Maynard wrote investment articles for The Motley Fool UK between 1999 and 2014 before becoming a full-time investor at the start of 2015. As well as the articles he writes for SharePad, Maynard publishes his own investment blog at maynardpaton.com.
I’ve developed my investing approach after years of learning about the stock market and experiencing what actually works for me. Important influences on my style include the strategies of Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch and Jim Slater. I look to invest in respectable smaller companies run by capable managers that trade at modest valuations and to hold them for the long term.
Studying free cash conversion is vital when evaluating a set of accounts. The measure compares free cash flow to reported earnings, and can indicate whether a business is a ‘cash fountain’ or a ‘cash guzzler’. Ideally we want to own companies that generate plenty of spare cash, because such cash can: * Underpin accounting profits;
Dynamic growth shares are among the market’s most exciting investments. Find a business that has expanded rapidly and offers the prospect of further earnings growth — but also has an overlooked share price — and you could be on to a winner. Let’s use SharePad to pinpoint a possible example. Filter criteria These days many
Buying a share at a discount to its book (or net asset) value ought to be the safest way of investing. Indeed, what could go wrong if you can effectively buy assets worth £1 per share for, say, 50p? The reality — sadly — is not always that simple. Let me show you what I
Quality companies undergoing temporary problems can often become attractive investment opportunities. On that basis, perhaps AG Barr is worth closer inspection. The soft-drinks manufacturer famous for Irn-Bru recently warned that profits would be lower than expected… and the share price plunged accordingly: However, AG Barr does boast a quality track record. During the last 40
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 growth; * Management guidance of further 10% annual dividend growth “over the medium term”, and; * A share price with a 10% dividend yield. Too good to be true? Well,
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 60% since that review… …and I wonder whether the same screen can unearth another promising opportunity. To recap, the exact criteria I am re-using are: 1) Annualised earnings per share
Today I have revisited a share screen that applies two ratios favoured by ‘quality’ investors — operating margin and return on equity (ROE). The exact criteria I re-used were: 1) An operating margin (latest and 10-year average) of 20% or more, and; 2) An ROE (latest and 10-year average) of 20% or more. Any business
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 after I revisited one of my previous SharePad screens. The screen in question searches for companies with dependable dividends and reasonable yields. The exact criteria are: 1) 10 or more
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 by ‘quality’ investors — operating margin and return on equity (ROE). The exact criteria I re-used were: 1) An operating margin (latest and 10-year average) of 20% or more, and;
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 represents the percentage of sales converted into profit. In theory, a company exhibiting a high operating margin may enjoy pricing power over customers — which in turn may indicate a
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, bosses who: * do not dilute investors by issuing shares willy-nilly; * create dependable returns through a rising dividend, and; * own a lot of shares themselves… …should deliver better
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 recall identifying any “opportunities for spectacular profits”… …but the book’s “powerful new ideas” did make some sense — not least the concept of identifying companies that undertook significant research and