Podcast

Alex Mason

Hi, I'm Alex and I'm an individual investor and podcaster who's curious about the world. I'm always looking for new ideas so I can experiment with them and teach the best of what I learn to others.

Join Me As I Study

Every S&P 500 Company and Mental Model

What stocks do you own and why do you own them? What are the fundamentals that ultimately drive stock market returns?

Join me in my journey to decode the business behind the stock, and uncover principles and best practices for individual investors.

My goal is to improve your investing process with knowledge and insight through case studies of real companies. This is the show where we explore the histories, business models, and economic characteristics of publicly traded companies, as well as mental models to complement investment analysis.

How did this all come about?

Famous investor Peter Lynch once said wise words regarding how to find excellent investments:

The person that turns over the most rocks wins the game. And that’s always been my philosophy.

Peter Lynch

Former Portfolio Manager, Magellan Fund

I realized a few years ago that if I was going to seriously become an investor one day, and a profitable one, that I would need to learn about the companies that represent the shares of stock I was seeking to buy.  And not just one, two, or a dozen.  I needed to study many.

I also realized that in order to do this well, it would require that I learn the fundamentals – at least the basics – of how these companies worked. 

How do they make money?  What are their business models?  How do they fit within modern civilization?

The creation of Stock Stories was a way of helping me answer this question.  And not just for me, but for any other eager investor hungry for the insight that I am seeking.

The podcast is a solo show, and is split into two parts: company case studies and mental models.  The case studies serve as a way of “turning over the rocks”.  The mental models serve as a way to explore underlying investment principles.

I am committed to learning and producing an episode about every company in the S&P 500 as a way to begin my investing journey.  I am also committed to learning about and producing an episode for every mental model I come across that seems useful.  Check out the episodes at the top of the page.  Click here for a full archive of covered companies.  Click here for a full archived of covered mental models.