AGNC Investment Corp

This is one of those RMBS REITs with 9:1 leverage. These things don't seem like a good idea. I get why you might do this stuff opportunistically as a bank - but as a stand alone vehicle seems like you are likely to get screwed or get wiped out if a capital injection is needed.

I presume the managers determine the appropriate amount of leverage for this by solving for the yield required to get crazy investors to buy it. Even in a crisis where RMBS spreads widen way out and this trades way below book I think I would have a hard time investing in this.

Huntington Ingalls

This company seems okay. Clearly they have their niche as a naval contractor and have been reasonably successful. The annual letter is short and doesn't give much insight into their thinking. I don't think I would invest in this unless the price was really low. I have a hard time believing that spending on naval ships grows faster than GDP over the long run, and also seems unlikely they could expand margins too much. Plus you have the risk of cost overruns on contracts and the employee benefit liabilities.

Next up is AGNC Investment Corp, a REIT I have never heard of before.

2020 Goal

Okay, I had a break again but this time only a few months as opposed to a few years!

I would like to restart by setting a big goal for myself for 2020: to read the annual report of each company in the S&P 500 and post my brief thoughts on each. I think this will be a great way to help broaden my understanding of big business.

I plan to go in reverse order (smallest to largest). I don't plan to actually use the S&P 500 constituents, rather the 500 largest U.S. companies by market cap according to Capital IQ. I need to average about one report every day to finish by the end of next year.

First on my list is Huntington Ingalls. I don't know much about them.