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How to work out whether a firm is good acquirer 10th July 2019 by Richard Beddard - Richard uses a trick from Judges Scientific’s playbook to assess local hero Scientific Digital Imaging. Both companies acquire scientific instrument manufacturers using a “buy and… ...more
Weekly Commentary: 08/07/19 8th July 2019 by Jeremy Grime - The Bubble has burst Sometimes we spend so long waiting for something to happen we don’t realise it has started. But I think it has… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Imperial Brands 3rd July 2019 by Maynard Paton - Imagine this. You find a blue-chip company that offers: * 21 years of consecutive dividend increases, with the last ten years showing 10% per annum… ...more
Weekly Commentary: 01/07/19 1st July 2019 by Jeremy Grime - Disruption in the Courts Early for lunch on the 24th floor of Tower 42 in the City I gazed over the tower blocks of the… ...more
The Future of Retail portfolio 26th June 2019 by Richard Beddard - Rule number one in investing is to buy what you know, but how does that work when what you know is changing day by day?… ...more
Weekly Commentary: 24/06/19 24th June 2019 by Jeremy Grime - Structural Change in the City It always amazes me how debt can lead to innovation. Humans find ingenious solutions. The Bank of England was founded… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: JD Sports Fashion 18th June 2019 by Maynard Paton - Today I am revisiting the share screen that pinpointed Games Workshop back in January. The shares of the quirky wargaming retailer have soared more than… ...more
Weekly commentary: 17/06/19 17th June 2019 by Jeremy Grime - It’s “avoid the warnings” time Last week saw a few profit warnings. Somero, Ted Baker, Quiz, Pendragon warnings were based on revenue disappointments but I… ...more
Scapa has had a rocky three weeks. Its market capitalisation is down by 50%. Is it a buy? 13th June 2019 by Alistair Blair - THE SETTING After nine years of impressive revivification under CEO Heejae Chae, the specialist tapes maker Scapa has just delivered three tingling episodes in three… ...more
Checking the numbers match the story 11th June 2019 by Richard Beddard - One thing we should always check is that a company’s long-term performance matches the story it tells us. Churchill China says it is “adding value”… ...more
Weekly Commentary: 10/06/19 10th June 2019 by Jeremy Grime - Companies with Culture The noise around Woodford’s humiliation last week was deafening. And it was a bad week for Hargreaves Lansdown (-14%). I don’t recall… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Jupiter Fund Management 5th June 2019 by Maynard Paton - Today I have revisited a share screen that applies two ratios favoured by ‘quality’ investors — operating margin and return on equity (ROE). The exact… ...more
Weekly Commentary: 03/06/19 3rd June 2019 by Jeremy Grime - The “End of Global Trade” Week Last week the talk moved from politics to trade wars. Consensus seems to be that the trade war between… ...more
Hidden treasure on your doorstep 30th May 2019 by Richard Beddard - Finding local businesses listed on the stock market is easy with the help of SharePad and Google Maps. Richard maps the market to find out… ...more
Weekly commentary: 28/05/19 28th May 2019 by Jeremy Grime - Time to own value? Unicorns The Unicorns stable door has been left wide open. Beyond Meat, a US loss making protein meat brand, listed in… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Domino’s Pizza 22nd May 2019 by Maynard Paton - This in-depth article covers one of the most impressive UK growth stocks of the last 20 years — Domino’s Pizza. Domino’s appeared on my radar… ...more
Portmeirion: When confidence crumbles 14th May 2019 by Richard Beddard - SharePad is not just about discovering new shares, it can help us see shares we are familiar with in a new light. Richard uses it… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Abcam 8th May 2019 by Maynard Paton - Today I have returned to the share screen I employed to pinpoint Victrex the other week. To quickly recap, this screen applies two ratios favoured… ...more
Bodycote: A stalwart in cyclical clothing 2nd May 2019 by Richard Beddard - Richard investigates a company that not only walks the walk, it talks the talk. I am not going to lie, even if it means shattering… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Victrex 25th April 2019 by Maynard Paton - This week I am tracking down a potential long-term winner by employing two ratios favoured by ‘quality’ investors. The first measure is operating margin, which… ...more
RM: Will profit endure? 16th April 2019 by Richard Beddard - Richard considers whether the supplier of educational resources and software services can sustain profitability and reignite growth. There’s a good chance, he thinks, which makes… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Renishaw 8th April 2019 by Maynard Paton - I am convinced the very best shares to own are often led by executives who truly act in the interests of ordinary shareholders. In particular,… ...more
RM: Is profit real? 3rd April 2019 by Richard Beddard - Richard investigates RM, one of the stock market's great survivors, starting with just one question. It takes him on a twisty trail... Before we get… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Craneware 26th March 2019 by Maynard Paton - Years ago I read Super Stocks, an investment book that claimed to reveal “powerful new ideas” to uncover “opportunities for spectacular profits”. I sadly can’t… ...more
Moneysupermaaaaaaahhhhhhket 19th March 2019 by Richard Beddard - The veteran price comparison company is changing, and maybe for the better. Richard investigates one of the companies that easily met the criteria of his… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Accesso Technology 12th March 2019 by Maynard Paton - This article has not turned out as I had expected. I was hoping to study a quality growth business that had seen its share price… ...more
Fishing like Fundsmith 5th March 2019 by Richard Beddard - Richard builds a Fundsmith filter, taking it from concept to conclusion. The aim: To reduce the “junk” in our watchlists so we are fishing in… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Hargreaves Lansdown 27th February 2019 by Maynard Paton - Quality companies often produce exceptional returns for ordinary investors. Just ask Terry Smith or Nick Train. These ace fund managers have delivered wonderful gains by… ...more
Performance measurement for pros 20th February 2019 by Richard Beddard - Investors tend to judge their portfolios by how much they go up or down in value, typically compared to a benchmark index like the FTSE… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Apple 11th February 2019 by Maynard Paton - Being able to analyse international shares — at no extra cost! — is a wonderful feature of SharePad. And finding overseas shares within SharePad is… ...more
Putting performance into perspective 5th February 2019 by Richard Beddard - Richard reads Fundsmith Equity Fund’s annual letter to fundholders and suggests a modest improvement that could change your perception of financial history. He also responds… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Games Workshop 30th January 2019 by Maynard Paton - Could now be the time to return to dynamic growth shares? Wonder-stocks such as Fever-Tree, Boohoo.com and Keywords Studios are all well below their highs… ...more
Starting with the big picture 23rd January 2019 by Richard Beddard - Richard starts his analysis of fast growing online beach holiday retailer On The Beach with new SharePad views designed to give him the big picture… ...more
Magic Formula stocks for 2019 & 2018 performance 18th January 2019 by Marketing - Back in 2016 we began testing and tracking three model portfolios based on Joel Greenblatt’s magic formula approach (click here to read more about this)… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Plus500 16th January 2019 by Maynard Paton - Before I start looking at Plus500 (LSE: PLUS), I have some good news…. …you can now employ my SharePad screening criteria with just a few… ...more
Assessing whether profit is real 10th January 2019 by Richard Beddard - On the face of it Ricardo is a great company, but in recent years its earnings have deviated a long way from the cold hard… ...more
How I build and manage my share portfolio 10th January 2019 by Martin Stamp - The key thing to stress at the beginning and, as many of you will already be well aware, there are many ways to become a… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Somero Enterprises 2nd January 2019 by Maynard Paton - How did your portfolio fare during 2018? If you managed to side-step the market falls, very well done. For the rest of us — including… ...more
A SharePad for every occasion 21st December 2018 by Richard Beddard - Richard takes a break from company analysis and reveals a new layout for news, and reflects on some of the other tweeks he has used this… ...more
Two good companies, but which is better? 17th December 2018 by Richard Beddard - Richard takes a first look at Softcat, and he likes what he sees, even in comparison to rival Computacenter, another fine business. Both companies make… ...more
A Special SharePad Investigation: Patisserie Valerie 11th December 2018 by Maynard Paton - Before I go any further, let me just state that I am not here to say “I told you so”. But whenever I have lost… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Mattioli Woods 4th December 2018 by Maynard Paton - Many years ago, one of my favourite sources for investment ideas was the Financial Times. However, the FT’s articles did not interest me, and nor… ...more
How to win 79% of the time – the Santa Claus effect 28th November 2018 by Martin Stamp - How to be a winner 79% of the time and be up an average of 3.5%. Sounds enticing. I was reminded of the Santa Claus… ...more
