Message From the Founding Genius

Hi there! I’m Anthony J. Alfidi, founder and CEO of Alfidi Capital. I created this firm to share my investment ideas with all and sundry. This firm exists to educate, enlighten, and entertain the investing public. My firm has nothing for sale to investors; all of its publications are available free of charge. 

I have been investing in the stock market since my college days, and after many successes (and a few failures) I consider myself to be a competent investor.  I have gradually discovered that no one investment firm has a monopoly on good capital markets assumptions or asset allocation strategies, and of course neither does my firm. I do not need institutional research or paid advice to be a successful investor. I require only my own judgment, and that is what you see on display at Alfidi Capital. 

My impetus for launching this project was the frustration I felt after working at dead-end jobs in several well-known investment firms. I had the misfortune to work myself like crazy for bosses who couldn’t have cared less about what I did and couldn’t wait to throw me away. I accomplished next to nothing at those brand-name firms for a couple of reasons. You see, I am not to the manor born, which makes it hard for me to impress the multigenerational preppie types who predominate in institutional finance. When you’re sitting around an office with people who have been handed extraordinary advantages on a silver platter, you learn how lack of a blue-blood pedigree hurts your credibility and your career. Furthermore, what Warren Buffett identified as the “institutional imperative” tends to elevate egotism and cliquishness over integrity and sound judgment. Top management’s emphasis on a given market or product line inevitably generates a “please the boss” paradigm that clouds the objectivity of otherwise intelligent analysts, strategists, and auditors, not to mention their managing directors. These sets of biases made it next to impossible for me to make a living in corporate life. My own bias has always been for entrepreneurial action over bureaucratic inertia, so it was only a matter of time before I set out on my own. Alfidi Capital is my personal push-back to those firms that saw less value in me than I see in myself. 

The research reports and periodic commentary you will see on this site are products of my own original thinking. I put my money where my mouth is, and the focus of my research will always be those ideas I am willing to consider in my own portfolio. If I discuss a stock in a blog article, it will be because I must determine whether it fits my own investing style. If I create a special report on an industry or economic trend, it is because I am trying to find a way to profit from it. I will always fully disclose any holding I have in an investment product I discuss on this site, long or short, bullish or bearish. I only write about what I understand, but I am always willing to learn something new. 

I hold a bachelor’s degree in human resource management from the University of Notre Dame, which frankly has nothing to do with running an investment portfolio or website. I also hold an MBA in finance from the University of San Francisco, which is a lot more relevant. I graduated with honors from both of those institutions, so that probably means that I’m literate. You can look me up on LinkedIn and Facebook and see all the cool people who think I’m impressive. In fact, the very definition of a cool person is someone who thinks I’m impressive. 

In my spare time I support the cultural institutions of the greatest city in the history of humanity, San Francisco, California. You might run into me at the opera, symphony, ballet, theater, or one of the museums in The City. I’m more than happy to meet in person with members of the media, corporate leaders, and other assorted big-shots for a fine meal as long as I don’t have to pick up the check. See ya!

Sincerely,

Anthony J. Alfidi
Founder and CEO