Articles & Insight

Richard Beddard Articles
Maynard Paton Articles
Phil Oakley Archive
Step-by-Step Guide to Investing

All 2017 - 2018 Articles

  • 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
  • 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
  • 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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