As a seasoned observer and participant in the lithium market, I’ve navigated through its ebbs and flows with a blend of caution and opportunism. My investment strategy, focused on a basket of pre-commercial lithium juniors, was crafted with a long-term vision, fully aware of the turbulent waters of this sector, warned readers, for which I […]
House building in the UK has experienced numerous peaks and troughs with shareholders in listed housebuilders experiencing similar fortunes. Buying housebuilder shares when they are unpopular has made investors plenty of money in the past, but is now a good time to invest? Phil takes a look at the sector through SharePad in an attempt […]
Richard uses the results of his Five strikes scoring system to go in search of high-quality sectors. It is leading him to challenge long-held beliefs about what makes a good long-term investment. Scoring companies, when they publish annual reports, means that over the course of a year, I will have conducted a survey of a […]
I have a modest financial investment in Insig AI. This article highlights various financial companies that have incorporated AI technology in their operations or provide a range of AI products, investment data, and governance. It is a mad world of corporate finance where AI has been playing a part for much longer than you may […]
In this months Funds Focus, David Stephenson looks at an Industrials play, Literacy Capital and whats going on at Scottish Mortgage and RIT. Capital spending has been booming in recent years. In 2021 and 2022 firms in the S&P 500 index of large American firms spent $2.5trn, equivalent to 5% of the country’s GDP, on […]
I have written extensively about the forced transition from fossil-powered vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs). There is a lot to be said on the topic and from several market sectors, ranging from EV manufacturers, batteries, mining, recycling, and infrastructures, but what about the metals and the commodities? If you remain a lithium bull, then read […]
During 2021 & 2022, I have spent much of my time researching and scaling into a selected group of Companies with exposure to the Electric Vehicle (EV) market. As a result, I have a mini portfolio of lithium miners, battery recyclers, and battery manufacturers in the EV supply chain and lithium miners. However, I am […]
2022 brought the market a raft of surprises, but one thing seems certain: Energy stocks had a great year – although it remains to be seen whether they’ll deliver an encore. Here’s what analysts say and which stocks to watch. Oil Stocks Will Weather the Volatility Oil prices have held steady at around $90 per […]
Lithium-ion Batteries, Recycling for Demand Between our obsession with mobile electronics and the growing popularity of electric vehicles, lithium-ion battery demand is growing at an astonishing rate. You may have noticed I have featured several articles these past months specifically on the evolution, of the ongoing transition from ICE vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs). Most […]
Elric looks at the market trend for EVs, the ever-changing battery technology, battery options, and more. The problems ahead are a far more complex and endeavour than one may imagine, making it a tricky area for investors to navigate. Regular readers will be aware I have written at length on the Electric Vehicle (EV) transition […]
Our second feature in this mini-series on the human microbiome explores skin health, which is far more complex as well as exciting in terms of addressing important skin health opportunities. In this feature Elric Langton looks at two very different British Companies, both leading the world in skin care products, and science. You can read […]
Regular readers will be aware of my interest in the lithium and EV market trends. These trends are far from certain, so one needs to keep an eye on technology and other energy developments that could impact on these trends. In 2022 I have been quite bullish on several lithium mining Companies, as well as […]
During the three decades of investing, I have always tried to adapt to the changing landscape of the equity markets. This has included the use of investment funds, tip sheets as well as following economic commentators, but I have a passion for doing my own research – not to pit myself against anyone, but myself. […]
In this editorial, Elric of Small Company Champion discusses how ESG will impact our lives, our investments, and Corporates’ role in the implementation and consequences of attempts to bypass ESG and one Small Company that is helping fund managers navigate and build wealth through the use of AI. Regular readers of Small Company Champion will […]
Elric Langton continues his energy exploration in the second part of his look at the electric-vehicle revolution with the focus switching from battery manufacturers to miners. Hopefully, you have already read the first instalment of “how to play the electric-vehicle revolution,” which provided a broad spectrum of companies which I believe offer exciting long-term capital […]
Elric Langton explores energy, a regular theme across the investment media and looks at different ways to play the green revolution through various companies. Energy is a regular theme across the investment media and, of course, the investment community. Two battlegrounds are being fought; the cost of energy, which, as we all know, is increasing […]
