Top 5 Five Picks- Common Sense Investing

March 20, 2008

Portfolio Management firm Anderson Griggs practices something they like to call “common sense investing.” While they do use the latest mathmatical investment models in determining their investment picks, they also “know people.”  Kendall Anderson, a portfolio manager says about their process:

“Well, let’s use our computer modeling for what it can be used for, but we sure as aheck bette have some judmental override.”

Below are our five picks this week, common sense picks from Anderson Griggs:

  1. Colgate-Palmolive (CL)- “I don’t know how many different ways you can build a toothbrush, but Colgate has been able to keep doing this year in and year out, and that’s management-driven because they have taken a product that is very easy to duplicate and they are able to redevelop, to create new markets, to change things enough to consistently grow their assets, consistently grow their sales.”
  2. Walgreen (WAG)- Walgreen is a wonderful drug company. It’s not only a consistent grower because they are constantly adding stores, but they are also a beneficiary of change in both the retail and the pharmaceutical industry.
  3. Monsanto (MON)Everyone talks about Monsanto today, so that kind of scares me a little bit, but they really are a special situation. They have the ability to create food at a far larger amount per acre than was capable 20 or 30 years ago. Of course, as our population in the world grows they’re just in the right place at the right time with the right scientist doing the right thing.
  4. Stryker Corp (SYK)Twenty-five years ago how many people had a knee replacement? Today, it’s going to become far more common as time goes by. That’s a special situation that we find interesting.
  5. IBM (IBM)IBM for years was considered a premier growth company, but in the last few years they’ve
    kind of had to redevelop themselves. They are in an area that I think in the next 10 years is going to be far better than the last 10 years and that is not hardware-based but software-based. IBM is truly a leader in that.

For the full interview with Mr. Anderson, including a complete overview of Anderson Griggs common sense philosophy, and an overview for 2008, click here.