At 228 Main, we often talk about our work in terms of three key activities. The first, of course, is the work we do with you: we meet, we talk, and you let us get to know the story of you. The other two activities are investment research and portfolio management. Because this work supports the long-term goals you’ve shared with us, these activities are foundational.
As we’ve grown as a firm, so too have our research capacities and processes. Compliance, continuous improvement, and documentation in the realm of research are simply part of how we operate. Everything we do is infused with intentionality: more than ever, we have to know what we’re doing and why.
So, what exactly happens during the research process? Here are some of the things we like to think about (which means you don’t have to!).
Trying to discern which daily or weekly or monthly events are most relevant to the long run. Not all “market moves” are created equal. Movement can come from investors’ expectations for and reactions to even the slightest of day-to-day events. How do we recognize which will matter in the next year, five years, or fifty years? We try to learn from history; we try to understand where things might be headed next. (And, spoiler alert, our choices are rarely driven by knee-jerk reactions or TV news). We do our best to bring some perspective to our choices.
Managing the players in our investment universe. Companies come and go. They can split. They can consolidate. Some industries are seasonal or cyclical; some do better in tough times, and some boom when others do. Part of our work is keeping an eye on the wider investment universe as well as our active Buy List. We’re always monitoring some number of prospective players who haven’t quite made the cut, watching for when they might reach bargain status, the moment they become “ripe for the picking.” Doing our own analysis is crucial before a holding gets promoted to the Buy List, and even then, we’re always reviewing our criteria as a team as each holding’s story continues to unfold.
The Buy List and our search for prospective holdings are just two systems we use internally to help us manage, evaluate, and review our investment ideas. For years now, we’ve been using a weekly meeting to do much of this work together—with ad hoc gatherings and lots of note-taking as opportunities arise. These processes help us organize our bottom-up, bargain-hunting approaches to research.
Finding and following patterns and changes in our everyday lives. Investing, for us, is not just about what’s happening in boardrooms around the world. It’s about what’s happening in our backyard—and yours! “Your money, your life” is about how you choose to save and spend your resources, but it’s also about connecting your money to the real life you lead. What does it mean to own a piece of the action? Well, it means that we pay attention to what we’re seeing in our real lives today and try to imagine the advances and opportunities of tomorrow.
Here’s a taste of the type of research questions we ask ourselves:
- How might major disruptions reshape retail and consumer behavior? Think of events in time like the COVID-19 pandemic: these were important questions then, but they’re helpful in any economic climate. What sort of shopping experiences will people continue to expect? What impact will new technologies have on delivery systems? How do technology, consumer behavior, and the supply chain affect each other?
- What’s happening in the energy revolution? How are energy sources changing? What materials and services will be necessary in the next chapter? How will renewable resources continue to change everyday life? How will the evolution of the automobile—and transportation more generally—continue to unfold?
- How is technology shaping our work, schools, and homes? As demand grows for semiconductors and screens, who may be positioned to meet that demand? Which companies may benefit from the changing technological landscape? Where is there hype, and where is there hope?
In addition to our weekly research meetings, we have started using a “sandbox” each month: we choose a topic that merits a deeper dive and spend a few conversations across the month exploring our “sandbox” topic, playing around with it in order to understand it better. In 2025, for example, one of those topics was artificial intelligence—no surprise there, right? There are no guarantees about what comes out of this process, but our aim is that this zoomed-out, top-down view pairs will with our bottom-up, bargain-hunting approach.
Again, it’s all about bringing perspective.
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There are, of course, other pieces that go into our research process. We try to practice good humor and compassion, sprinkle in some folksy metaphors, and always bring our enthusiasm!
And while there’s no sense in trying to put a value on any of the individual activities discussed here, we do think they’re worth mentioning. All of it adds up, building out how we do our work for you, and with you.
Have a question about what’s happening behind the scenes? Reach out, anytime. Thank you for joining us. Reach out, anytime.
Investing involves risk including the potential loss of principal. No investment strategy can guarantee a profit or protect against loss. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.