Searching SharePad for something special 27th November 2018 by Richard Beddard - Richard Beddard investigates DotDigital in SharePad. The data indicates it has been very prosperous since it floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2011. A… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Warpaint London 21st November 2018 by Maynard Paton - I am always looking for shares that can double, triple, quadruple or more during the years ahead. And one good way of finding such great… ...more
What really makes a great business? 14th November 2018 by Richard Beddard - To identify great businesses we must go beyond the numbers and understand what causes them. In this article I revisit 4Imprint, an investment I should… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Zytronic 9th November 2018 by Maynard Paton - Let me start with a confession: 2018 is fast becoming a year to forget for my portfolio. Suffice to say, my shares have suffered a… ...more
Evaluating a hot tip 2nd November 2018 by Richard Beddard - Psst, company XYZ is going great guns, it's shooting for the moon, get in before it is too late!!! In today's article, Richard uses SharePad… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: PayPoint 23rd October 2018 by Maynard Paton - I don’t know about your shares, but my portfolio was thumped during this month’s market sell-off. The drubbing prompted me to consider whether I should… ...more
When dull businesses come good 16th October 2018 by Richard Beddard - Stroll into a WH Smith and you might wonder why a shop that sells Sellotape, colouring books and slime (really!) exists today, but the company… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Character 8th October 2018 by Maynard Paton - My SharePad screening for buying opportunities has short-listed Character (LSE: CCT) as a possible longer-term investment. The attraction here is a quite extraordinary story about… ...more
Filtering new issues 28th September 2018 by Richard Beddard - New issues have a reputation for delivering poor investment returns. In this article we filter SharePad for companies that may be more seasoned than they… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: CMC Markets 11th September 2018 by Maynard Paton - In this article I continue my hunt for shares that could deliver market-beating returns… …and this time my SharePad system has identified CMC Markets (LSE:… ...more
The old ones are the good ones 11th September 2018 by Richard Beddard - Exciting news: Aston Martin is readying itself to float on the stock market. Investors should think twice though, before buying the shares. Typically, it is… ...more
Screening for my next long-term winner: Ramsdens 31st August 2018 by Maynard Paton - I am always hunting for great shares that could power ahead of the market during the years to come… …and just few days ago, my… ...more
Building a base filter 30th August 2018 by Richard Beddard - To demonstrate how to filter in SharePad, we’ll build a base filter that filters out the shares we are least likely to be interested in.… ...more
The perils of filtering stocks 20th August 2018 by Richard Beddard - This is the second article in the series “From ideas to investments” in which I look at the process of finding and evaluating investment ideas.… ...more
How the stock market actually works 27th July 2018 by Richard Beddard - Today's article is the first in a new series called ‘From ideas to investments’ which takes an in-depth look at how to generate investment ideas… ...more
Motorpoint: A car dealer that stands out from the crowd 19th July 2018 by Richard Beddard - Financial statistics from SharePad and non-financial data from the company itself all indicate Motorpoint is no ordinary car dealer. If you’ve bought a vehicle from… ...more
Next – A closer look at its online business 19th July 2018 by Phil Oakley - For many years Next has been a very profitable retailer of clothes and homewares. Like most of its peers it has had to face up… ...more
Stock Watch – Portmeirion 11th July 2018 by Phil Oakley - Portmeirion Group is based in Stoke on Trent and is a leading maker of homeware products such as tableware, cookware, placemats, candles and fragrances. It… ...more
Hunting in a sea of pessimism 3rd July 2018 by Phil Oakley - Buying shares that are out of favour is a favourite strategy amongst contrarian value investors. However, in recent times it is not one that has… ...more
When bad companies become good: IG Design 2nd July 2018 by Richard Beddard - IG Design, formerly International Greetings, is one of my biggest investment mistakes—even though I made a few quid on it. Since I sold my shares… ...more
Stock Watch: Morrisons – Is a bad business turning itself into a reasonable one? 26th June 2018 by Phil Oakley - Ten years ago, Morrisons was doing reasonably well. Under the leadership of Dutchman Marc Bolland it was wooing customers with a very simple and powerful… ...more
Electrocomponents: Becoming First Choice 20th June 2018 by Richard Beddard - You don’t have to look far to discover Electrocomponents’ ambition. “BECOMING FIRST CHOICE” is the title of its annual report this year. But that strapline… ...more
Avoiding bad shares is just as important as picking good ones 13th June 2018 by Phil Oakley - If you've been investing in individual shares for a while then you've probably gone through the experience of losing some money on one or more… ...more
Stock Watch: Hill & Smith Holdings 5th June 2018 by Phil Oakley - Shares in Hill & Smith Holdings (LSE:HILS) have been a very solid investment in recent years. The company's strategy of focusing on niche infrastructure markets… ...more
Face-off: Tenpin versus Hollywood Bowl 5th June 2018 by Richard Beddard - Tenpin bowling chains are like London buses. You wait around for years and then two of them list almost at the same time. Phil Oakley… ...more
Stock Watch: Superdry 22nd May 2018 by Phil Oakley - Superdry wants to create a global lifestyle brand by selling premium, high quality and affordable clothing to people. Its brand may not be as recognisable… ...more
First steps to an inheritance tax-exempt portfolio 21st May 2018 by Richard Beddard - Investing in AIM-listed shares can help you reduce inheritance tax but you have to be picky. Not all shares qualify, and they must be good… ...more
Buying quality on its own is no guarantee of success 15th May 2018 by Phil Oakley - There are many different ways to make money from the stock market. Over the last few years, one of the most popular and discussed strategies… ...more
Stock Watch: InterContinental Hotels 9th May 2018 by Phil Oakley - Disclosure: At the time of writing I own shares in InterContinental Hotels. InterContinental Hotels (IHG) can trace its roots back to the Bass brewing company.… ...more
A new issue that is already a winner 8th May 2018 by Richard Beddard - Looking through the prisms of profitability, debt, cash flow, strategy and valuation, Strix may be an exception to the rule that new issues make bad… ...more
Dark days for regulated utility shares 24th April 2018 by Phil Oakley - Since they were privatised in the mid 1980s and early 1990s, the shares of regulated utility companies have found a place in many private investors'… ...more
Key questions to ask company management 23rd April 2018 by Phil Oakley - If you are attending any events which enable you to meet company management face-to-face, take along Phil's handy crib sheet - a list of key… ...more
AGMs – If in doubt, ask 23rd April 2018 by Richard Beddard - Most companies will answer questions from shareholders and potential shareholders. At Annual General Meetings shareholders have a right to ask questions and get answers. A… ...more
Stock Watch: Cranswick 17th April 2018 by Phil Oakley - Cranswick is a UK-based food producer. It specialises in the production and selling of pork and poultry products. The sales mix of its business is… ...more
Should investors avoid low margin companies? 10th April 2018 by Phil Oakley - Highly profitable companies can make outstanding long-term investments. Arguably, the best way to measure a company's profitability is to compare its profits with the amount… ...more
Putting performance in perspective 9th April 2018 by Richard Beddard - To get a grip on where a company is going you have to understand where it has come from. Fortunately, that doesn’t mean reading every… ...more
Stock Watch: Domino’s Pizza 27th March 2018 by Phil Oakley - Domino's Pizza is a very good business. It has exploited the trend of the growth in take-away pizza superbly and now has a 46% share… ...more
Working out what could go wrong with a share 26th March 2018 by Richard Beddard - Investors pin their hopes on what could go right. The great product. The winning strategy. The growing market. The new technology. These may be good… ...more
Checking out a company’s cash conversion 21st March 2018 by Phil Oakley - A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the issues investors faced in working out a company’s true profits. In many cases, the ways in… ...more
Decrypting a company’s business model and strategy 13th March 2018 by Richard Beddard - While it’s comforting to know a business has enjoyed success, long-term investors must also form an opinion on its prospects if we’re to hold the… ...more
Stock Watch: Hollywood Bowl 13th March 2018 by Phil Oakley - Hollywood Bowl is the UK’s largest operator of tenpin bowling centres. It currently has 58 centres across the UK with 43 trading under the Hollywood… ...more
Can you trust a company’s profits? 7th March 2018 by Phil Oakley - This article is more suited to experienced investors. Profits are all important when it comes to investing in companies. To make money over the long… ...more
Stock Watch: Galliford Try 28th February 2018 by Phil Oakley - Shares in building and construction company Galliford Try have been hammered since it announced its half year results a couple of weeks ago. The results… ...more
How to read an annual report 27th February 2018 by Richard Beddard - Rule number one in long-term investing is to understand how the businesses you expect to profit from will make money - otherwise, how can you… ...more
A smarter way to use analysts’ EPS forecasts 21st February 2018 by Phil Oakley - Should investors pay much attention to analysts’ profit forecasts? There is a school of thought that suggests that they should not. Detractors say that forecasts… ...more
