Imagine a stock which you have held for 13 years is now trading at the same price you paid for it. It would feel as though you have lost money on it. That’s what happened to Dairy Farm (SGX:D01): The consolation is that Dairy Farm has been giving out dividends over the 13-year period and one would still have made money from it.

Many said to focus on the long term but why are long term investors being punished in this case?

Dairy Farm’s businesses are highly prominent – Cold Storage and Giant supermarkets, 7-Eleven and Wellcome convenience stores, Guardian and GNC drugstores, IKEA furnishing store and Maxim’s eateries and cafes. These are household brands which are patronized by millions each day. How can the share price be so depressed (down 69% from its peak)? It beats me too so I am on a quest to find out what’s going on.