Bruce suggests that strong equity markets may be reflecting asset class rotation out of government bonds, rather than optimism about the situation in Ukraine. Companies covered this week SPSY, FNTL, JDG The FTSE was up less than 1% to 7,492 last week. The Nasdaq100 and S&P500 were up +2.4% and 1.3% respectively. US Government bonds […]
The Trader: Macroeconomic factors on stocks
Trader Michael Taylor looks at indices and the macroeconomic impacts on the market. It’s been another volatile few weeks in the market. The game has now changed, and players must adapt or see their money taken from them. Over the last ten years, private investors could get away without bothering themselves too much about macroeconomics. […]
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Focusrite
From touring with Led Zeppelin to a £193 million shareholding: Phil Dudderidge has enjoyed enormous success leading music-equipment specialist Focusrite. Maynard Paton recaps the investment story. The market continues to wobble and I have therefore kept with my ‘back to basics’ filtering. Applied the other week to identify James Halstead, this screen short-lists companies that […]
Weekly Market Commentary 21/03/22 | FNX, TCAP, LIT | Off Ramps
Based on conversations with a first hand source, Bruce believes the narrative about Ukraine may be too optimistic. But would be very happy to be proved wrong in the next week or two if a cease fire is signed AND upheld. Companies covered Fonix Mobile PLC, TP ICAP Group PLC and Litigation Capital Management. The […]
Is ESG Investing Good or Bad for Your Pocket?
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 […]
New & upcoming UK IPOs 16/03/22 | CleanTech Lithium Plc, Neometals Ltd NMT |
In this article, we will be covering two IPOs recently listed or upcoming on the London Stock Exchange: CleanTech Lithium Plc Neometals Ltd CleanTech Lithium Plc Opening date 17 March 2022 Issue price 30p Market cap £23.71m Ticker TBC At the helm Aldo Boitano Boitano is the co-founder and CEO at CleanTech Lithium. Before founding […]
From ideas to investments: Investing in local heroes
Richard makes the case for investing in local firms, helped by analysts from The Yorkshire Fund. As usual, SharePad can help. I am starting this article with a shout-out to the analysts of the Yorkshire Fund. You probably have not heard of the Yorkshire Fund. We cannot invest in it. It is a mini financial […]
Weekly Market Commentary 14/03/22 | CKN, BGO, FCH | Frameworks for resolution
Bruce remains in risk averse mode, keeping an open mind and updating beliefs to see how the conflict in Ukraine might resolve. He looks at Clarkson, which should benefit from high commodity prices, and also Bango and Funding Circle. The FTSE 100 was up +2.7% to 7,178, having had a very volatile week. The S&P […]
The Trader: Three breakouts in a weak market
Michael Taylor looks at three potential breakout plays in stocks that are holding up despite the adverse conditions. The market has been rotating heavily in last few weeks. Commodity prices have surged with spikes in gas, crude, and nickel. Nickel rose 100% in a single day due to a short seller getting squeezed. However, the […]
Calnex Solutions PLC (LSE : CLX)
Elric Langton explores provider of test and measurement solutions for the telecommunications sector Calnex, a company he has had his eye on since their IPO in 2020 and who released a positive trading update last week. I have had my eye on this next gem for some time, in fact, I was growing concerned I […]
Weekly Market Commentary 07/03/22 | CLX, NICL, SPA | The rich trade of the Black Sea and beyond
Bruce looks at the root causes of the conflict in Ukraine, and outlines two scenarios that the Bank of Georgia research team (who know a thing or two about Russian invasions) have discussed. Plus 3 companies reporting last week. “All civil wars are dynastic wars, my lord King; all overseas wars are trade wars…Troy commanded […]
When Return of Capital trumps Return on Capital
Jamie Ward returns with his last article for ShareScope to discuss risk and complacency in the market and suggests that the past few years might not be an adequate guide for the future. Markets always go up… Since the Great Financial Crisis (GFC) in 2008, there has been a received wisdom to always ‘buy the […]
Diary of an 18-year-old investor: Swing trading | LLOY, CBG, SSE, BA., DRX, BDEV |
William, one of our youngest SharePad subscribers, gives us an update on his A level preparation and his latest swing trades using point and figure charts. Read his previous articles here. It’s been a very busy start to the New Year with my A Level mocks, along with lots of studying ready for the Summer […]
Macfarlane Group PLC| Boring is best (LSE : MACF)
Richard takes a first look at protective packaging distributor Macfarlane, a company so boring even he could not bring himself to investigate it. The idea of investing in Macfarlane has been sitting with me for a while because an investor I follow has been banging its drum on Twitter. I have ignored him for all […]
Weekly Market Commentary 28/02/22 | NWG, LLOY, BARC, HSBA | Banking on Price to Book
