Aster is the founder of Aster Investment Management Company. As of September 2007, his Meridian Growth Fund (MERDX) has achieved an average annual compounded rate of return of 13.9% since inception in 1984. His Meridian Value Fund (MVALX) has returned an annualized 18.9% since inception in 1995. Aster’s newer Meridian Equity Income Fund has achieved annualized returns of 11.4% since inception in 2005. Mr. Aster received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Investing Philosophy:
Richard Aster invests in both growth and value stocks. His Meridian Value Fund seeks to achieve long-term capital growth. In this fund, Aster invests primarily in equities that are undervalued in relation to the company’s long-term earning power or asset value, or the stock market in general.
Richard Aster manages both growth fund and value fund. He believes that Long-term investment results are improved by buying good companies adding to existing positions during difficult stock market environments. This is his portfolio update of Q3. More...
Richard Aster was buying a lot in the second quarter. To him, there is no much difference between growth and value. He is heavily weighted in technologies and industrials. Richard Aster Jr owns 148 stocks with a total value of $2 billion. These are the details of the buys and sells. More...
Rick Aster runs both growth fund and value fund. His growth fund was down 24% in 2008, while his value fund was down 34%. A bad year for many value investors. His portfolio turnover is abnormally high these days, like many other fund managers. He is light on financials, heavy with technology and industrials. These are his buys and sells in the first quarter of 2009. More...
Rick Aster's funds were down about 30% last year. During the past 10 years, his value fund gained about 9.8% a year, and his growth fund gained 7% a year. These numbers are outstanding compared with the S&P500, which lost 1.38% a year during the past 10 years. Rick Aster is having high turnovers these days, too. These are his buys and sells during the 4th quarter. More...
The market has been tough, it is certainly not for faint-hearted. Richard Aster, who manages both growth and value funds, has been shopping. These are his buys and sells during the third quarter. Many of them are down since he bought. If you believe in value, you should look into this stocks. Richard Aster Jr owns 136 stocks with a total value of $2.6 billion. More...
Richard Aster likes to buy growth companies at reasonable prices. He runs both value fund and growth fund. In his recent letter he said that long-term investment results, history clearly shows, are improved by buying good companies or mutual funds or adding to existing positions during difficult stock market environments. These are some of the companies he likes. More...
While a lot of value managers have hard times, Rick Aster avoided big losses. His value fund performed better than the market by about 4.5%, and his growth fund matched the market. These are his buys and sells during the second quarter. Richard Aster Jr owns 136 stocks with a total value of $2.76 billion. More...
To Richard Aster Jr, there is not much difference between growth and value. He is right. If you can buy growth companies at "value" prices, why not? Richard Aster Jr owns 139 stocks with a total value of $2.9 billion. These are the details of the buys and sells. More...
Richard Aster Jr, the Guru who plays both value and growth sides of Wall Street, runs both growth fund and value funds. He does well with both of them, to him there is no difference between price and value. These are the details of the buys and sells during the fourth quarter. More...
To Richard Aster Jr, there is not much difference between growth and value. He is right. If you can buy growth companies at "value" prices, what not? These are his buys and sells during the third quarter. Richard Aster Jr owns 128 stocks with a total value of $3.7 billion. More...
Richard Aster Jr, the Guru who plays both value and growth side of Wall Street, runs both growth fund and value funds. His growth fund averaged 13.2% during the past 10 years, and his value fund avareged 18.3%. Richard Aster Jr owns 132 stocks with a total value of $3.8 billion. These are the details of the buys and sells during the second quarter. More...
To Richard Aster, there is no difference between growth and value. He manages both Meridian Growth Fund and Value Fund, and outperforms the market over long term with both of them. More...
To Guru Richard Aster Jr, there is no difference between value and growth. He runs both growth fund and value funds. His growth fund averaged 13.2% during the past 10 years, and his value fund avareged 18.3%, both outperforming S&P500's 8.2% within the same period. These are his buys and sells during the first quarter. Richard Aster Jr owns 126 stocks with a total value of $3.7 billion. More...
Moderate inflation, stable interest rates and strong corporate profit growth resulted in broad based stock gains in 2006. The S&P 500 index advanced 13.6%, the NASDAQ 9.5% and the Russell 2000, representing smaller companies, did even better with a 17.0% increase. Telecom, energy and utilities were among the best performing sectors. The worst performing groups included healthcare, technology and consumer goods. Interest rates increased somewhat. The yield on the ten-year government bond advanced to 4.71% from 4.39% at the beginning of 2006. More...