Stock Watch: City Pub Group 14th February 2018 by Phil Oakley - (LSE:CPC 196p, Mkt Cap £96.3m, EMS 1500, Analysts 2) City Pub Group listed on AIM back in November. The company currently owns 38 managed pubs… ...more
The Terry Smith algorithm 14th February 2018 by Richard Beddard - In this article I’ve attempted to find Fundsmith-like companies using SharePad. The results are mixed but there’s a lot to be learned from the experiment.… ...more
A checklist for busy investors 7th February 2018 by Phil Oakley - There are many full time private investors out there but for others investing is a hobby or something that they fit around their day to… ...more
Using SharePad’s “Live” tables in your own spreadsheets 30th January 2018 by Richard Beddard - Maybe you already download tables of data from SharePad by clicking on the sharing button in SharePad's blue Table view, but this data is dead.… ...more
Stockwatch: Avon Rubber
30th January 2018 by Phil Oakley - Avon Rubber is a good example of a company that fits into the category of a profitable niche business. It started off as a cloth… ...more
A better way to track changes in company performance 23rd January 2018 by Phil Oakley - It doesn't take too much time to get a feel for how well a company is doing. Most people do this by looking at percentage… ...more
Stock Watch: Nichols 16th January 2018 by Phil Oakley - Soft drinks company Nichols (AIM:NICL) has been a good share to own over the last few years. It has many of the hallmarks of a… ...more
Buy and build 15th January 2018 by Richard Beddard - If you take a look at Diploma through the lens of SharePad's summary page (under the green 'Financials' tab), you will find it shares many… ...more
Magic Formula stocks for 2018 10th January 2018 by Phil Oakley - For those of you who like the idea of a buy and forget investing strategy then Joel Greenblatt's Magic Formula of buying good companies at… ...more
Settings for the big picture 3rd January 2018 by Richard Beddard - Happy New Year! I've started mine by tidying up my many desktops: my physical desk, my laptop's desktop, and SharePad. I did so much experimenting… ...more
Simple is best – Magic Formula Investing in 2017 19th December 2017 by Phil Oakley - If you were to ask me to recommend just one book on investing then I would struggle to think of anything better than Joel Greenblatt's… ...more
Stock Watch: Henry Boot (LSE:Boot) 6th December 2017 by Phil Oakley - Henry Boot is a Sheffield-based company which makes money from property and construction activities. It has four main sources of income: Buying land, getting planning… ...more
Two charts to unlock a company’s finances 6th December 2017 by Richard Beddard - By way of introducing two charts I'm routinely using to suss out how companies are financed - the twin pillars of debt and equity -… ...more
Searching for companies paying out more of their profits 29th November 2017 by Phil Oakley - One of the main considerations for people investing in shares these days is the dividend income they will get from owning them. With a world… ...more
Stock Watch: Fenner 22nd November 2017 by Phil Oakley - Over a decade ago when I was a smaller companies analyst in the City, UK engineering company Fenner was part of the portfolio of stocks… ...more
Is the current ratio an outdated measure of company safety? 15th November 2017 by Phil Oakley - One of the most commonly cited measures of a company's financial strength is something known as the current ratio. It is a measure of liquidity… ...more
The elusive hire firms you can buy and hold 14th November 2017 by Richard Beddard - Last week I introduced the listed plant and tool hire companies and mentioned in passing the industry has a bit of a boom bust reputation. Perhaps I… ...more
Income Opportunities From Dividends 10th November 2017 by Phil Oakley - In the last of his Investors Chronicle articles, Phil looks at companies reinstating dividends or starting to pay them for the 1st time. Read pdf… ...more
Homing in on hire firms 7th November 2017 by Richard Beddard - Homing in on hire firms When business is sluggish at construction sites and factories, tools and equipment are returned and hire companies make less profit.… ...more
How to steer clear of dividend traps 3rd November 2017 by Phil Oakley - First published in Investors Chronicle, Phil explains how to avoid the shares that might let you down. Read pdf article ...more
Finding safe high-yielding shares 27th October 2017 by Phil Oakley - First published in Investors Chronicle, Phil explains how to identify which high-yielding shares are most likely to maintain or grow their dividends. Read pdf article ...more
Stock Watch: Abcam – is lower profitability worth paying for? 23rd October 2017 by Richard Beddard - Abcam shares are more popular than ever. Perhaps they're worth it. Nailed on growth stock There's no doubt Abcam has grown. In performance terms it's… ...more
When valuations don’t matter and when they do 11th October 2017 by Phil Oakley - Lots of people will tell you that the price you pay for a share really matters. This is because it has a big say on… ...more
Stock Watch: Elegant Hotels Group 4th October 2017 by Phil Oakley - Elegant Hotels is the owner and operator of a number of upmarket hotels on the Caribbean island of Barbados. The company has been in business… ...more
Finding companies that speak your language 4th October 2017 by Richard Beddard - Finding companies that speak your language It's a commonly held view that the only bits of financial reports worth paying attention to are the numbers… ...more
How much is a company worth? A look at different ways to value shares 27th September 2017 by Phil Oakley - Two weeks ago I wrote about how to try and value companies that aren't making a profit. This week I'm going back to basics for… ...more
Tech recruiter is statistically attractive, but is it special? 26th September 2017 by Richard Beddard - There are two questions I ask of all companies I might invest in. Do the statistics indicate the business is highly profitable and, if they… ...more
13th September 2017 by Phil Oakley - How to value loss-making companies One of the questions I am frequently asked is: "How do I value loss-making companies?". The short answer is that… ...more
How I choose my next share using filters and charts 13th September 2017 by Richard Beddard - After many years of investment I still feel a sense of anticipation when I examine lists of shares looking for new opportunities. It's like opening… ...more
Stock Watch: Redrow 13th September 2017 by Phil Oakley - The state of the housing market - and the direction of house prices in particular - is a key driver of Britain's economy. When house… ...more
Stock Watch: Scapa Group 5th September 2017 by Phil Oakley - Scapa Group has transformed itself over the last few years by following a strategy of offering more value to its customers. It has worked well… ...more
A blueprint for better long term investing 31st August 2017 by Phil Oakley - Holidays are great for switching off from the stresses and strains of the daily grind and concentrating on what's really important in life. I've just… ...more
Shares to hold to the grave, and beyond… 31st August 2017 by Richard Beddard - For my debut SharePad article, I've been invited to introduce my stockpicking strategy. It's a daunting prospect because strategy is everything. Without a strategy, luck… ...more
Stock Watch: Ashtead Group 10th August 2017 by Phil Oakley - Ashtead makes its money by renting out equipment to construction and industrial companies - things like aerial platforms, forklift trucks, tools, diggers, cranes, power generators… ...more
Stock Watch: Castings 25th July 2017 by Phil Oakley - Castings plc is a foundry business. Foundries are factories which produce metal castings. Castings has two in the UK - in the West Midlands and… ...more
Hunting in the minefield of cheap shares 18th July 2017 by Phil Oakley - Most people like a bargain. Bargain hunting on the stock market has long been a popular pastime or even a full time occupation for investors.… ...more
The case for dividend investing in dangerous markets 4th July 2017 by Phil Oakley - I am finding investing more than just a little bit frustrating these days. The reason for this is that I am struggling to find shares… ...more
Stock Watch: RPC 4th July 2017 by Phil Oakley - RPC (rigid plastic containers) designs and manufacturers plastic products for packaging markets. The company makes thousands of different products such as plastic bottles, food containers,… ...more
Stock Watch: James Halstead 27th June 2017 by Phil Oakley - James Halstead has been in business since 1915. It started out dyeing, finishing, waterproofing and rubberising textiles that were used in rainwear and outdoor clothing.… ...more
Making sense of highly priced shares 21st June 2017 by Phil Oakley - In my 20 years of investing I am finding the current stock market conditions the most challenging I have ever encountered. My investing career started… ...more
Stock Watch: Watkins Jones 14th June 2017 by Phil Oakley - Stock Watch: Watkins Jones Watkins Jones is a property developer, best known for building private student accommodation. It floated on AIM in March 2016. The… ...more
The case for enterprise valuations 6th June 2017 by Phil Oakley - A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the subject of PE ratios (click here to read the article) and the ins and outs of… ...more
Stock Watch: Howden Joinery Group (Howdens) 31st May 2017 by Phil Oakley - Howden Joinery Group is the parent company for Howdens. Howdens was established in 1995 with 14 depots by its current chief executive Matthew Ingle when… ...more
PE ratios and how to use them 23rd May 2017 by Phil Oakley - PE ratios and how to use them Price to earnings (PE) ratios are the most commonly used method of weighing up the value of a… ...more
Stock Watch: Smart Metering Systems (AIM:SMS) 16th May 2017 by Phil Oakley - I recently wrote about Smart Metering Systems in my exclusive weekly newsletter for SharePad and ShareScope customers. It's an interesting company so I have decided… ...more
Stock Watch: FW Thorpe 9th May 2017 by Phil Oakley - FW Thorpe was founded in 1936 and has been listed on the stock exchange since 1965. The company designs and manufactures professional lighting systems for… ...more
