HOLMES BEACH – The Anna Maria Island Beach Café is taking on a new look from when it was known as Café on the Beach. The building is being painted a tan color, there's a new fenced in area east of the building to hide things such as refrigerators and air conditioners that detract from the Café's look and the old pancake cooking area now resembles a tiki hut.

"We've been doing well," said Mark Enoch on Thursday, Dec. 23, who assumed the franchise for the county-owned facility earlier this year along with his partner, Alan Kahana. "This past week's weather hurt our business, but that's the way it sometimes goes when you're on the beach."

There was some resistance when the United Park Services, their company, won the franchise on May 11, beating the former operators who had run it for years, but Enoch said the resistance has subsided.

"We've had some snowbirds (seasonal residents) return and they're impressed by what we've done," Enoch said. "They were happy to find out we didn't raise food prices."

They have added wraps, a salmon dish, fish and chicken tacos and more healthy food to the menu, but they recently re-introduced all-you-can-eat Mexican buffet on Tuesday nights and Italian buffet on Thursday nights.

More improvements are expected. They will request new signage at the entrance to the beach parking lot and Enoch wants to add more landscaping around the café. They added booths and a tiki décor to the indoor eating area and will soon serve coffee, cappuccino, cotton candy and fresh baked goods to the ice cream already there.

"We've been cleaning up the place and making changes," Enoch said. "It's a work in progress."

In March, they will have Nature's Academy offer nature classes and educational displays for kids of all ages, and on New Year's Eve, they will have a party from 5 to 7 p.m. followed by an early countdown at 7 p.m. for those who don't want to stay up until midnight. Mike Sales will provide the music, and reservations are suggested. Call them at 778-0784.

At the end of past years I have developed a habit of setting myself up for failure. Making predictions about the direction of prices in the financial markets is a hazardous business where guessing right 50 percent of the time is good. But yet, there is an expectation among the majority of investors that individuals who provide investment advice should be able to predict the future, somehow magically providing all the right tips to help them succeed at an above average rate.

I'm a little embarrassed to say that I'm just now reading "The Intelligent Investor," by Benjamin Graham, after being in the investment profession for about 23 years. Graham is not exactly a household name, but if you knew that he taught Warren Buffett at the Columbia University Business School you might pay attention. Buffett credits Graham with being the most important influence in his life after his father. Graham's track record as an investor left his peers envious.

Graham's opinion about the role of an investment advisor was one in which the value of the advisor to the client was in the form of helping the client avoid mistakes, not one in which the advisor generated excessive returns. Of course, avoiding mistakes does potentially help the rate of return become higher.

It has been amazing to me to read Mr. Graham's book written in 1948, fresh with memories of the Great Depression and World War II, and to relate the fear and greed cycle of investor emotions of that period to what we have experienced in the last 10 years. They are the same. The descriptions of the speculative market phase in 1929 could have been used as a great description of the technology stock bubble of 2000 and few would know the difference.

His recommendations for how investors should approach investing is very sound and includes criticism of taking too much risk in an effort to beat the market, short-term trading and viewing investments in equities as speculating as opposed to investing as an owner of the business. Interestingly, he was also a fan of formula based investing, which is the concept of using a set of rules to buy and sell stocks as a way to avoid the emotional mistakes which lead so many to sub-par returns.

So, as we approach a new year, it's my hope that a list of resolutions might be helpful as you consider your investment planning for 2011 and beyond. In the spirit of Benjamin Graham's vision of an advisor – client relationship, I hope they might help you avoid mistakes.

Don't take too much risk

The fund managers with the best track records we know of generally earned them by putting a higher priority on avoiding losses during tough times than generating the largest gains when things were good. Recovering from a 50 percent loss requires a 100 percent gain, and most investors have left the scene of the crime after absorbing a large loss and don't participate in the recoveries.

I would venture to say that for most investors, a plan averaging 6 to 8 percent with lower risk of failure will end up providing a better result than a more aggressive approach.

Don't fall in love with past success

There are exceptions, but every short and medium term trend that has ever existed has caused losses for those who came in too late. Stories from friends about their great success with some investment theme are great influences, but if they've already made a lot of money, isn't it time to consider when that game might end? They all do. Instead, consider what is being viewed in a pessimistic light as the bargains to consider for the winners of the next few years.

Be optimistic

Every crisis the U.S. economy has experienced felt like the world would never be the same and our best days were behind us. This has been going on for more than 200 years, but yet our standard of living keeps rising, personal wealth keeps rising, and our lives are longer and healthier than ever before when considering the population at large.

Returns from investment in stocks, bonds, and real estate have been very positive over periods of time that your investment planning horizon should encompass (10 to 20 years). You can always say, "It's different this time," but that has always been a losing bet.

I hope you enjoy a prosperous 2011, and wish you all the best for a happy and healthy new year.

Tom Breiter is president of Breiter Capital Management, Inc., an Anna Maria based investment advisor. He can be reached at 778-1900. Some of the investment concepts highlighted in this column may carry the risk of loss of principal, and investors should determine appropriateness for their personal situation before investing. Visit www.breitercapital.com.