
This Week at MANIFEST (12/30/2016)
What I think a lot of great marathon runners do is envision crossing that finish line. Visualization is critical. But for me, I set a lot of little goals along the way to get my mind off that overwhelming goal of 26.2 miles. I know I’ve got to get to 5, and 12, and 16, and then I celebrate those little victories along the way.” — Bill Rancic
As most of you have guessed, our playful emphasis on Dow 20,000 is precisely that — playful.
We seem to pay way too much attention to essentially arbitrary piles of numbers and the rhinos life expectancy can be shortened by how they measure up quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year.
Brad Perry was right. A successful long-term investing experience is a marathon. And Bill Rancic is also correct, milestones matter. There’s plenty of noise, chaos and confusion that complicates life for average investors.
We’re thankful for a community of investors that is willing to focus on visions of the future and a willingness to imagine. We believe that our emphasis on return expectations and vigilance on fundamental threats and opportunity — is a path to better finish lines.

Value Line Arithmetic Average. Annual Returns. (1990-2016). The average annual total return for the equal-weight Value Line Arithmetic Average is 13.3% since 1990. The S&P 500 (VFINX) checks in at 9.3%. That Dow Jones Industrial Average that everyone is hyperventilating over has delivered 7.6% over the same time frame.
The November-December surge in the market pushed this year’s all-of-the-above index from 10-20% to 20-30%. This image will serve as the centerpiece for the January 2017 newsletter. Ask us again if we believe in a blend of small, medium and large companies as a crucial element of portfolio design and management.

MANIFEST 40 Updates
- 1. Apple (AAPL)
- 23. Intel (INTC)
Round Table Stocks
- Apple (AAPL)
- Intel (INTC)
- IPG Photonics (IPGP)
- Skyworks (SWKS)
- Universal Display (OLED)
Best Small Companies
- 6. Universal Display (OLED)
- 18. Mellanox Technologies (MLNX)
- 27. IPG Photonics (IPGP)
Results, Remarks & References