Looking beyond free cash flow 9th May 2017 by Phil Oakley - Ask me about the kind of financial characteristics I like to see in a potential investment and the first two I will usually cite are… ...more
Stock Watch: FW Thorpe 24th April 2017 by Phil Oakley - FW Thorpe was founded in 1936 and has been listed on the stock exchange since 1965. The company designs and manufactures professional lighting systems for… ...more
Analysing the stocks in a filter 19th April 2017 by Phil Oakley - Running filters or screens is a popular way of finding shares to invest in. Whilst screening can be very powerful it is important to recognise… ...more
UK Dividend aristocrats 30th March 2017 by Phil Oakley - Phil's Investors Chronicle article on how to be a successful dividend investor. Read the article ...more
Why depreciation matters and EBITDA doesn’t 30th March 2017 by Phil Oakley - When it comes to weighing up asset-intensive sectors, depreciation matters. It is a real cost. This does not stop people ignoring it and touting the… ...more
The end of “hidden debts” 28th March 2017 by Phil Oakley - Accounting is a dry subject but a very important one. I perfectly understand why private investors' eyes glaze over at the mere mention of the… ...more
Stock Watch: XP Power 15th March 2017 by Phil Oakley - XP Power is based is headquartered in Singapore and has manufacturing sites in Vietnam and China. The company makes power control systems which convert power… ...more
How to avoid value traps 10th March 2017 by Phil Oakley - In this instalment, Phil explains how to spot value traps and finds some cheap shares that might bounce back. Read the article ...more
Free cash flow: what it is and how to use it 3rd March 2017 by Phil Oakley - In this week's Investors Chronicle, Phil explains how to use free cash flow to your advantage. Read the article ...more
Stock Watch: Treatt plc (LSE:TET) 1st March 2017 by Phil Oakley - Treatt plc has been in business since 1886. Based in Bury St Edmunds, the company specialises in making and selling products based on essential oils.… ...more
Kraft-Heinz’s bid for Unilever 22nd February 2017 by Phil Oakley - Disclosure: Phil Oakley owns shares in Unilever Last week's bid by US food company Kraft-Heinz for Unilever caught many investors by surprise. But in retrospect… ...more
Weighing up investment trusts 15th February 2017 by Phil Oakley - Many private investors like to build a portfolio of individual shares in order to grow the value of their savings as well as trying to… ...more
Riding a retail roll out 8th February 2017 by Phil Oakley - Note: This in an advanced article best suited to more experienced and confident investors. One of the most profitable investing strategies can be to buy… ...more
Does Tesco buying Booker make sense? 2nd February 2017 by Phil Oakley - Mergers and takeovers are part and parcel of the investing world. However, I think it's fair to say that last week's (27th January 2017) announcement… ...more
Value investing today 26th January 2017 by Phil Oakley - One of the great things about investing is that there are lots of different ways for people to try and make money. This means that… ...more
If you want to beat the stock market own fewer shares not more 18th January 2017 by Phil Oakley - As a private investor managing your own share portfolio you have to achieve two things over the long haul to consider your efforts a success.… ...more
Sector Watch: Beverages 18th January 2017 by Phil Oakley - Companies which make and sell branded drinks have long been popular with investors. One of the main reasons for this is that as businesses they… ...more
Sector Watch: FTSE 100 and AIM 100 Miners 13th January 2017 by Phil Oakley - Mining companies are very difficult to analyse. Their profits and cash flows are very closely related to trends in commodity prices and sentiment towards the… ...more
Paying up for quality shares – how much is too much? 10th January 2017 by Phil Oakley - "It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price." - Warren Buffett "The desirability of a… ...more
A great year for modified magic formula investing 4th January 2017 by Phil Oakley - A year ago I started a trial of three model portfolios based on Joel Greenblatt's magic formula approach (click here to read more about this). I wanted… ...more
What is investing? 10th November 2015 by Phil Oakley - Why do people invest their money rather than just save? It's not just about growing your savings so that you will have more money in… ...more
A brief guide to tax-efficient saving 9th November 2015 by Phil Oakley - Tax-efficient savings accounts (ISAs) and self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs) are the best option for most savers and investors. Here's what you need to know. Savings… ...more
Choosing your first investments 8th November 2015 by Phil Oakley - For some people the thought of picking their own shares can be a little bit daunting. Rest assured, it doesn't have to be. Whilst it… ...more
Investing in funds, investment trusts and ETFs 7th November 2015 by Phil Oakley - Many investors like to build a portfolio of individual shares and even bonds but for some investors, investment funds can be a useful alternative. For… ...more
Investing your portfolio for retirement income 6th November 2015 by Phil Oakley - From what I can see we are still firmly in a bull market in shares. Momentum remains a strategy that is paying off handsomely with… ...more
Chapter 1: Introduction 14th October 2015 by Phil Oakley - If you are reading this, the chances are that you've decided to take control of your investments. You may have been investing for some time… ...more
Chapter 2: Balance sheets 13th October 2015 by Phil Oakley - SharePad is packed full of useful financial data. This data holds the key to understanding the financial health and value of any company you are… ...more
Chapter 3: Analysing balance sheets 12th October 2015 by Phil Oakley - In the previous chapter we looked at how a balance sheet was put together and the numbers that go into it. In this chapter, we are going… ...more
Chapter 4: Income statements 11th October 2015 by Phil Oakley - Hopefully, you will now understand balance sheets and how important and useful they are. Let's move on to a set a numbers which most people think are… ...more
Chapter 5: Analysing income statements 10th October 2015 by Phil Oakley - Now that we've dealt with the basic format of an income statement it's time to move on and show you how SharePad turns those numbers into really… ...more
Chapter 6: The cash flow statement 9th October 2015 by Phil Oakley - The last four chapters have been spent looking at the balance sheet and income statement and how to use them. In this chapter, we will… ...more
Chapter 7: Analysing cash flow statements 8th October 2015 by Phil Oakley - We did a little bit of cash flow analysis in the last chapter. In this one, we look at the cash flow ratios that SharePad calculates… ...more
Chapter 8: Is this a good business? 7th October 2015 by Phil Oakley - How to measure company returns In the previous chapter, we learnt that profits and cash received (cash flow) are rarely the same value. We looked… ...more
Chapter 9: Share valuations 6th October 2015 by Phil Oakley - How to tell when shares are cheap or expensive In the previous chapter we looked at how to find out if a company was any good or… ...more
Chapter 10: Value investing 5th October 2015 by Phil Oakley - The previous chapters have hopefully shown you how useful SharePad can be when you are sifting through the finances of a company. Information that might… ...more
Chapter 11: Dividend investing 4th October 2015 by Phil Oakley - If you are watching or listening to the news at the end of the day you will usually be told what happened to the stock… ...more
Chapter 12: Growth investing 3rd October 2015 by Phil Oakley - The last couple of chapters have focused on two particular styles of investing - dividend investing and value investing. Both these approaches to owning shares… ...more
Chapter 13: Investing in bonds 2nd October 2015 by Phil Oakley - Despite their names, ShareScope and SharePad are not just all about shares. They can help you with other investments as well. In this article I'm… ...more
Appendix A: Putting it all together 1st October 2015 by Phil Oakley - In this chapter, I use the data and tools in SharePad to show you how I analyse shares but it also applies to ShareScope. Even… ...more

How to work out whether a firm is good acquirer 10th July 2019 by Richard Beddard - Richard uses a trick from Judges Scientific’s playbook to assess local hero Scientific Digital Imaging. Both companies acquire scientific instrument manufacturers using a “buy and… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Imperial Brands 3rd July 2019 by Maynard Paton - Imagine this. You find a blue-chip company that offers: * 21 years of consecutive dividend increases, with the last ten years showing 10% per annum… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: JD Sports Fashion 18th June 2019 by Maynard Paton - Today I am revisiting the share screen that pinpointed Games Workshop back in January. The shares of the quirky wargaming retailer have soared more than… ...more
Scapa has had a rocky three weeks. Its market capitalisation is down by 50%. Is it a buy? 13th June 2019 by Alistair Blair - THE SETTING After nine years of impressive revivification under CEO Heejae Chae, the specialist tapes maker Scapa has just delivered three tingling episodes in three… ...more
Checking the numbers match the story 11th June 2019 by Richard Beddard - One thing we should always check is that a company’s long-term performance matches the story it tells us. Churchill China says it is “adding value”… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Jupiter Fund Management 5th June 2019 by Maynard Paton - Today I have revisited a share screen that applies two ratios favoured by ‘quality’ investors — operating margin and return on equity (ROE). The exact… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Domino’s Pizza 22nd May 2019 by Maynard Paton - This in-depth article covers one of the most impressive UK growth stocks of the last 20 years — Domino’s Pizza. Domino’s appeared on my radar… ...more
