William Smead
Chief Executive Officer
Chief Investment Officer 



Dear Clients and Prospective Clients:In an 11-month stretch of 1978-79, Oil nearly tripled in price to $34 per barrel, inflation and interest rates skyrocketed and the U.S. Embassy in Iran was taken over by Shiite Fundamentalists for nearly a year. Panic, fear and pessimism ruled the day. From 1980 to 1989 I worked for the most profitable private company in the U.S., Drexel Burnham, which specialized in the so-called “Junk” side or below-investment grade side of investment banking and trading. During the Savings and Loan debacle of 1988-1992, Drexel Burnham entered Chapter 7 bankruptcy for liquidation in February of 1990.


Why do I share this? In 1979-1981 we were told by respectable experts that our economy would never again be the powerhouse of the world. In 1992, experts told us that banking would never be as profitable in the future because of the S. and L. debacle and the closing of 1000 of the 8000 banks that existed in 1988. A young governor from Arkansas argued in the 1992 election that “it was the economy, stupid.” This cleansing we are going through currently is powerful and difficult, but not new. While Merrill Lynch is no longer independent as of this morning, we are still “Bullish on America”

Call us today for reinforcement or join us tomorrow at our Roadshow Event in Seattle to review our discipline and consider which Northwest stocks deserve our affection.

Warmest regards,

 


William Smead

We Advise Investors

Sign up to get our advice sent straight to your inbox.

Recent Missives

The Market: Cole Smead, CFA on European Bank Mergers

A Tsunami of Mergers Is Heading for European Banks By Christoph Gisiger For more information go to www.themarket.ch. Stocks mentioned: UNI, BG, BCS, RO, CVE, SCR, IMO, GLEN The information […]

⟶ Keep Reading

Investment Executive: Bill Smead on Magnificent Seven as a Stock Market Bubble

  Is the Magnificent Seven a stock market bubble? By Kevin Press For more information go to investmentexecutive.com. The information contained in this tv appearance represents SCM’s opinions, and should […]

⟶ Keep Reading

2Q26 U.S. Value Strategy Newsletter: Diversification Circa 2026

Most of the studies we've seen argue that 90% of the benefit of diversification comes by the 20th common stock. In our discipline, based on our eight criteria for common stock selection, we...

⟶ Keep Reading

2Q26 International Value Strategy Newsletter: Stampeding Towards the Next Problem

The world we wake up to today seems to have all the information we can dream of, but less discernment than is needed. The Iran conflict was misread with oil prices at $100...

⟶ Keep Reading

The Tsunami of European Bank Mergers

Most global investors are not attuned to what can be seen on the horizon, not far from shore. After the Great Financial Crisis, Europe was slow to address the underlying capital issues. Rather...

⟶ Keep Reading

Reuters: Bill Smead on Occidental’s New CEO and Growth

  Occidental’s new CEO tested by debt, lagging stock price and big dividend payments to Berkshire By Sheila Dang For more information go to reuters.com. The information contained in this […]

⟶ Keep Reading

We Advise Investors

Sign up to get our advice sent straight to your inbox.

US INVESTORS

Individual Investors

OR

Financial Advisors, Family Offices,
and Institutional Investors

OR

NON-US INVESTORS

Individual Investors

OR

Financial Advisors, Family Offices,
and Institutional Investors

OR

Scroll to Top