Bruce looks at UK banks’ FY Dec 2021 results and draws out some themes on revenue, profitability, “one off items”, competition, interest rates and price / book valuation. The FTSE 100 sold off sharply last week down -4% on Thursday last week. US markets were more sanguine with the S&P500 down -1.4% and the Nasdaq100 […]
Roll-out, Roll-up and public market arbitrage | SBRY, PRZ, COST, DCC, MRL, BREE
Jamie Ward takes a detailed walk through two expansion strategies and outlines the types of company and sectors where investors are likely to find these strategies as well as highlighting how to spot companies using them well. Two common ways for profitable growth for many companies can be summarised as roll-out and roll-up. Roll-out is […]
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: James Halstead (LSE:JHD)
A wobbly market prompts Maynard Paton to search for potential ‘safe havens’. Filters for net cash, high margins and a pandemic-defiant dividend lead to vinyl flooring specialist James Halstead. Recent market wobbles have prompted some ‘back to basics’ filtering. Hence a new screen to identify companies that have strong balance sheets, robust margins and a […]
Weekly Market Commentary 21/02/22 |STAN, HEIQ, THG, FLTA, FRAN| Banking on the metaverse
Bruce remembers a former colleague, who preferred face to face interactions and was rarely at his desk during the afternoon (clue: he wasn’t in the metaverse either). Plus comments on Standard Chartered, HeiQ and Franchise Brand’s bid for Filta. The FTSE was down -1.5% to 7,543 last week. The Nasdaq100 was down -0.6% and the […]
Beazley PLC | Property & casualty insurance and diversification (LSE : BEZ)
The task of investors is to find businesses that have created value, have a good chance of doing so in the future and are run by honest actors. This task is complicated by certain sectors where businesses don’t ‘look’ like most businesses. Jamie Ward returns with a look at Insurance through the lens of one […]
New UK IPOs 16/02/22 | Artemis Resources Ltd ARV, Clean Power Hydrogen plc CPH2, Hercules Site Services plc HERC, Strip Tinning Holdings plc STG
This article will cover four recent IPOs listed on the LSE and what they do. These include: Artemis Resources Ltd. Clean Power Hydrogen plc Hercules Site Services plc Strip Tinning Holdings plc Artemis Resources Ltd. Opening date 7 February 2022 Issue price 3.75p Market cap £52mil Ticker ARV At the helm Mark Potter Potter serves […]
Garmin Ltd | Buy what excites you (NYSE : GRMN)
Richard takes a first look at Garmin. The World’s Simplest Stockpicking Strategy told him to. I can tell you precisely the moment I first thought of buying shares in Garmin, because I tweeted about it. It was Sunday 30 January and I was sitting on the sofa, checking my watch to see what kind of […]
Weekly Market Commentary 14/02/22 |PZC, K3C, SOLI| Never says “never banks” again?
Bruce suggests that while long term “expensive quality” investments have become increasingly popular as discount rates have fallen, a natural hedge for such a portfolio is bank shares, which could now benefit as rates rise with inflation. The FTSE 100 was up +2% to 7,617 last week. The S&P500 and Nasdaq100 were flat. The real […]
Alpesh Patel on US investing: Latest Smart Money Thinking on a Stock Market Crash
The S&P 500 has shed 500 points amid inflation fears. It’s been a punishing start to 2022. Alpesh Patel considers whether it is just a bump on the road or are we set for the stock market crash that some commentators have been predicting for years? Stock market turbulence throughout January has caused a significant […]
Weekly Market Commentary 07/02/22 |RSW, JHD, JOUL| Quality can’t be quantified…
While he is away skiing, Bruce asked ex-fund manager (with 16 years experience) and private Investor Jamie Ward to manage his weekly commentary this week. Jamie looks at the best things about being a private investor compared to being in the Square Mile as well as results from three companies that at some points in […]
Future PLC | One that got away (LSE : FUTR)
Future PLC is one of the outstanding growth stories of the last five years, but it is also one that eluded Richard. He fesses up to the biases that blinded him to the opportunity, and discusses whether it is still one today… Today’s company, Future, is one I should have taken a look at a […]
Weekly Market Commentary 31/01/22 |CBOX, DLAR, CNS|: All I want to know is…
There’s considerable institutional pressure on financial analysts to be positive, but often the most valuable information is negative: what to avoid. Bruce looks at a couple of case studies that reported last week. The FTSE 100 was flat last week, at 7,497. Matt Moulding’s THG fell to 134p, down -10% in the week and now […]
Is this a stock market crash? A look at the indices
It’s always worth keeping an eye on the indices. They are the bellwether for the markets – whenever the Dow plunges or hits new highs then we always hear about it. However, there is also a disconnect between the indices and the overall market. One thing that I found a few weeks ago is that […]