Portmeirion: When confidence crumbles 14th May 2019 by Richard Beddard - SharePad is not just about discovering new shares, it can help us see shares we are familiar with in a new light. Richard uses it… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Abcam 8th May 2019 by Maynard Paton - Today I have returned to the share screen I employed to pinpoint Victrex the other week. To quickly recap, this screen applies two ratios favoured… ...more
Bodycote: A stalwart in cyclical clothing 2nd May 2019 by Richard Beddard - Richard investigates a company that not only walks the walk, it talks the talk. I am not going to lie, even if it means shattering… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Victrex 25th April 2019 by Maynard Paton - This week I am tracking down a potential long-term winner by employing two ratios favoured by ‘quality’ investors. The first measure is operating margin, which… ...more
RM: Will profit endure? 16th April 2019 by Richard Beddard - Richard considers whether the supplier of educational resources and software services can sustain profitability and reignite growth. There’s a good chance, he thinks, which makes… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Renishaw 8th April 2019 by Maynard Paton - I am convinced the very best shares to own are often led by executives who truly act in the interests of ordinary shareholders. In particular,… ...more
RM: Is profit real? 3rd April 2019 by Richard Beddard - Richard investigates RM, one of the stock market's great survivors, starting with just one question. It takes him on a twisty trail... Before we get… ...more
Moneysupermaaaaaaahhhhhhket 19th March 2019 by Richard Beddard - The veteran price comparison company is changing, and maybe for the better. Richard investigates one of the companies that easily met the criteria of his… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Accesso Technology 12th March 2019 by Maynard Paton - This article has not turned out as I had expected. I was hoping to study a quality growth business that had seen its share price… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Hargreaves Lansdown 27th February 2019 by Maynard Paton - Quality companies often produce exceptional returns for ordinary investors. Just ask Terry Smith or Nick Train. These ace fund managers have delivered wonderful gains by… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Apple 11th February 2019 by Maynard Paton - Being able to analyse international shares — at no extra cost! — is a wonderful feature of SharePad. And finding overseas shares within SharePad is… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Games Workshop 30th January 2019 by Maynard Paton - Could now be the time to return to dynamic growth shares? Wonder-stocks such as Fever-Tree, Boohoo.com and Keywords Studios are all well below their highs… ...more
Starting with the big picture 23rd January 2019 by Richard Beddard - Richard starts his analysis of fast growing online beach holiday retailer On The Beach with new SharePad views designed to give him the big picture… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Plus500 16th January 2019 by Maynard Paton - Before I start looking at Plus500 (LSE: PLUS), I have some good news…. …you can now employ my SharePad screening criteria with just a few… ...more
Assessing whether profit is real 10th January 2019 by Richard Beddard - On the face of it Ricardo is a great company, but in recent years its earnings have deviated a long way from the cold hard… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Somero Enterprises 2nd January 2019 by Maynard Paton - How did your portfolio fare during 2018? If you managed to side-step the market falls, very well done. For the rest of us — including… ...more
Two good companies, but which is better? 17th December 2018 by Richard Beddard - Richard takes a first look at Softcat, and he likes what he sees, even in comparison to rival Computacenter, another fine business. Both companies make… ...more
A Special SharePad Investigation: Patisserie Valerie 11th December 2018 by Maynard Paton - Before I go any further, let me just state that I am not here to say “I told you so”. But whenever I have lost… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Mattioli Woods 4th December 2018 by Maynard Paton - Many years ago, one of my favourite sources for investment ideas was the Financial Times. However, the FT’s articles did not interest me, and nor… ...more
Searching SharePad for something special 27th November 2018 by Richard Beddard - Richard Beddard investigates DotDigital in SharePad. The data indicates it has been very prosperous since it floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2011. A… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Warpaint London 21st November 2018 by Maynard Paton - I am always looking for shares that can double, triple, quadruple or more during the years ahead. And one good way of finding such great… ...more
What really makes a great business? 14th November 2018 by Richard Beddard - To identify great businesses we must go beyond the numbers and understand what causes them. In this article I revisit 4Imprint, an investment I should… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Zytronic 9th November 2018 by Maynard Paton - Let me start with a confession: 2018 is fast becoming a year to forget for my portfolio. Suffice to say, my shares have suffered a… ...more
Evaluating a hot tip 2nd November 2018 by Richard Beddard - Psst, company XYZ is going great guns, it's shooting for the moon, get in before it is too late!!! In today's article, Richard uses SharePad… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: PayPoint 23rd October 2018 by Maynard Paton - I don’t know about your shares, but my portfolio was thumped during this month’s market sell-off. The drubbing prompted me to consider whether I should… ...more
When dull businesses come good 16th October 2018 by Richard Beddard - Stroll into a WH Smith and you might wonder why a shop that sells Sellotape, colouring books and slime (really!) exists today, but the company… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Character 8th October 2018 by Maynard Paton - My SharePad screening for buying opportunities has short-listed Character (LSE: CCT) as a possible longer-term investment. The attraction here is a quite extraordinary story about… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: CMC Markets 11th September 2018 by Maynard Paton - In this article I continue my hunt for shares that could deliver market-beating returns… …and this time my SharePad system has identified CMC Markets (LSE:… ...more
Screening for my next long-term winner: Ramsdens 31st August 2018 by Maynard Paton - I am always hunting for great shares that could power ahead of the market during the years to come… …and just few days ago, my… ...more
Motorpoint: A car dealer that stands out from the crowd 19th July 2018 by Richard Beddard - Financial statistics from SharePad and non-financial data from the company itself all indicate Motorpoint is no ordinary car dealer. If you’ve bought a vehicle from… ...more
Stock Watch – Portmeirion 11th July 2018 by Phil Oakley - Portmeirion Group is based in Stoke on Trent and is a leading maker of homeware products such as tableware, cookware, placemats, candles and fragrances. It… ...more
Stock Watch: Hill & Smith Holdings 5th June 2018 by Phil Oakley - Shares in Hill & Smith Holdings (LSE:HILS) have been a very solid investment in recent years. The company's strategy of focusing on niche infrastructure markets… ...more
Face-off: Tenpin versus Hollywood Bowl 5th June 2018 by Richard Beddard - Tenpin bowling chains are like London buses. You wait around for years and then two of them list almost at the same time. Phil Oakley… ...more
Stock Watch: Superdry 22nd May 2018 by Phil Oakley - Superdry wants to create a global lifestyle brand by selling premium, high quality and affordable clothing to people. Its brand may not be as recognisable… ...more
Stock Watch: InterContinental Hotels 9th May 2018 by Phil Oakley - Disclosure: At the time of writing I own shares in InterContinental Hotels. InterContinental Hotels (IHG) can trace its roots back to the Bass brewing company.… ...more
Stock Watch: Cranswick 17th April 2018 by Phil Oakley - Cranswick is a UK-based food producer. It specialises in the production and selling of pork and poultry products. The sales mix of its business is… ...more
Stock Watch: Domino’s Pizza 27th March 2018 by Phil Oakley - Domino's Pizza is a very good business. It has exploited the trend of the growth in take-away pizza superbly and now has a 46% share… ...more
Stock Watch: Hollywood Bowl 13th March 2018 by Phil Oakley - Hollywood Bowl is the UK’s largest operator of tenpin bowling centres. It currently has 58 centres across the UK with 43 trading under the Hollywood… ...more
Stock Watch: Galliford Try 28th February 2018 by Phil Oakley - Shares in building and construction company Galliford Try have been hammered since it announced its half year results a couple of weeks ago. The results… ...more
Stock Watch: City Pub Group 14th February 2018 by Phil Oakley - (LSE:CPC 196p, Mkt Cap £96.3m, EMS 1500, Analysts 2) City Pub Group listed on AIM back in November. The company currently owns 38 managed pubs… ...more
Stockwatch: Avon Rubber
30th January 2018 by Phil Oakley - Avon Rubber is a good example of a company that fits into the category of a profitable niche business. It started off as a cloth… ...more
Stock Watch: Nichols 16th January 2018 by Phil Oakley - Soft drinks company Nichols (AIM:NICL) has been a good share to own over the last few years. It has many of the hallmarks of a… ...more
Stock Watch: Henry Boot (LSE:Boot) 6th December 2017 by Phil Oakley - Henry Boot is a Sheffield-based company which makes money from property and construction activities. It has four main sources of income: Buying land, getting planning… ...more
Searching for companies paying out more of their profits 29th November 2017 by Phil Oakley - One of the main considerations for people investing in shares these days is the dividend income they will get from owning them. With a world… ...more
