Investing Education
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Chasing dividends often overlooks growth
Roger Montgomery
December 7, 2015
We have previously written about the bubble in stocks (and inevitably property) inflated by the baby boomer’s desperate search for yield. We described the pursuit of yield as a fad. So, while we were not surprised to watch investors rushing into higher yielding banks and Telstra, we were shocked to hear of investors buying BHP for its ‘progressive’ dividend. continue…
by Roger Montgomery Posted in Investing Education, Market Valuation.
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Three things every investor must avoid
David Buckland
November 2, 2015
The path to investment success is fraught with peril. It needn’t be this way, but along the road there are many traps for the unwary, and it seems that the natural state for we humans – at least when it comes to investments – is a certain level of unwariness.
With this in mind, we’ve set out below what we see as some of the main pitfalls along the way, and some thoughts on how you may avoid them.
by David Buckland Posted in Insightful Insights, Investing Education.
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Contemplating Risk
Ben MacNevin
October 26, 2015
Investing means dealing with uncertainty, and risk, by its very nature, is unquantifiable. But while it is impossible to predict the future, it can be a very useful exercise for investors to rigorously consider a range of possible outcomes for a business, with a particular focus on the downside. continue…
by Ben MacNevin Posted in Insightful Insights, Investing Education.
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Value Creation – Part 1
Russell Muldoon
October 22, 2015
When it comes to investing, choosing the right businesses to back may seem like a daunting task. With literally thousands of opportunities presented to you daily and loads of exciting ‘stories’ that management teams are more than happy to tell you about in order to attract your capital, there’s a way you can further break down the opportunity set into more bite sized chunks. continue…
by Russell Muldoon Posted in Insightful Insights, Investing Education.
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Five Forces
Stuart Jackson
October 16, 2015
The importance of ROE (return on equity) and buying companies with bright prospects is sacrosanct here at the Insights Blog but why? ROE is an important explanatory variable for superior share price performance and so we want businesses that can sustain high rates of return. When I talk about bright prospects it is the sustainability of these high rates of return that I am referring to. Whether the bright prospects relate to a rising tide of customers, the ability to pass on rising costs, the ability to be the low cost provider or the changing competitive landscape, how these factors serve to produce a high rate of return on equity is what we care about.
by Stuart Jackson Posted in Insightful Insights, Investing Education.
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Catastrophe risk
Scott Shuttleworth
October 7, 2015
The rewards in the stock market can be vast – why else would we spend so much time on it? But the risks can often go overlooked as we dream of retiring down at the beach tomorrow. One risk we would like to highlight is catastrophe risk. continue…
by Scott Shuttleworth Posted in Insightful Insights, Investing Education.
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Don’t jump at shadows
Roger Montgomery
September 23, 2015
As most readers will know, in July 2015 we launched the Montgomery Global Fund and The Montaka Global Fund. We were rather shocked when, just a month later in August, two or three investors withdrew their investment. When surveyed, the investors who withdrew their investments cited fears about an economic slowdown in China and its potential impact on markets globally. continue…
by Roger Montgomery Posted in Insightful Insights, Investing Education.
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Understanding value is key to dodging the landmines
Roger Montgomery
August 31, 2015
Reporting season is in full swing and the very large share price reactions following a large proportion of company announcements suggests that the results are surprising and unanticipated. It also might suggest that analyst valuations – those relied upon for the final buy or sell recommendations – might be filled with optimistic inputs or inappropriately formulated. Given the large number of financial types that read this blog, and the number of investors in the banks, it’s worth revisiting the valuation formula. continue…
by Roger Montgomery Posted in Insightful Insights, Investing Education.
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Are you investing or speculating?
Tim Kelley
July 30, 2015
When you last bought a parcel of shares, were you investing or speculating? The term speculation carries some negative connotations, evoking thoughts of risk and recklessness, and is probably not one many of us would want to identify with. It’s a distinction that often arises in financial journalism and marketing, with money managers typically laying claim to the investor label to convey that what they are doing is good, wholesome and professional, and not prone to misadventure. continue…
by Tim Kelley Posted in Insightful Insights, Investing Education.
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Keep it simple…
Russell Muldoon
July 23, 2015
For many investors, the sharemarket seems complicated, daunting and impossible to understand. One day the market is down on fears that interest rates might rise, that Greece will default and leave the Euro zone, or that China is slowing. The next day, it’s up because Greece never defaulted, because is China is slowing and they put in a range of circuit breakers to prevent their stock market from spiralling well and truly out of control.
In our experience, confusion amongst investors exists at least partly because of the human tendency to complicate matters. That, and the fact that many experts being replied upon, simply end up being wrong and the media tend to pile onto a story each and everyday making you think that it’s a bigger deal than it actually is. continue…
by Russell Muldoon Posted in Insightful Insights, Investing Education.