Companies I'd Love to Own

For a follower of Warren Buffet, I’ve been quite remiss in my attention to great companies. It’s time I focused more on the brand names and businesses I’d be proud to own rather than chasing every company that looks undervalued and diffusing the gains on my portfolio.

Buying only on value and / or clear future promise is a philosophy that has paid off very well so far, getting me into great businesses like ITC, Infosys, SBI and Bharti at prices that seem throwaway by today’s standards. I’ve made at least 60% on these on an annualized basis, not bad by any standards!

In line with this strategy, I plan to maintain a watch-list of my favourite companies, starting today. Today’s post contains a few of the more obvious ones and I will keep adding companies to the list over subsequent posts. These may not be undervalued right now – in fact almost all would be priced quite high in today’s market – but there’s bound to be a time in future when I can pick them up on ‘sale’.

And, when that happens, I’ll be there. Will you?

Today’s List

I bet you recognize all of these companies, making them a great way to start a list of 'Great Companies to Own'

Jet Airways
Blue Star
Hero Honda
Bajaj Auto
Maruti Udyog
State Bank of India
Punjab National Bank
ICICI Bank
HDFC Bank
Kotak Mahindra Bank
United Breweries
ITC
Infosys
TCS
Wipro
Blue Dart
Sintex
Britannia
HLL
Asahi India
Apollo Hospitals
Hotel Leela Ventures
Mirza Tanners
CRISIL
Trent
Pantaloon Retail
Dabur
Marico
Gillette India
Cipla
Wockhardt
Ranbaxy
Bharti Televentures
Biocon

Do write in with your suggestions on companies big and small that might belong to this list. They must have something that gives them a strong, sustainable advantage in their market. Usually this is a brand name but it could be anything - a captive market, a niche area of expertise that others cannot get into, an early mover advantage in a potentially lucrative market...

Will wait for your comments. See you next time.