The morning I let my cats choose which company's stock to invest in. Three dishes, three treats, one stock pick.
The Idea
This morning, as I ate breakfast and sipped my coffee, I pondered which of three interesting stocks I should invest in. The stock markets have taken
plunge recently, which may suggest a good time to buy.
I like
Chattem Inc. (CHTT), as I've noticed some of their products in my medicine cabinet (I cover my whole body in Icy Hot every night), and think they're well positioned to sell a lot of products to the hordes of retiring baby boomers. I've also been keeping an eye on
Barr Pharmacuticals (BRL), who make generic prescription drugs (which our society eats like candy). Finally, when riding the
Max train home from the airport (rubbing Icy Hot all over my body and chewing on a mouthful of generic drugs), I noticed the concrete railroad ties they're using these days. Turns out these are made by a company called
LB Foster (FSTR), whose stock has taken a beating recently.
I take another sip of my coffee. I'm thinking about how choosing investments, especially stocks, takes some knowledge and diligence, but also incorporates a large amount of dumb luck. Then I look over at my pal, the cat, Jack. He's about as dumb (and lucky) as they get.
The idea strikes me:
Why don't I let my cats choose which stock I should invest in?
The Setup
The experiment setup consists of three saucers with a kitty treat placed on each one. Each saucer is labeled with the stock ticker of interest. I put out all three dishes and take photos to document the cats' decisions.
The Picks
Here are the photos from our breakfast stock pick:
First stock pick will be Jack.
Jack, are you ready to pick a stock?
Jack picks the recently beaten-down LB Foster for his first stock.
Wait, Jack also likes Barr Pharma. (BRL).
Sammy comes; they both like Chattem Inc. (CHTT).
Pick two: Sammy chooses Chattem, Inc. (CHTT) first
Jack doesn't want to be left out, also considers Chattem, Inc..
Sammy's next pick is BRL. Jack likes any investment he finds.
Third and final pick (wet food). Sammy picks BRL.
After finishing up with FSTR and CHTT, jack agrees with Sammy on BRL.
The Verdict
The very first choice, made by Jack, was LB Foster (FSTR). The last choice made, by Sammy, was Barr Pharma. (BRL). I flipped a coin to decide; heads for FSTR, and tails for BRL. I got tails, how appropriate.
My cats have decided to buy
BRL at todays price of 53.45. We'll see how they do over time.
