Market Poetry

The folks who made big money this year
Are the ones owning stuff we wouldn’t go near
Like Apple at 40 times net
That’s a valuation we just don’t get
Or Google with a price-to-sales of thirteen
We simply prefer when multiples are lean
And it’s quite right to have wondered
Is oil sustainable at one hundred?
Will Chinese demand grow forever?
That’s a bet we’d make never
So we’re just sticking to our value guns
And passing on stocks amidst silly runs
The willingness to weather a lackluster year
To the institutions will not you endear
(Even if it sets the stage
For great riches at a later age)
But, my friends, I say “take heart”
Volatility is to this game a part
The wealth will come, even if it’s lumpy
So what if our recent returns look grumpy?
Momentum, you’re having your day in the sun
We’ve lost this year’s battle, but the war will be won

By Frozen Pozen

1. It’s on the latest cover of Fortune mag
An inevitable fall for the stars of that rag

2. You can use its products all the time
And never give the company a dime

3. Switching costs are equal to nil
That makes for software that’s easy to kill

4. Its p/e ratio is completely insane
These things to normalcy always wane

5. The same is true for its price-to-sale
Watch it deflate as investors bale

6. Insiders are selling left and right
If they’re not buying, why should I bite?

7. Shares are at 500 a pop
They can’t climb much higher without a drop

8. Yahoo and Microsoft on ads do compete
But a matter of time till GOOG feels the heat

9. The company has a stupid name
Except for WSSI, nothing’s more lame

10. New shares were sold in a secondary offer
You sell the overpriced, to stuff the coffer

11. What analysts love with their hearts all
Crash as soon as it scratches a wall

12. Lastly I’ll quote Horace’s prose
Which highlights the thorn on this rose:
“Multa renascentur quae iam cecidere, cadentque Quae nunc sunt in honore”

By Karen

I am your loyal investor
At IPO, with risks abound, I was present
While others waited
You, with open arms I embraced

On drops, I add to my position
No stock sits larger in my portfolio
I have pushed the frontier of concentration in your name
I am giving you all I have
And then some

Google! Do not desert me!
A share of yours I have never sold
You carry with you my hopes and dreams
Of retirement, security, and a better life

I commit now, and my word is good
I will hold you for the years to come
Please, do not forget me
Do not disappoint me

Karen is an accountant in Salt Lake City, UT.