Stock Watch: Fenner 22nd November 2017 by Phil Oakley - Over a decade ago when I was a smaller companies analyst in the City, UK engineering company Fenner was part of the portfolio of stocks… ...more
Stock Watch: Abcam – is lower profitability worth paying for? 23rd October 2017 by Richard Beddard - Abcam shares are more popular than ever. Perhaps they're worth it. Nailed on growth stock There's no doubt Abcam has grown. In performance terms it's… ...more
Stock Watch: Elegant Hotels Group 4th October 2017 by Phil Oakley - Elegant Hotels is the owner and operator of a number of upmarket hotels on the Caribbean island of Barbados. The company has been in business… ...more
Tech recruiter is statistically attractive, but is it special? 26th September 2017 by Richard Beddard - There are two questions I ask of all companies I might invest in. Do the statistics indicate the business is highly profitable and, if they… ...more
Stock Watch: Redrow 13th September 2017 by Phil Oakley - The state of the housing market - and the direction of house prices in particular - is a key driver of Britain's economy. When house… ...more
Stock Watch: Scapa Group 5th September 2017 by Phil Oakley - Scapa Group has transformed itself over the last few years by following a strategy of offering more value to its customers. It has worked well… ...more
Stock Watch: Ashtead Group 10th August 2017 by Phil Oakley - Ashtead makes its money by renting out equipment to construction and industrial companies - things like aerial platforms, forklift trucks, tools, diggers, cranes, power generators… ...more
Stock Watch: Castings 25th July 2017 by Phil Oakley - Castings plc is a foundry business. Foundries are factories which produce metal castings. Castings has two in the UK - in the West Midlands and… ...more
Stock Watch: RPC 4th July 2017 by Phil Oakley - RPC (rigid plastic containers) designs and manufacturers plastic products for packaging markets. The company makes thousands of different products such as plastic bottles, food containers,… ...more
Stock Watch: James Halstead 27th June 2017 by Phil Oakley - James Halstead has been in business since 1915. It started out dyeing, finishing, waterproofing and rubberising textiles that were used in rainwear and outdoor clothing.… ...more
Stock Watch: Watkins Jones 14th June 2017 by Phil Oakley - Stock Watch: Watkins Jones Watkins Jones is a property developer, best known for building private student accommodation. It floated on AIM in March 2016. The… ...more
Stock Watch: Howden Joinery Group (Howdens) 31st May 2017 by Phil Oakley - Howden Joinery Group is the parent company for Howdens. Howdens was established in 1995 with 14 depots by its current chief executive Matthew Ingle when… ...more
Stock Watch: Smart Metering Systems (AIM:SMS) 16th May 2017 by Phil Oakley - I recently wrote about Smart Metering Systems in my exclusive weekly newsletter for SharePad and ShareScope customers. It's an interesting company so I have decided… ...more
Stock Watch: FW Thorpe 9th May 2017 by Phil Oakley - FW Thorpe was founded in 1936 and has been listed on the stock exchange since 1965. The company designs and manufactures professional lighting systems for… ...more
Stock Watch: FW Thorpe 24th April 2017 by Phil Oakley - FW Thorpe was founded in 1936 and has been listed on the stock exchange since 1965. The company designs and manufactures professional lighting systems for… ...more
Stock Watch: XP Power 15th March 2017 by Phil Oakley - XP Power is based is headquartered in Singapore and has manufacturing sites in Vietnam and China. The company makes power control systems which convert power… ...more
Stock Watch: Treatt plc (LSE:TET) 1st March 2017 by Phil Oakley - Treatt plc has been in business since 1886. Based in Bury St Edmunds, the company specialises in making and selling products based on essential oils.… ...more
Kraft-Heinz’s bid for Unilever 22nd February 2017 by Phil Oakley - Disclosure: Phil Oakley owns shares in Unilever Last week's bid by US food company Kraft-Heinz for Unilever caught many investors by surprise. But in retrospect… ...more
Does Tesco buying Booker make sense? 2nd February 2017 by Phil Oakley - Mergers and takeovers are part and parcel of the investing world. However, I think it's fair to say that last week's (27th January 2017) announcement… ...more

Weekly Commentary: 01/07/19 1st July 2019 by Jeremy Grime - Disruption in the Courts Early for lunch on the 24th floor of Tower 42 in the City I gazed over the tower blocks of the… ...more
The Future of Retail portfolio 26th June 2019 by Richard Beddard - Rule number one in investing is to buy what you know, but how does that work when what you know is changing day by day?… ...more
Weekly Commentary: 24/06/19 24th June 2019 by Jeremy Grime - Structural Change in the City It always amazes me how debt can lead to innovation. Humans find ingenious solutions. The Bank of England was founded… ...more
Weekly commentary: 17/06/19 17th June 2019 by Jeremy Grime - It’s “avoid the warnings” time Last week saw a few profit warnings. Somero, Ted Baker, Quiz, Pendragon warnings were based on revenue disappointments but I… ...more
Checking the numbers match the story 11th June 2019 by Richard Beddard - One thing we should always check is that a company’s long-term performance matches the story it tells us. Churchill China says it is “adding value”… ...more
Weekly Commentary: 10/06/19 10th June 2019 by Jeremy Grime - Companies with Culture The noise around Woodford’s humiliation last week was deafening. And it was a bad week for Hargreaves Lansdown (-14%). I don’t recall… ...more
Weekly Commentary: 03/06/19 3rd June 2019 by Jeremy Grime - The “End of Global Trade” Week Last week the talk moved from politics to trade wars. Consensus seems to be that the trade war between… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Accesso Technology 12th March 2019 by Maynard Paton - This article has not turned out as I had expected. I was hoping to study a quality growth business that had seen its share price… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Plus500 16th January 2019 by Maynard Paton - Before I start looking at Plus500 (LSE: PLUS), I have some good news…. …you can now employ my SharePad screening criteria with just a few… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Somero Enterprises 2nd January 2019 by Maynard Paton - How did your portfolio fare during 2018? If you managed to side-step the market falls, very well done. For the rest of us — including… ...more
Two good companies, but which is better? 17th December 2018 by Richard Beddard - Richard takes a first look at Softcat, and he likes what he sees, even in comparison to rival Computacenter, another fine business. Both companies make… ...more
A Special SharePad Investigation: Patisserie Valerie 11th December 2018 by Maynard Paton - Before I go any further, let me just state that I am not here to say “I told you so”. But whenever I have lost… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Mattioli Woods 4th December 2018 by Maynard Paton - Many years ago, one of my favourite sources for investment ideas was the Financial Times. However, the FT’s articles did not interest me, and nor… ...more
Dark days for regulated utility shares 24th April 2018 by Phil Oakley - Since they were privatised in the mid 1980s and early 1990s, the shares of regulated utility companies have found a place in many private investors'… ...more
The elusive hire firms you can buy and hold 14th November 2017 by Richard Beddard - Last week I introduced the listed plant and tool hire companies and mentioned in passing the industry has a bit of a boom bust reputation. Perhaps I… ...more
Homing in on hire firms 7th November 2017 by Richard Beddard - Homing in on hire firms When business is sluggish at construction sites and factories, tools and equipment are returned and hire companies make less profit.… ...more
Sector Watch: Beverages 18th January 2017 by Phil Oakley - Companies which make and sell branded drinks have long been popular with investors. One of the main reasons for this is that as businesses they… ...more
Sector Watch: FTSE 100 and AIM 100 Miners 13th January 2017 by Phil Oakley - Mining companies are very difficult to analyse. Their profits and cash flows are very closely related to trends in commodity prices and sentiment towards the… ...more
A great year for modified magic formula investing 4th January 2017 by Phil Oakley - A year ago I started a trial of three model portfolios based on Joel Greenblatt's magic formula approach (click here to read more about this). I wanted… ...more

Fishing like Fundsmith 5th March 2019 by Richard Beddard - Richard builds a Fundsmith filter, taking it from concept to conclusion. The aim: To reduce the “junk” in our watchlists so we are fishing in… ...more
Putting performance into perspective 5th February 2019 by Richard Beddard - Richard reads Fundsmith Equity Fund’s annual letter to fundholders and suggests a modest improvement that could change your perception of financial history. He also responds… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Games Workshop 30th January 2019 by Maynard Paton - Could now be the time to return to dynamic growth shares? Wonder-stocks such as Fever-Tree, Boohoo.com and Keywords Studios are all well below their highs… ...more
Starting with the big picture 23rd January 2019 by Richard Beddard - Richard starts his analysis of fast growing online beach holiday retailer On The Beach with new SharePad views designed to give him the big picture… ...more
Magic Formula stocks for 2019 & 2018 performance 18th January 2019 by Marketing - Back in 2016 we began testing and tracking three model portfolios based on Joel Greenblatt’s magic formula approach (click here to read more about this)… ...more
Assessing whether profit is real 10th January 2019 by Richard Beddard - On the face of it Ricardo is a great company, but in recent years its earnings have deviated a long way from the cold hard… ...more
How I build and manage my share portfolio 10th January 2019 by Martin Stamp - The key thing to stress at the beginning and, as many of you will already be well aware, there are many ways to become a… ...more
