All the latest articles & insight from our investment writers to inspire your own research and analysis.
Screening again for high margins and high ROEs pinpoints the super accounts of AJ Bell. Maynard Paton studies the investing platform’s impressive business that has attracted 681,000 customers – including himself. Last month I revisited a ShareScope screen that applied two ratios favoured by ‘quality’ investors — operating margin and return on equity (ROE). The
Stepping in for Bruce this week, Jamie Ward looks at effect of Claude AI on SaaS businesses and wonders whether the banking industry can give insights as to the likely path forward for these businesses. He then reviews RELX (REL), the Schroders (SDR) takeover and Renishaw (RSW). The week before last, Anthropic (maker of the
Michael Taylor explores why so many traders fail by blurring short-term trades with long-term investments, and introduces his M2M versus T2H framework to define each clearly. In Part I, he explains how aligning timeframe, risk and discipline with the right strategy is critical to consistent performance. Most traders fail because they don’t know what game
Richard’s filter strikes out, so he takes a closer look at Cerillion, the software company that achieved no strikes at all last time. The company has a perfect track record, but how much does that tell us about the future? 5 Strikes Over the last few weeks, very few companies have published annual reports, only
This month’s deep dive into all thing’s funds-related looks at turbulent Japan, why it’s time to become more nervous about gold prices, an under-the-radar UK-listed PE fund that could be a great play on the UK economy, and a fab model portfolio of alternative listed funds from a UK investment bank. Japan – what’s going
Bruce takes a look at Cathie Wood’s research on previous tech bubbles and what peak Capex to GDP tells us about the current AI spending boom. Companies covered SLP, SFOR, NFG and LUCE. The FTSE 100, though rose +1.2% to 10,329 over the last 5 trading days. Nasdaq was flat and the S&P500 up less
Michael Taylor explores the hidden problem with demo trading – not the lack of skill, but the absence of emotion. He explains why finding the right balance of risk is essential for developing discipline, consistency and long-term trading success. Demo accounts are the source of contention amongst traders. Some say they are a way to
It is four out of four this time, as Cerillion, Hollywood Bowl, Ramsdens and RWS all pass the 5 Strikes test. Richard Beddard explains why Cerillion is the pick of the bunch, with a rare perfect score and a financial track record that merits closer scrutiny. 5 Strikes I’ve got good news and bad news.
A screen for high margins and high ROEs perhaps surprisingly identifies Hollywood Bowl. Maynard Paton studies the bowling group’s growth history, lease accounting, hefty capex and commendable leadership. Today I have revisited a ShareScope screen that applies two ratios favoured by ‘quality’ investors — operating margin and return on equity (ROE). The exact criteria I
Bruce takes a look at the causes of volatility in the natural gas price, and what this might signal for equity markets. Companies covered CKN, EYE, CTG. The FTSE 100 was down less than 0.5% over the last 5 trading days, but remains above the 10,000 level. Nasdaq was off less than -1%, while the
Michael Taylor examines why the trading industry is so profitable for brokers, educators and promoters, yet consistently punishing for most participants. He explores the structural incentives, behavioural traps and discipline gaps that explain why so many traders fail despite lower costs and better access than ever. The trading industry is extremely lucrative. But not for
Richard puts the last 10 shares to pass his minimum quality filter through 5 Strikes and finds two exotic companies. One is making less money in a roaring market. The other is making big profits in a declining one. Today, I am collecting up stragglers, the last companies to publish annual reports in 2025 that
