What is Glen Bradford's investment philosophy?

Glen Bradford's investment philosophy rests on four pillars: deep research (300+ SeekingAlpha articles, 8 books, 12 years on one thesis), concentrated conviction (entire net worth in a single asymmetric bet on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preferred stock), radical transparency (publishes all positions, trades, and losses publicly), and extreme patience (held through 12+ years and multiple presidential administrations).

What is Glen Bradford's track record?

Glen Bradford has a publicly documented 20-year track record including calling the 2009 market bottom, warning about Chinese stock fraud (then losing money in one), a multi-hundred-percent return on Yellow Media preferred shares, and an ongoing all-in bet on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac junior preferred stock. His options record is 1 win and 8 losses, which he publishes openly as part of his commitment to transparency.

Does Glen Bradford publish his investment positions?

Yes. Glen Bradford publishes all of his investment positions, including exact share counts across 26 series of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac junior preferred stock. He also publishes his complete trading history (2,068 transactions), his worst trades with detailed post-mortems, and his full track record of wins and losses dating back to 2005.

What are Glen Bradford's investment rules?

Glen Bradford follows five core rules: (1) Never invest in what you don't understand, (2) Conviction over diversification when you've done the research, (3) Document everything so you can't gaslight yourself, (4) Lead with your losses because trust is built on transparency, and (5) Options are expensive tuition — his 1W-8L record proves timing matters as much as thesis.

How Glen Bradford Invests | Value Investing, Conviction, Transparency

Four Pillars

The Philosophy

Everything I do as an investor comes back to these four ideas. None of them are original. The original part is actually following them when it hurts.

Deep Research

300+ articles

Over 300 articles published on SeekingAlpha, 8 books written, and 12 years of obsessive focus on a single thesis. I don't skim — I read every FHFA filing, every court brief, every quarterly transcript. If you're going to bet your net worth on something, you'd better know it cold.

Concentrated Conviction

All-in

While the finance industry preaches diversification, I went the other direction — entire net worth in one thesis. Net buyer in 14 of 16 quarters. When you've done the research and the math says the risk/reward is asymmetric, concentration isn't reckless. It's rational. (Still not financial advice.)

Radical Transparency

Every loss public

I publish my positions, my trades, my losses, and my worst options record (1W-8L) for anyone to see. Most people on the internet show you their winners. I lead with my losers. If you can't handle writing down your mistakes, you probably shouldn't be making the bets in the first place.

Patience

12+ years

Held through Obama, Trump 1.0, Biden, and Trump 2.0. Through court losses, government sweeps, and years where the S&P tripled while my position sat underwater. Patience isn't a virtue when you're wrong — but when the thesis is intact and the catalysts are aligning, it's everything.

The Receipts

Track Record Snapshot

I don't curate a highlight reel. Here's the real scoreboard — the wins that built conviction and the losses that built character.

Notable Wins

2009 Market Bottom Call — Published on SeekingAlpha, called it within weeks of the actual bottom
Yellow Media Preferred — Multi-hundred-percent return on a restructuring play
Chinese Fraud Warning — Publicly warned about Chinese stock fraud before the wave hit

Full track record

Notable Losses

CCME (China MediaExpress) — Warned about Chinese fraud, then fell for one. The irony still stings.
Options Record: 1W-8L — Eight options that expired worthless. Right thesis, wrong timing.
12 Years of Opportunity Cost — The S&P tripled while I held an underwater position. Patience has a price.

See my worst trades

Past performance is not indicative of future results. This is not financial advice. All investments carry risk, including total loss. I am not a registered investment advisor.

Learned the Expensive Way

The Rules I Follow

Every rule below was paid for with real money. Some of them I learned once. Some of them I learned several times because I'm a slow learner.

Never invest in what you don't understand

Sounds obvious. Then why did I lose money on a Chinese fraud stock (CCME) months after publicly warning about Chinese fraud stocks? Because I understood the sector but not the specific company. Lesson learned — the hard way.

Conviction > diversification

For me, not for you. This is not financial advice. But when you've spent 12 years and 300+ articles researching a single asymmetric bet, spreading your money across 30 tickers you barely know is the real risk.

Document everything — future you will thank present you

Every article, every trade, every thesis update. When you write it down, you can't gaslight yourself later. My SeekingAlpha archive is a time capsule of every dumb thing I've ever believed — and the few smart ones too.

Lead with your losses

If you can't handle seeing your mistakes written down, you shouldn't be making the bets. I publish my 1-win, 8-loss options record on the internet. It's embarrassing. It's also honest. Trust is built on the bad stuff, not the good.

Options are expensive tuition

1 win, 8 losses. That's my options record. Each one felt brilliant at entry and agonizing at expiry. The underlying thesis was often right — the timing was wrong. And in options, wrong timing IS wrong. I still trade them occasionally because apparently I enjoy paying tuition.

Everything Connected

The Investment Content Map

Every page on this site related to how I invest, organized by what you're looking for. Pick a lane.

Research & Thesis

The deep work — years of analysis distilled into pages

Data & Positions

The receipts — every trade, every position, every loss

Tools & Calculators

The tools I built or use to analyze the opportunity

Lessons & Philosophy

What I've learned from 20 years of doing this publicly

“Most people on the internet show you the highlight reel. I show you the behind-the-scenes footage where I trip over the cables, knock over the camera, and somehow still end up with a thesis I believe in.”

— Glen Bradford, somewhere on X at 2am

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Recommended Resources

Tools & books I actually use and recommend

SeekingAlpha Premium

Quant ratings, earnings transcripts, and the stock analysis community where I published 300+ articles.

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A Random Walk Down Wall Street

Burton Malkiel's classic case for index investing. The book that convinced millions to stop stock-picking.

View on Amazon

The Little Book of Common Sense Investing

John Bogle's manifesto on why low-cost index funds beat everything else. Straight from the founder of Vanguard.