A Special SharePad Investigation: Patisserie Valerie 11th December 2018 by Maynard Paton - Before I go any further, let me just state that I am not here to say “I told you so”. But whenever I have lost… ...more
Searching SharePad for something special 27th November 2018 by Richard Beddard - Richard Beddard investigates DotDigital in SharePad. The data indicates it has been very prosperous since it floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2011. A… ...more
Key questions to ask company management 23rd April 2018 by Phil Oakley - If you are attending any events which enable you to meet company management face-to-face, take along Phil's handy crib sheet - a list of key… ...more
Magic Formula stocks for 2018 10th January 2018 by Phil Oakley - For those of you who like the idea of a buy and forget investing strategy then Joel Greenblatt's Magic Formula of buying good companies at… ...more
Simple is best – Magic Formula Investing in 2017 19th December 2017 by Phil Oakley - If you were to ask me to recommend just one book on investing then I would struggle to think of anything better than Joel Greenblatt's… ...more
A blueprint for better long term investing 31st August 2017 by Phil Oakley - Holidays are great for switching off from the stresses and strains of the daily grind and concentrating on what's really important in life. I've just… ...more
Shares to hold to the grave, and beyond… 31st August 2017 by Richard Beddard - For my debut SharePad article, I've been invited to introduce my stockpicking strategy. It's a daunting prospect because strategy is everything. Without a strategy, luck… ...more
UK Dividend aristocrats 30th March 2017 by Phil Oakley - Phil's Investors Chronicle article on how to be a successful dividend investor. Read the article ...more
Value investing today 26th January 2017 by Phil Oakley - One of the great things about investing is that there are lots of different ways for people to try and make money. This means that… ...more

How to work out whether a firm is good acquirer 10th July 2019 by Richard Beddard - Richard uses a trick from Judges Scientific’s playbook to assess local hero Scientific Digital Imaging. Both companies acquire scientific instrument manufacturers using a “buy and… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Imperial Brands 3rd July 2019 by Maynard Paton - Imagine this. You find a blue-chip company that offers: * 21 years of consecutive dividend increases, with the last ten years showing 10% per annum… ...more
The Future of Retail portfolio 26th June 2019 by Richard Beddard - Rule number one in investing is to buy what you know, but how does that work when what you know is changing day by day?… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: JD Sports Fashion 18th June 2019 by Maynard Paton - Today I am revisiting the share screen that pinpointed Games Workshop back in January. The shares of the quirky wargaming retailer have soared more than… ...more
Weekly commentary: 17/06/19 17th June 2019 by Jeremy Grime - It’s “avoid the warnings” time Last week saw a few profit warnings. Somero, Ted Baker, Quiz, Pendragon warnings were based on revenue disappointments but I… ...more
Scapa has had a rocky three weeks. Its market capitalisation is down by 50%. Is it a buy? 13th June 2019 by Alistair Blair - THE SETTING After nine years of impressive revivification under CEO Heejae Chae, the specialist tapes maker Scapa has just delivered three tingling episodes in three… ...more
Checking the numbers match the story 11th June 2019 by Richard Beddard - One thing we should always check is that a company’s long-term performance matches the story it tells us. Churchill China says it is “adding value”… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Jupiter Fund Management 5th June 2019 by Maynard Paton - Today I have revisited a share screen that applies two ratios favoured by ‘quality’ investors — operating margin and return on equity (ROE). The exact… ...more
Hidden treasure on your doorstep 30th May 2019 by Richard Beddard - Finding local businesses listed on the stock market is easy with the help of SharePad and Google Maps. Richard maps the market to find out… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Domino’s Pizza 22nd May 2019 by Maynard Paton - This in-depth article covers one of the most impressive UK growth stocks of the last 20 years — Domino’s Pizza. Domino’s appeared on my radar… ...more
Portmeirion: When confidence crumbles 14th May 2019 by Richard Beddard - SharePad is not just about discovering new shares, it can help us see shares we are familiar with in a new light. Richard uses it… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Abcam 8th May 2019 by Maynard Paton - Today I have returned to the share screen I employed to pinpoint Victrex the other week. To quickly recap, this screen applies two ratios favoured… ...more
Bodycote: A stalwart in cyclical clothing 2nd May 2019 by Richard Beddard - Richard investigates a company that not only walks the walk, it talks the talk. I am not going to lie, even if it means shattering… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Victrex 25th April 2019 by Maynard Paton - This week I am tracking down a potential long-term winner by employing two ratios favoured by ‘quality’ investors. The first measure is operating margin, which… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Renishaw 8th April 2019 by Maynard Paton - I am convinced the very best shares to own are often led by executives who truly act in the interests of ordinary shareholders. In particular,… ...more
RM: Is profit real? 3rd April 2019 by Richard Beddard - Richard investigates RM, one of the stock market's great survivors, starting with just one question. It takes him on a twisty trail... Before we get… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Craneware 26th March 2019 by Maynard Paton - Years ago I read Super Stocks, an investment book that claimed to reveal “powerful new ideas” to uncover “opportunities for spectacular profits”. I sadly can’t… ...more
Moneysupermaaaaaaahhhhhhket 19th March 2019 by Richard Beddard - The veteran price comparison company is changing, and maybe for the better. Richard investigates one of the companies that easily met the criteria of his… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Accesso Technology 12th March 2019 by Maynard Paton - This article has not turned out as I had expected. I was hoping to study a quality growth business that had seen its share price… ...more
Fishing like Fundsmith 5th March 2019 by Richard Beddard - Richard builds a Fundsmith filter, taking it from concept to conclusion. The aim: To reduce the “junk” in our watchlists so we are fishing in… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Hargreaves Lansdown 27th February 2019 by Maynard Paton - Quality companies often produce exceptional returns for ordinary investors. Just ask Terry Smith or Nick Train. These ace fund managers have delivered wonderful gains by… ...more
Performance measurement for pros 20th February 2019 by Richard Beddard - Investors tend to judge their portfolios by how much they go up or down in value, typically compared to a benchmark index like the FTSE… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Apple 11th February 2019 by Maynard Paton - Being able to analyse international shares — at no extra cost! — is a wonderful feature of SharePad. And finding overseas shares within SharePad is… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Games Workshop 30th January 2019 by Maynard Paton - Could now be the time to return to dynamic growth shares? Wonder-stocks such as Fever-Tree, Boohoo.com and Keywords Studios are all well below their highs… ...more
Starting with the big picture 23rd January 2019 by Richard Beddard - Richard starts his analysis of fast growing online beach holiday retailer On The Beach with new SharePad views designed to give him the big picture… ...more
Magic Formula stocks for 2019 & 2018 performance 18th January 2019 by Marketing - Back in 2016 we began testing and tracking three model portfolios based on Joel Greenblatt’s magic formula approach (click here to read more about this)… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Plus500 16th January 2019 by Maynard Paton - Before I start looking at Plus500 (LSE: PLUS), I have some good news…. …you can now employ my SharePad screening criteria with just a few… ...more
Assessing whether profit is real 10th January 2019 by Richard Beddard - On the face of it Ricardo is a great company, but in recent years its earnings have deviated a long way from the cold hard… ...more
How I build and manage my share portfolio 10th January 2019 by Martin Stamp - The key thing to stress at the beginning and, as many of you will already be well aware, there are many ways to become a… ...more
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Somero Enterprises 2nd January 2019 by Maynard Paton - How did your portfolio fare during 2018? If you managed to side-step the market falls, very well done. For the rest of us — including… ...more
A SharePad for every occasion 21st December 2018 by Richard Beddard - Richard takes a break from company analysis and reveals a new layout for news, and reflects on some of the other tweeks he has used this… ...more
Two good companies, but which is better? 17th December 2018 by Richard Beddard - Richard takes a first look at Softcat, and he likes what he sees, even in comparison to rival Computacenter, another fine business. Both companies make… ...more
Searching SharePad for something special 27th November 2018 by Richard Beddard - Richard Beddard investigates DotDigital in SharePad. The data indicates it has been very prosperous since it floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2011. A… ...more
What really makes a great business? 14th November 2018 by Richard Beddard - To identify great businesses we must go beyond the numbers and understand what causes them. In this article I revisit 4Imprint, an investment I should… ...more
Filtering new issues 28th September 2018 by Richard Beddard - New issues have a reputation for delivering poor investment returns. In this article we filter SharePad for companies that may be more seasoned than they… ...more