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing is a strategy that bets on companies trying to make the world a better place. Alpesh asks is this just another high-minded idealist fad? Or does the global good make it worth the risk? Type ESG into Sharescope or SharePad’s ETF list and you’ll find around a hundred funds. I […]
Recent flotation Bytes Technology has joined bigger rivals Softcat and Computacenter on the stock market. Richard wants to know what it does differently. In my last article I introduced Marks Electrical, a company that had recently floated that might be an exception that proves the rule that Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) make terrible investments. The […]
I know this is going to make me sound like an alcoholic, but I rarely drink soft drinks. When a reader requested an overview of the soft drinks sector, I was not, therefore, particularly enthusiastic. For me, liking the product, or at least seeing its value, is a prerequisite for investment, and, on health grounds, […]
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 city. When I started work the City buildings stopped at Liverpool Street Station. The area to the north of the station building was rough land inhabited by a flock of […]
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? Richard grapples with clothing and fashion retailers, who are themselves grappling with the emergence of the Internet. Just about every type of retailing is going through profound change thanks to […]
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 in 1694 because the 9-year war against France was expensive. Usefully that enabled us to continue to increase the debt which brought about the South Sea Bubble and subsequent crash […]
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 suspect cost pressures are building too at the moment. The trend of increasing warnings appears to be a growth trend with Q1 showing the highest number of warnings in this […]
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” to tableware, a horrible bit of jargon that is easily corroborated in SharePad. I received a nasty shock last time I reviewed one of my long-standing investments. Familiarity, I said, […]
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 such a lot of noise around a fund manager since the demise of New Star in 2008 having paid a special dividend to shareholders and gearing up into a bear […]
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 the US and China is set to continue for a while. With the UK political situation causing uncertainty which slows management decision making processes there is reason to worry that […]
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 slump to attractive levels… …but instead I have ended up untangling some very awkward accounts and guessing whether management changes are signalling problems ahead. Sit back and brace yourself. The […]
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 clicks! The process involves SharePad’s amazing Filter library. This facility gives you complete access to numerous pre-defined filters that have been used within various SharePad articles. Just follow these instructions […]
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 me — I guess we can only cross our fingers and hope the FTSE performs a lot better during 2019! Still, with share prices in the doldrums and many investors […]
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 good money distributing IT, but in Softcat he may have spotted a company with a growth culture. I wrote favourably about Computacenter in October, so I have two good reasons […]
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 money on a share, I have always found going back to see where I went wrong to be very instructive. In fact, trying to spot the warning signs from any […]
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 did the Lex column. Instead, I studied a small table that was tucked away on those pages that listed every share price. You see, this table named the shares that […]
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’ portfolios. Their main attraction has been an ability to offer a higher income than government bonds with plenty of dividend growth on top. This made them ideal income stocks. With […]
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 didn’t egg the pudding enough, though. Ashtead’s market capitalisation is nearly £10bn, more than ten times what it was nearly two decades ago. In one sense it’s an outstanding growth […]
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. The hire industry has a boom-bust reputation built on top of the boom-bust reputations of some of the industries it serves. It may seem like an ambitious project to seek […]
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 are very easy to understand. They sell products which millions of people consume daily and are very familiar with. Let’s take a quick tour around the UK quoted beverages sector […]
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 economy in general which means that they tend to be very volatile. Unsurprisingly, share prices move and up and down a lot too. From an investor viewpoint, the inherent volatility […]
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 to see how this strategy would work in the real world and with all investing costs taken into account as many studies of investment strategies ignore costs. The portfolios are […]