Weekly Commentary 24/01/22: Market wobbly
Bruce looks at Terry Smith’s investor letter, admires his simple process. SharePad is also great research tool for assessing funds like Fundsmith, not just individual companies. Plus 3 companies that reported last week. The FTSE 100 was 7,521, down -0.3% last week. The US markets have sold off much harder last week, with the S&P500 […]
Cake Box Holdings has some accounting issues | Small-Cap Spotlight Report (LSE:CBOX)
Cake Box’s shares have tripled as its franchisees sell more egg-free cakes and open more shops. But Maynard Paton discovers the accounts contain some unusual financial disclosures and alarming remarks from the auditor. Oh dear. I had expected this article to celebrate a dynamic growth company that had commendably prospered during the pandemic. I find […]
Oxford Metrics | Profiting from the augmented age (LSE:OMG)
Oxford Metrics has an illustrious past, and judging by management’s targets it expects to augment it in future. Richard investigates the past, and ponders the future… I discovered Oxford Metrics while paging through SharePad’s list of the whole market (LSE shares, excluding Investment Trusts) skimming the summary pages of companies that had recently published annual […]
Weekly Commentary 17/01/22: When you’re underwater…
Bruce looks at risk management, and how to react to the discomfort of your positions being underwater. Plus 3 stocks that updated on progress last week: Equals, Franchise Brands and Frenkel Topping. The FTSE 100 was up +1% to 7554, driven by banks and oil companies which have enjoyed a strong start to 2022 (BP […]
One commodity breakout
It is harder for many private investors to wrap their head around this thought: buying a price only when the stock is higher. The natural instinct is to think that if the stock is lower now, then it can be bought now, and sold higher later. This does, after all, go with the old stock […]
New and upcoming UK IPOs 2022 | i(x) Net Zero, Superdielectrics, ATOME Energy, Recycling Technologies, Carbon Air, Facilities by ADF
In this article, we will be looking at 6 recent and upcoming UK IPOs listed on the LSE, including: i(x) Net Zero PLC Superdielectrics Group PLC ATOME Energy PLC ATOM Recycling Technologies Group Ltd RTG Carbon Air Group PLC Facilities by ADF PLC ADF i(x) Net Zero PLC Opening date Late January 2022 Issue price […]
Weekly Commentary 10/01/21: What’s new in 2022?
Bruce looks at how 3 ideas he crowded sourced from readers did in 2021, and asks for suggestions for 2022. Plus 4 companies that have been busy with corporate activity (acquisitions, approaches, disposals). The FTSE 100 was up +1% in the first week of 2022 at 7,450. Markets in the US were less positive […]
Rolls-Royce PLC | Investment in a greener future
As investors, we need to be nimble and embrace market developments wherever they may take us. Climate change, the topic of the moment, has sparked a cavalcade of “green” businesses that have caught my eye. My previous greener features include Insig AI (INSG), Kinovo (KINO), and *Powerhouse Energy (PHE) *before the valuation got silly. Rolls-Royce […]
Happy New Year
Richard slims down his flabby SharePad setup to start the year with a lean, clean investing machine. He sets out his goals for 2022 and says thank you to Phil Oakley, who hung up his boots in December. It is that time of year when many of us eat and drink too much and then […]
Weekly Commentary 29/12/21: Performance and distributions
Bruce assess his performance for 2021, and notes that he would have been better off doing nothing. He also looks at the skewed return distribution of returns of AIM shares, plus 2 companies that reported positive news last week. The FTSE 100 reached 7,400 on Christmas Eve, up +14% this year, versus the AIM All […]
Update on model growth portfolios
David gives an update on his ETF portfolios. Read his previous update here. As 2021 draws to a (dismal) end, besieged yet again by Covid, I thought I’d share a quick update on my two model ETF based portfolios. To recap both were aimed at investors who want a low cost ETF model portfolio bult […]
Rediscovering the father of value investing | Benjamin Graham
Richard warms the cockles of his heart in front of a digital fire, while reading his favourite investment book… Christmas is approaching, and I must confess to a new and slightly eccentric guilty pleasure. In addition to mince pies and Irish Coffee, I have taken to working (from home of course) in front of an […]
Weekly Commentary 20/12/21: Unexpected returns
Bruce looks at long run UK equity index returns over the decades. Index returns have been unexciting recently, but the top performing UK companies have still achieved 35-45% CAGR in the last 10 years. You just need to know what to look for. The FTSE 100 was 7,280 down less than -0.2% versus last week. […]
Diary of an 18-year-old investor: Portfolio update and trading system
A big thank you for the very helpful comments left for me following my last blog. It is really encouraging to read members’ experiences, advice and opinions. Also, it’s good to know someone is reading the blog! Thanks to Frank for his good book recommendations. I have ordered two of the books to hopefully start […]