The old ones are the good ones 11th September 2018 by Richard Beddard - Exciting news: Aston Martin is readying itself to float on the stock market. Investors should think twice though, before buying the shares. Typically, it is… ...more
Building a base filter 30th August 2018 by Richard Beddard - To demonstrate how to filter in SharePad, we’ll build a base filter that filters out the shares we are least likely to be interested in.… ...more
The perils of filtering stocks 20th August 2018 by Richard Beddard - This is the second article in the series “From ideas to investments” in which I look at the process of finding and evaluating investment ideas.… ...more
How the stock market actually works 27th July 2018 by Richard Beddard - Today's article is the first in a new series called ‘From ideas to investments’ which takes an in-depth look at how to generate investment ideas… ...more
Avoiding bad shares is just as important as picking good ones 13th June 2018 by Phil Oakley - If you've been investing in individual shares for a while then you've probably gone through the experience of losing some money on one or more… ...more
First steps to an inheritance tax-exempt portfolio 21st May 2018 by Richard Beddard - Investing in AIM-listed shares can help you reduce inheritance tax but you have to be picky. Not all shares qualify, and they must be good… ...more
Buying quality on its own is no guarantee of success 15th May 2018 by Phil Oakley - There are many different ways to make money from the stock market. Over the last few years, one of the most popular and discussed strategies… ...more
A new issue that is already a winner 8th May 2018 by Richard Beddard - Looking through the prisms of profitability, debt, cash flow, strategy and valuation, Strix may be an exception to the rule that new issues make bad… ...more
AGMs – If in doubt, ask 23rd April 2018 by Richard Beddard - Most companies will answer questions from shareholders and potential shareholders. At Annual General Meetings shareholders have a right to ask questions and get answers. A… ...more
Should investors avoid low margin companies? 10th April 2018 by Phil Oakley - Highly profitable companies can make outstanding long-term investments. Arguably, the best way to measure a company's profitability is to compare its profits with the amount… ...more
Putting performance in perspective 9th April 2018 by Richard Beddard - To get a grip on where a company is going you have to understand where it has come from. Fortunately, that doesn’t mean reading every… ...more
Working out what could go wrong with a share 26th March 2018 by Richard Beddard - Investors pin their hopes on what could go right. The great product. The winning strategy. The growing market. The new technology. These may be good… ...more
Checking out a company’s cash conversion 21st March 2018 by Phil Oakley - A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the issues investors faced in working out a company’s true profits. In many cases, the ways in… ...more
Decrypting a company’s business model and strategy 13th March 2018 by Richard Beddard - While it’s comforting to know a business has enjoyed success, long-term investors must also form an opinion on its prospects if we’re to hold the… ...more
Can you trust a company’s profits? 7th March 2018 by Phil Oakley - This article is more suited to experienced investors. Profits are all important when it comes to investing in companies. To make money over the long… ...more
How to read an annual report 27th February 2018 by Richard Beddard - Rule number one in long-term investing is to understand how the businesses you expect to profit from will make money - otherwise, how can you… ...more
A smarter way to use analysts’ EPS forecasts 21st February 2018 by Phil Oakley - Should investors pay much attention to analysts’ profit forecasts? There is a school of thought that suggests that they should not. Detractors say that forecasts… ...more
The Terry Smith algorithm 14th February 2018 by Richard Beddard - In this article I’ve attempted to find Fundsmith-like companies using SharePad. The results are mixed but there’s a lot to be learned from the experiment.… ...more
A checklist for busy investors 7th February 2018 by Phil Oakley - There are many full time private investors out there but for others investing is a hobby or something that they fit around their day to… ...more
Using SharePad’s “Live” tables in your own spreadsheets 30th January 2018 by Richard Beddard - Maybe you already download tables of data from SharePad by clicking on the sharing button in SharePad's blue Table view, but this data is dead.… ...more
A better way to track changes in company performance 23rd January 2018 by Phil Oakley - It doesn't take too much time to get a feel for how well a company is doing. Most people do this by looking at percentage… ...more
Buy and build 15th January 2018 by Richard Beddard - If you take a look at Diploma through the lens of SharePad's summary page (under the green 'Financials' tab), you will find it shares many… ...more
Settings for the big picture 3rd January 2018 by Richard Beddard - Happy New Year! I've started mine by tidying up my many desktops: my physical desk, my laptop's desktop, and SharePad. I did so much experimenting… ...more
Two charts to unlock a company’s finances 6th December 2017 by Richard Beddard - By way of introducing two charts I'm routinely using to suss out how companies are financed - the twin pillars of debt and equity -… ...more
Is the current ratio an outdated measure of company safety? 15th November 2017 by Phil Oakley - One of the most commonly cited measures of a company's financial strength is something known as the current ratio. It is a measure of liquidity… ...more
Income Opportunities From Dividends 10th November 2017 by Phil Oakley - In the last of his Investors Chronicle articles, Phil looks at companies reinstating dividends or starting to pay them for the 1st time. Read pdf… ...more
How to steer clear of dividend traps 3rd November 2017 by Phil Oakley - First published in Investors Chronicle, Phil explains how to avoid the shares that might let you down. Read pdf article ...more
Finding safe high-yielding shares 27th October 2017 by Phil Oakley - First published in Investors Chronicle, Phil explains how to identify which high-yielding shares are most likely to maintain or grow their dividends. Read pdf article ...more
Finding companies that speak your language 4th October 2017 by Richard Beddard - Finding companies that speak your language It's a commonly held view that the only bits of financial reports worth paying attention to are the numbers… ...more
How much is a company worth? A look at different ways to value shares 27th September 2017 by Phil Oakley - Two weeks ago I wrote about how to try and value companies that aren't making a profit. This week I'm going back to basics for… ...more
13th September 2017 by Phil Oakley - How to value loss-making companies One of the questions I am frequently asked is: "How do I value loss-making companies?". The short answer is that… ...more
How I choose my next share using filters and charts 13th September 2017 by Richard Beddard - After many years of investment I still feel a sense of anticipation when I examine lists of shares looking for new opportunities. It's like opening… ...more
Hunting in the minefield of cheap shares 18th July 2017 by Phil Oakley - Most people like a bargain. Bargain hunting on the stock market has long been a popular pastime or even a full time occupation for investors.… ...more
The case for dividend investing in dangerous markets 4th July 2017 by Phil Oakley - I am finding investing more than just a little bit frustrating these days. The reason for this is that I am struggling to find shares… ...more
Making sense of highly priced shares 21st June 2017 by Phil Oakley - In my 20 years of investing I am finding the current stock market conditions the most challenging I have ever encountered. My investing career started… ...more
The case for enterprise valuations 6th June 2017 by Phil Oakley - A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the subject of PE ratios (click here to read the article) and the ins and outs of… ...more
PE ratios and how to use them 23rd May 2017 by Phil Oakley - PE ratios and how to use them Price to earnings (PE) ratios are the most commonly used method of weighing up the value of a… ...more
Looking beyond free cash flow 9th May 2017 by Phil Oakley - Ask me about the kind of financial characteristics I like to see in a potential investment and the first two I will usually cite are… ...more
Analysing the stocks in a filter 19th April 2017 by Phil Oakley - Running filters or screens is a popular way of finding shares to invest in. Whilst screening can be very powerful it is important to recognise… ...more
Why depreciation matters and EBITDA doesn’t 30th March 2017 by Phil Oakley - When it comes to weighing up asset-intensive sectors, depreciation matters. It is a real cost. This does not stop people ignoring it and touting the… ...more
The end of “hidden debts” 28th March 2017 by Phil Oakley - Accounting is a dry subject but a very important one. I perfectly understand why private investors' eyes glaze over at the mere mention of the… ...more
How to avoid value traps 10th March 2017 by Phil Oakley - In this instalment, Phil explains how to spot value traps and finds some cheap shares that might bounce back. Read the article ...more
Free cash flow: what it is and how to use it 3rd March 2017 by Phil Oakley - In this week's Investors Chronicle, Phil explains how to use free cash flow to your advantage. Read the article ...more
Weighing up investment trusts 15th February 2017 by Phil Oakley - Many private investors like to build a portfolio of individual shares in order to grow the value of their savings as well as trying to… ...more
Riding a retail roll out 8th February 2017 by Phil Oakley - Note: This in an advanced article best suited to more experienced and confident investors. One of the most profitable investing strategies can be to buy… ...more
Paying up for quality shares – how much is too much? 10th January 2017 by Phil Oakley - "It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price." - Warren Buffett "The desirability of a… ...more

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