Capitalist Collective: Investment Research Exchange.

What is the Capitalist Collective Talent Search?

The Capitalist Collective Talent Search is a competition to find the best, unrecognized value investor in America.  There will be two segments of the contest: one is for a Senior Analyst and the other is for a Junior Analyst.  The finalists have been chosen. Come to the Capitalist Collective Stock Picking Festival to see the finalists present and the winners chosen.

What is the Capitalist Collective?

The Capitalist Collective is a website dedicated to sharing value investment ideas.  Value investing involves digging deep into companies to understand where and how return on equity via free cash flow is generated.
The Capitalist Collective works like a private Facebook, allowing people to share value investment ideas with their peers.

Why share investment ideas?

If you have a great idea and you are fully invested, it makes sense to offer it up to your peers in order to obtain constructive criticism.   
On a personal level, the more people understand your thinking processes the more likely they will trust your ability to allocate capital.  Great careers aren’t made with a single grand slam.  Great careers are made by showing the ability to continuously apply a focused skill over time. 

What do you mean educate people about investing?

We hope Capitalist Collective will allow students of value investing to learn new ways of understanding how businesses work to create value.  Value investing is more than just watching quarterly earnings bob around – it is about understanding the long term profit engine under the hood of a business.

Can we increase the value of your research through cooperation?

The ability to discuss ideas online with peers helps sharpen everyone's thinking.  Opening your ideas to constructive criticism can only improve your original thesis. We will also try to recognize research and discussions of special merit.  Badges are awarded for quality analysis , insightful research , critques , rebuttles , and more 

Why is the Capitalist Collective private instead of open?

We believe quality attracts quality. We want an investing idea haystack filled with needles. The best way to have a quality debate is to make sure everyone recognizes the hard work that good research entails, and values the thinking behind it. 
Learning by doing is called Praxis.  Praxis is kind of the rules of the club around here.  Make a contribution, show some smarts and a bit of critical thinking and you are in. 
Once you have earned your wings, you aren’t likely to lose them.

Why are some members anonymous? Can I be?

Who are some of these jokers?  Seriously though, some very gifted people are not allowed by their employers to share their opinions publicly.  When faced with the choice of debating the value and merits of online discussion with every HR department in the world or allowing anonymity on the site, we went with anonymity. 
Anonymity doesn’t mean abdicating responsibility for what you say and how you say it.  Be frank, be candid, back up your ideas – just do not be a jerk.  Capitalist Collective reserves the right to ban anyone we think is not obeying this rule.  It is about the quality of the idea and the evidence supporting the idea.

What are the rules of engagement (The No Jerk Rule)?

Remember we are not here to debate people, we are here to debate the ideas that lead to the better allocation of capital.  Sharing insights and understanding  what creates value is critical to that mission.
Don’t be evil was already taken by some other fairly well known website so we have taken, “Don’t be a jerk”. If you wouldn’t want it posted out of context next to your obituary, you probably shouldn’t say it here.  Sometimes it helps to sugar coat your words.  Someday you may have to eat them.  That being said, the occasional witty riposte or bon mot won’t go amiss.

Who runs Capitalist Collective?

The Capitalist Collective is run by Fertilemind Capital.  A New York Long/Short value based hedge fund, making money so you don’t have to.

What is the Capitalist Collective Stock Picking Festival?

The Capitalist Collective Stock Picking Festival will be held on September 9, 2011 in New York City.  The festival will let smart value investing people talk with other members of the Capitalist Collective. 

How do I contact Capitalist Collective?

We have found carrier pigeons thoroughly unreliable and thus suggest emailing us @ admin@capitalistcollective.com  to let us know what is on your mind.

How do I qualify as a contributor / member?

Complete your profile, submit your ideas and analysis, and provide feedback to others. That's it. For ideas, take a look at other submissions, check out the submission template, or view the Examples and Tips page. The final qualifying step is showing you understand what makes a company an interesting source of investing value.  If you disagree with our review of your work, tell us, and, “welcome to the market”, a place of differing opinions about how value works.

Can I use inside information?

Are you serious?  If you have to ask, you probably aren’t for us.  If your uncle Fred, knows a guy, who knows a guy etc. you aren’t trying to join the Capitalist Collective, you are trying to join club Fed. 
We don’t want inside information, we want people who can think.  Inside information is wrong, unsustainable and just plain trouble. Treat inside information like herpes, best kept to yourself, acted on only to rid yourself of it and definitely not to be shared or have money thrown at. 

What happens if I do not want to win the Capitalist Collective Talent Search?

If you are an analyst for a hedge fund, congratulations.  We think the ability to open your ideas for criticism is a lot of value but we will also be  issuing other rewards for things like “Best Number Cruncher”, “Best Channel Checker” and others.  These could be nice resume-builders.  Some employers may be impressed by this and others will not be.  It’s a  fickle world out there.
All we can say is that the harder you work at learning to be a value investor, the better you will  be at it.  There are no shortcuts for hard work and patient learning.  Teaching yourself to fish does not mean you will get hired to fish, but at least you will learn how to fish, a pretty handy life skill to have.

Does the Capitalist Collective share my information?

Your information is part of the Capitalist Collective, that’s about it.  If you see your idea posted on Wikileaks we would all be impressed and surprised that they did  not have better things to do.

Does the Capitalist Collective own my work?

We do and do not own your information.  We own what is on our site, but you can post your own analysis anywhere.