I Hate When Andy Obermueller Hits One Out of the Park

For a laid back Texas gal, I have a competitive streak. I don't just like to win. I like to win against a formidable opponent. And with Andy Obermueller, I have just that.

Andy and I started at StreetAuthority within a month of each other. It didn't take long for our now-legendary contests to begin. "Take it outside, you two," was a constant refrain heard in our department meetings as Andy and I would debate and wager about every investment idea.

At the end of 2008, when the market was well into its dramatic slide, Andy and I made yet another bet. On December 1, 2008, we each picked three stocks we felt had the best chance to rebound in two year's time.

My picks have been doing quite well. As a group, my three stocks would have returned an average of +76.5%. My best performing pick is the generic drug manufacturer Mylan, Inc. (NYSE: MYL), which was up +107.8% by the middle of this month.

Maybe I got a little cocky. I dropped a copy of my spreadsheet on Andy's desk and said, "Try to beat that."

Ten minutes later Andy dropped a copy of his returns on my desk. "Read it and weep, Calistri."

I had two out of three of his picks beat. But there was one I just couldn't touch. Andy had picked Whole Foods (Nasdaq: WFMI), which has returned +326.8% in the same18-month time span! And that home run boosted his average returns to +107.8%.

In some ways our results to date are predictable. As much as Andy and I share a love of investing, our investment style and strategy are markedly different. We both beat the market by more than 30 percentage points, but we each did it in our own unique way.

In baseball terminology, I want to advance the runner. I'll bunt and steal my way around the bases to make sure I score. And I hate striking out. That's probably why the average annualized return for my Stock of the Month closed trades is +42.8%. And of my seven closed trades, I've booked only one loss. Even though that loss was a measly -0.1%, it still ticks me off.

My readers know I'll do everything I can to keep them from taking a loss -- while finding the single best opportunity each month.

Andy, on the other hand, swings for the fences. In his Government Driven Investing newsletter he has one portfolio holding that's returned +182.9% -- in under a year. Andy's unflinching ability to spot those high risk, high return, opportunities is why he was tailor-made to write StreetAuthority's new newsletter, Fast Track Millionaire.

Like our contest has shown, just one homerun can win a ball game. And that's one reason why, if you have a decent investing time horizon, you need to have some portion of your portfolio dedicated to aggressive investments.

Andy and I still have almost six months left on our bet. I have my fingers crossed.

In the meantime, "Damn you Andy Obermueller."

 
-- Amy Calistri

P.S. Check out Andy Obermueller's video: Four New Trends That Could Make Millions for Early Investors.