factor. Specifically, IDW Media trades “over the counter” or on the “pink sheets,” which is a non-starter for many investors. For me, the bar is higher with a pink sheet company. It requires more diligence as the likelihood of fraud is just higher. In the history of the fund, we have made one other pink sheet investment (Taro Pharmaceutical), which was ultimately a very profitable investment. IDW Media has two distinct businesses. The first is a boring, cash-flowing brochure distribution business. The company owns and manages more than 14,000 brochure stands in hotel lobbies that have paper brochures for all of the local attractions. This is a business where scale and route density matter. To be profitable, having as many stands as possible in a tight geographic proximity is ideal. IDW has grown through acquisition and is the largest player east of the Mississippi. This business generates a couple of million dollars per year in cash flow. We did not go wading into the pink sheets to own a piece of the brochure distribution business. It is a fine business with recurring revenue and reasonable margins, but it does not have the potential to return multiples of our investment, which is what we really need to be compensated for the lack of liquidity that comes with trading on the pink sheets. The more dynamic segment of IDW is its media business. IDW Media is the fourth largest publisher of comic books in the United States. They publish comic books for some widely known characters such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers, and Star Wars, but most of the content is far more niche. The company produces approximately 70 comic books and/or graphic novels per month Two years ago, the company made a conscious decision to stop licensing its characters to others media companies and to attempt to produce television shows and movies themselves. While this would require more work and upfront expense, if successful it would provide the company with creative and business control, as well as improved economics. Over the last two years, the company has invested substantial time and millions of dollars into this effort, without offsetting revenue. Revenues from TV shows are not recognized until a show is delivered to a network, which typically happens a week or two before the show airs. Even though the media production efforts are not currently showing up in the financials, in reality, the TV effort is off to a very promising start. The small IDW team has sold two shows to networks with a substantial and promising pipeline of additional opportunities. This year, the first show, “Wynonna Earp,” aired on SYFY Network. The second show, based off of a British detective series, “Dirk Gently,” will air this fall. The “Dirk Gently” show will star Elijah Wood, who previously starred in “The Lord of the Rings.” In addition to the two shows that will air, there is a pipeline of other shows in different stages of development. It is quite possible the company will have three to five shows on air in 2017. This is impressive from a standing start and would imply a more than $25M increase in revenue for a media company that did less than $30M last year, or almost a doubling. The company has been slow to disclose financial details on specific shows. The exact economics are difficult to model because each show will have a different revenue and contribution profile depending on the network it airs on, where it is shot, and its international appeal. From looking at the margin structures of other small television production companies such as DHX Media, EBITDA in excess of $12M is possible for the television segment, implying a company-wide EBITDA in excess of $20M with the potential to grow another 50% in 2018 as international rights revenues are received for the shows. In addition to television, the company is set to have success in movies and in games. For example, Stephen Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment has announced a movie starring Jim Carrey based on IDW’s horror comic book title “Aleister Arcane.” The games division is small, with a little more than $2M in revenue for FY15 vs. an overall revenue base of just under $50M. The games division is attractive for a number of reasons. The first is that games can have a much longer shelf life than TV and comic books. This can lead to a base of more predictable earnings. It is also another way to monetize characters and fan engagement. The company recently announced that their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game that will be released for the holidays will be the largest product in the history of the company. The core thesis behind our investment in IDW Media is that content is being increasingly fragmented. As we have gone from a media landscape with three broadcast channels to cable systems with hundreds of channels and YouTube, Netflix, Amazon, and other video platforms, there is a dramatic increase in the need for original content. In addition, as outlets increase and production costs decrease, increasingly niche content is viable. There are hundreds of cable channels trying to differentiate themselves based on original content, and for quality content, the lifespan is longer as video on demand becomes a preferred way to consume content. In addition, there are international rights, which can be as big or bigger than the domestic rights for shows. If the company executes on the plan, IDW will be able to monetize its library and storytelling skills in movies, television, and games. Effectively, there is a much larger opportunity beyond comic books. Our share purchases were made with an enterprise value of approximately $100M. As the economics of multiple television and movie products with their domestic and international rights begin to flow through the income statement, earnings can easily grow more than three times. In addition to earnings growth, the company may benefit from multiple expansion as management has indicated it will eventually “up list” and leave the pink sheets for the NASDAQ. Given all of the other Howard Jonas companies are trading on the Nasdaq in addition to several sound business reasons to “up list” I think it is matter of when and not if. Often when companies do this, a new segment of buyers who were either turned off by the pink sheet status – or even restricted from investing in companies listed on the pink sheets -- will invest. Interestingly, for investors who solely rely on Bloomberg, none of the progress in entertainment is evident. Not a single one of the press releases is listed in the news section. The pink sheets are littered with frauds and “story stocks.” Much like the minute-to-minute movements of a whale, the short-term economics of IDW Media are difficult to model as the company continues to invest in the division and the profitability is backend loaded after shows are delivered. Nevertheless, it is clear the company is headed in a very productive direction and, if Ted Adams and his team continue to execute, there is substantial upside in IDW Media’s journey from the pink sheets to the NASDAQ."