Stockpickr: Seeking Buffett's Apprentice

Shubin Stein began his career not as an investor, but as a doctor. His parents were in the medical field, and it was natural for him to go into it as well. But ultimately he chose his other love, investing, and decided to pursue a more entrepreneurial path in the investment space.

Shubin Stein is a very Buffett-esque investor. He told me, "I've grown up on Buffett's words. Since I was 11, I've read everything he's ever written and I've listened [to] or read as many of his speeches as I could get a hold of." Shubin Stein's funds have recently surpassed the $250 million mark, and they've had stellar annualized returns since their November 2000 inception, with no down years.

Shubin Stein's group takes a very focused approach. He owns only nine stocks, and he performs an enormous amount of research on every one. "Everyone in my shop just spent three months researching Tyco(TYC Quote). This is now our largest position," Shubin Stein said. "We looked through 10 years' worth of trade magazines, 10-K filings, all of their acquisitions, etc. Tyco is a situation where right now, as opposed to a few years ago when they had a lot more leverage, they are overcapitalized. They have too much cash sitting on the balance sheet."

Shubin Stein's opinion is that, with a pending breakup, Tyco will start returning cash to shareholders through buybacks or dividends and the stock will move higher.