A Bit More About Me...

Perspective, Recovery, and the Investing

Hey everyone,

As this community grows - and as my anonymity has officially been broken by recent podcast appearances - some of you have asked about my background. I figured it was time to share a bit more about the person behind Fundamentally Sound.

My real name is Mark Mulhern. I’m 38 years old from Boston, MA, USA. I am married and a proud father of two toddlers that are almost 2 & 4.

I have a degree in Economics and Finance and after graduating from college, worked in the finance industry for almost a decade. My background in finance mainly included accounting for investment funds/mutual funds, financial statement preparation, internal audit and 3rd party audit support, and eventually working on some popular ETFs - doing valuation on halted/illiquid companies etc.

The Pivot: Like many others, my family has been deeply impacted by addiction. I’m very open about this on my Substack with occasional posts because I believe it important to acknowledge openly - addiction can impact anyone. I lost my father when I was in my mid-20s and it compounded my own problems at the time. I chose to leave the finance industry to focus on my health and transition into the addiction recovery field.

Today, I am the Executive Director (CEO) of a growing non-profit recovery organization. I’ve helped build the organization from a two-employee operation with a $200k budget to a team of 10 employees at two locations with a near $1 million budget. I still handle our accounting, budgeting, financial statement preparation and filings, and our audits. This hands on ‘owner/operator’ experience has really contributed more than I ever expected, changing my perspective on investing. It is one thing to read a balance sheet and another to manage one.

My investing philosophy: I’ve been interested in markets and investing since high school. Fortunately (or unfortunately), I was in college during the 2008/2009 financial crisis. It proved to be an extremely cool education experience as I was watching the stock market crash live on TV at night and we were analyzing government responses and economic implications in class the next day. It was genuinely an exciting time to be a student, working through policy decisions and implications as they were happening in real time and was fuel for my interest in economics, the market, and investing.

My investing style has always been inspired by people like Buffett. I have always leaned contrarian, I’m a value investor at heart. That doesn’t mean I’m looking for ‘cigar butts’ but it does mean I’m looking to buy companies that are fundamentally disconnected from their current prices.

I have learned many lessons along the way but the most important of all has been to know what I own and why. Over time, and maybe because of personality/life experience, I have come to develop thick skin and disconnect the value of my stocks from the prices they reflect - red days don’t stress me out and green days don’t get me super excited. I try to look for the best opportunities to add as I am able - that may mean buying into red below my cost basis or buying into green above my cost basis as companies execute and conviction grows.

Fundamentally Sound: Many of you know me from Discord communities where I started sharing insights and helping people navigate financial statement questions. I figured if I was doing the deep-dives anyway, I realized I may as well start a Substack for them. This journey has been amazing so far and I’m so appreciative of all the support.

A Final Note on Perspective: I want to end by adding something else….

A friend recently reached out stressed about a major drawdown. I shared this, among more practical advice about allocation etc.:

so here’s the thing. bottom line - bro… no matter what happens you’ll be ok. I ruined my whole life, spent a large portfolio down to 0, took on $40k in credit card debt, and lost everything due to addiction. Today it’s all good. Started over at 27 walking into detox.

It’s always important to maintain perspective. As I often say, context always matters.

This year I reached 10 years in recovery. I have a wonderful family, I own the house I grew up in, I have a career I’m passionate about, and am now growing a community around my lifelong passions - finance, investing, and helping others.

Hope this helps you get to know me! I appreciate you all and all the support.

I am so excited for what’s to come.

Thanks for joining me on this journey.

-Manu

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Disclaimer: The content shared on Fundamentally Sound is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Please do your own research before making any investment decisions.

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