market folly

Chris Begg's East Coast Asset Management is out with its 2013 year-end letter.  The Q4 missive walks further down their investment checklist.  Last quarter, we highlighted their letter on competitive advantage and this time they focus on understanding the mispricing of an investment

Through use of checklists, they categorize investment opportunities and identify the bull/bear cases, potential catalysts, long-term fundamentals, various sentiments, and more in order to understand what exactly is driving the mispricing.

This ties in with their concept of 'investment longitude' in that they want to understand the critical data points that truly drive the business (and the stock).  The letter below walks you through how to do so.

In terms of how East Coast has been positioning themselves, they've been shifting more of their portfolio toward 'transformation' plays, or companies benefiting from secular tailwinds.  Begg's letter also details how they purchased a European cable business in Q4.  While they don't specifically identify the position, it certainly sounds like John Malone's Liberty Global (LBTYA/LBTYK).

Embedded below is East Coast's Q4 letter: Navigating Beyond the Pillars:



For more on their investment checklists, head to East Coast's letter on competitive advantage.