UCLA Investors' Three Best-Performing Holdings

Editor's note: This snapshot of the UCLA Anderson School of Management's approximate $2 million Student Investment Fund was submitted by Stockpickr member Susanne Owen, also known as the Trading Nymph.

Each January, the 10 "fellows" of the UCLA Student Investment Fund (SIF) are given a preapproved list of about 150 companies that they may invest in. Current SIF fellow Daniel Aobdia says: "This approved list evolved as the result of all the previous SIF fellows' analyses. We have flexibility to remove stocks from the list or add new ones at the beginning of the program as well as during the year. Therefore, the approved list we will hand over to incoming fellows will be significantly different than the one that was handed to us."

To add and remove stocks from the list, SIF fellows need to perform a stock analysis and a present a "write-up." The SIF stock write-up is a fixed template (usually two pages) composed of:

• General stock and financial information about the firm.
• Business description.
• Investment thesis, including stock valuation .
• Investment risks .
• Overall recommendation and price target.

The aim of the write-up is to communicate whether the group should one day buy the stock or not, or sell it in the case that they hold it. To actually make a change to the list, group members must obtain approval from other SIF fellows and the SIF's faculty adviser, Professor Bill Cockrum.

Aobdia says, "More than 10 stocks have been added to the approved list this year," including two stocks that he wrote up: Chiquita Brands International CQB and The Kroger Company KR.

Aobdia explains his additions: "Chiquita because of the rise in commodity costs. The company is well-positioned to benefit from this rise in the future. Another positive point is the current turnaround of operations. I pitched Kroger but did not buy the stock. I believe the company has pretty good prospects on a long-term basis -- better than its traditional competitors in the supermarket space. However, I felt that the timing was not right in terms of buying the stock, partly due to the U.S. economy slowdown, and I am still waiting for a good price window to buy."

The SIF's Best Stock Picks of 2007

Of the SIF's approved list of names, the group currently holds 43 stocks spread over two equity portfolios: 18 stocks in a portfolio of value plays and 25 stocks in a growth-oriented portfolio.

The current three best-performing stock holdings: Apple AAPL, Express Scripts ESRX and Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B.