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Ashmore
Terrific margins, plenty of cash, a reliable dividend and a modest rating could make Ashmore a decent QARP stock. Maynard Paton studies the fund manager and discovers how lower charges have limited past growth. Shares offering ‘Quality At a Reasonable Price’ have been hard to find during the last few years. But recent market conditions […]
Weekly Commentary 13/12/21: Epicycles and shared illusion
The FTSE 100 was up +2.7% to 7,321, recovering last week as early news out of South Africa suggested that fewer patients with the new variant were on ventilators. Both the Nasdaq100 and S&P500 were up +2.8%. The US 10y Govt bond yield rose from 1.35% to 1.52% (ie Government bonds sold off as financial […]
The end of the year | Looking back on trades
As we roll into December, it’s inevitable that people start to look back on their year and how they’ve performed. We tend to look at the new year as a chance to improve bad habits and make changes. Gym owners across the country will be rubbing their hands in glee as people rush to join […]
New and upcoming UK IPOs: Windward, 4GLOBAL, Ondine, LADbible
We will be focusing on recent and upcoming UK IPOs listed on the LSE and what they do. The investment opportunities covered are Windward Ltd., 4GLOBAL PLC, Ondine Biomedical Inc. and LADbible Group Media. Windward Ltd. Opening date 06 December 2021 Issue price 155p Market cap £163.28m Ticker WNWD At the helm Ami Daniel Daniel […]
Bytes: Which is the best IT reseller?
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 […]
Weekly Commentary 06/12/21: Wealth vs investment
The FTSE 100 was resilient, recovering to 7,157 on Friday up +1.6% for the week. The S&P500 and Nasdaq100 were both down less than 0.5%. Interestingly though bond yields have reacted more cautiously to reports of the new variant, with US treasuries now yielding 1.43% a 24bp point fall versus the last week of November […]
Warehouse REIT | Real estate on the rise
Today’s featured company is a departure from the riskier and possibly sexier future opportunities and in many ways, Warehouse REIT (WHR) is a boring real estate investment trust, which is not known for its sex appeal or excitement. Sometimes, boring companies build wealth by stealth, as is the case with Warehouse REIT. It invests in […]
Weekly Commentary 29/11/21: Turkey before Christmas?
Markets sold off sharply towards the end of last week, with the FTSE down almost 3% to 7,106. IAG (the old British Airways) and Rolls Royce were both off c. 10% last Friday. Novacyt was up +27% last week, after the company said its genesig® COVID-19 Real-Time PCR tests have been approved in the UK […]
Checking out a company’s revenues
One of the best things you can do to really understand a business is to spend some time studying how and from where a company generates its revenues. A series of simple and straightforward questions can allow you to gain a great deal of insight into how a company works. All of the information you […]
Marks Electrical plc | I liked the service so much, I nearly bought the company
Richard was so impressed by his first look at newly listed Marks Electrical, he was tempted to buy something from the online retailer of cookers and other domestic appliances. As for the investment, he was tempted too… I do not know whether it is a glitch or a feature, but a quirk of SharePad has […]
Weekly Commentary 22/11/21: Indexing Regret
The FTSE 100 fell in the second half of last week, but at 7,202 still remains around the top of its previous May-Oct trading range. The Nasdaq was up +1.75% and the S&P +0.5%. Brent Crude fell back below $80 per barrel, suggesting that tensions between the EU and Belorussia are not having a wider […]
A guide to selling Puts: Shares on sale
A couple of months ago I wrote an article extolling the virtues of selling Covered Calls on FTSE 100 stocks. The technique involves selling Call options on shares you already own to bring in additional income. When you combine the technique with a portfolio of dividend-yielding shares, you can create a veritable income machine. However, […]
Small-Cap Spotlight Report: Aquis Exchange
Aquis Exchange is taking on the London Stock Exchange by offering unlimited trading for a fixed monthly fee. MaynardPaton studies the disruptive qualities, favourable economics and profit potential of the challenger’s trading platform. Investors love ‘disruptors’. Find a pioneering upstart that is stealing market share from industry dinosaurs, and your portfolio may enjoy a huge […]
Weekly Commentary 15/11/21: Gold fails to glister
The FTSE 100 rose +0.8% towards 7,400 before dipping back slightly on Friday to 7,353. That was a better week compared to the Nasdaq 100 and S&P500, down -2% and -1% respectively. However, the FTSE outperformance has mostly been driven by a weak pound, which fell to 1.34 to the dollar, as currency markets reacted […]
DFS plc | Will the investment last as long as the sofa?