We recently invested in ABM Industries, a leader in the fragmented janitorial services industry with related services such as parking, security, engineering and lighting. ABM suffered earnings declines due to fewer high margin lighting projects, some cost escalation on fixed price contracts and the underperformance of its SSA security acquisition. The lighting division is now rebounding with new business tied to energy tax credits and efforts to fix the security division are yielding results.With the majority of revenues tied to the office market, ABM should benefit from higher occupancy rates as white collar employment continues to strengthen.We believe that earnings should grow to more than $1.50 per share in 2 to 3 years, up from $0.94 in 2006. ABM is reasonably valued at less than 16.5 times normalized earnings, has a strong balance sheet with $2.70 per share in net cash and pays an attractive 2% dividend yield. More...
Cerner Corp, a recent purchase, is the largest supplier of healthcare information technology (HCIT) for physician offices, hospitals, clinics, labs and pharmacies. The company offers the broadest solution set in the industry resulting in 30% market share. The HCIT market is forecasted to grow 8% over the next several years. The healthcare industry is compelled to continue investing in information technology systems to improve efficacy and efficiency. Approximately 25% of hospitals currently have a fully implemented electronic medical record (EMR) system, indicating how under penetrated the market is. Cerner is well positioned to benefit from this trend and, in our opinion, will grow profits at double-digit rates over the next several years. The stock sells at a reasonable valuation given its earnings growth potential, experienced management team and positive long-term investment outlook. More...
RPM International, a current holding, manufactures, markets and sells specialty paints, protective coatings, sealants, adhesives and roofing systems for the consumer and industrial markets. Products are sold in 151 countries and territories. RPM has a good long-term track record in growing earnings and dividends, and has solid financial characteristics. The company is expected to grow earnings at 12% during the next 5 years and has a return on equity of 17%. The shares are attractively valued, selling at 13.5 times estimated earnings and yielding over 3%. More...
Richard Aster Jr, the guy who plays both value and growth sides of Wall Street, buys Apria Healthcare Group Inc., United Stationers Inc., Winnebago Industries Inc., Avon Products Inc., Unisys Corp etc., sells Intersil Corp., Pearson plc, Manitowoc Co. Inc., Mellon Financial Corp., Eli Lilly & Co., Hot Topic Inc., Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. Common Stock, General Electric Co., Getty Images Inc. etc. during the 3-months ended 12/31/2006, according to the most recent filings of his investment company, Meridian Fund. Richard Aster Jr owns 128 stocks with a total value of $3.5 billion. These are the details of the buys and sells. More...
Richard Aster Jr of the Meridian Funds buys Zebra Technologies Corp., Bunge Ltd., Liz Claiborne Inc., Universal Corp., Dynegy Inc., Annaly Mortgage Management Inc, Everest Re Group Ltd., AirTran Holdings Inc., Rent-A-Center Inc., Cato Corp., Johnson & Johnson, Mattel Inc., sells Time Warner Inc., FileNet Corporation, Powerwave Technologies Inc., Tellabs Inc., Greater Bay Bancorp, Conseco Inc., Symmetry Medical Inc., Valassis Communications Inc., Delta & Pine Land Co., Hillenbrand Industries Inc., Lubrizol Corp. during the 3-months ended 09/30/2006, according to the most recent filings of his investment company. Richard Aster Jr plays both growth and value sides of the stock market. By the end of the third quarter, his growth fund gained 10.3%, while his value fund returned 9.8%. These are the details of his purchases and sells. More...
We remain positive on stocks, but believe, as always, that stock selection will be critical. The recent decline in interest rates and commodity prices are good for equities, both with respect to earnings growth and valuation and our portfolio should benefit. We continue to focus on small and medium-sized growth stocks that have an important market share, strong balance sheet and are well managed. More...
Disclaimers: GuruFocus.com
is not operated by a broker, a dealer, or a registered investment adviser.
Under no circumstances does any information posted on GuruFocus.com represent
a recommendation to buy or sell a security. The information on this site,
and in its related newsletters, is not intended to be, nor does it constitute,
investment advice or recommendations. The gurus may buy and sell securities
before and after any particular article and report and information herein
is published, with respect to the securities discussed in any article
and report posted herein. In no event shall GuruFocus.com be liable to
any member, guest or third party for any damages of any kind arising out
of the use of any content or other material published or available on
GuruFocus.com, or relating to the use of, or inability to use, GuruFocus.com
or any content, including, without limitation, any investment losses,
lost profits, lost opportunity, special, incidental, indirect, consequential
or punitive damages. Past performance is a poor indicator of future performance.
The information on this site, and in its related newsletters, is not intended
to be, nor does it constitute, investment advice or recommendations. The
information on this site is in no way guaranteed for completeness, accuracy
or in any other way. The gurus listed in this website are not affiliated
with GuruFocus.com, LLC.
Daily updates provided by QuoteMedia, Inc. (CSI). Fundamental company data provided by Zacks, Inc.
Printer friendly format