Richard likes a business that is in control of its own destiny. He takes a look at DFS plc, the sofa seller that unexpectedly featured in his list of vertically integrated businesses. Of all the names that came up in my trawl for vertically integrated businesses, sofa seller DFS was perhaps the most surprising. To […]
Weekly Commentary 8/11/21: Meme stocks as protest
The FTSE 100 hit a high for 2021 at 7,314. The S&P500 also continued to trend upwards, hitting a new high of 4,680 and now up +25% since the start of the year. In contrast, the FTSE China 50 Index is down -16% since the start of the year. The US bond yield was at […]
A guide to free cash flow in SharePad
A cash flow analysis of a company has long been seen as a good thing for an investor to do. Often, if you want to get a feel for what’s really going on with a company and the numbers it produces, its cash flow statement will tell you a lot more than its income statement. […]
Weekly Commentary 1/11/21: The shopping trolley problem
The FTSE 100 was flat last week, drifting around 7,226. Nasdaq and the S&P500 did better, up +2.8% and +1.1% respectively, following strong results from Google and Microsoft. Apple and Amazon signalled that disruption and costs from supplying customers with physical products were rising. Facebook became Meta. Name changes should not affect share prices, but […]
New addition to Dynamic 35: JPMorgan Russian Securities
Our funds expert embraces his inner bear, focusing on a long-established and successful Russian investment fund. For those worried about the fragile US monetary order, or wanting to play the upside in energy prices, Russia is a great starting point. And valuations are cheap. Before we delve a little deeper into our new fund for […]
Winners in an uncertain world | Vertical integration
In the chaotic business conditions we are experiencing, self-reliance has been a source of competitive advantage. Since we do not ever know what the future will hold, Richard goes in search of companies that have an element of vertical integration. I hope it is not smugness, but I have felt a sense of satisfaction when […]
Sniper shorts
It has been a turgid couple of months for small cap investors. Many stocks are well off their highs. There are no longer placings where investors can’t write tickets quick enough. The capital tap (for now) is no longer gushing and we’re seeing companies sell off as people become wary of a possible recession. At […]
Small-Cap Spotlight Report: Goodwin
30-bagger Goodwin has pivoted towards higher-margin contracts to widen its competitive ‘moat’. Maynard Paton weighs up the engineer’s haphazard financials with the delightfully old-school management. This quote from Richard Beddard caught my eye the other week: “If something truly special is incubating, we may profit from our investment for decades.” I am always up for […]
Weekly Commentary 18/10/21: The Eagle has Crash Landed
With the FTSE 100 reaching 7235 last week, the index finally seems to have broken out of the trading range that it has occupied since May. The index’s all time high is 7,903 reached in 2018. ITM, the hydrogen company raised £250m through an over-subscribed placing at a 16% discount. There’s still plenty to worry […]
Invest-ability presents: How to understand return on capital employed (ROCE)
It’s nice to be back writing some articles for SharePad. As some of you may know, I worked for ShareScope between 2014 and 2018 and helped to design many of the financial analysis features that are in the SharePad software. I remain a very happy user of SharePad today and use it extensively for my […]
How profitable is Genus PLC?
Animal breeder Genus Plc is at the forefront of animal genetics and highly valued by investors, yet standard measures of Return on Capital Employed (ROCE), a marker for quality, indicate only modest levels of profitability. Unusually (for me) I rediscovered Genus because of an idea, rather than as a result of trawling through shares in […]
Weekly Commentary 11/10/21: Wish you were here
Another volatile week, with the FTSE 100 falling to 6,950 but recovering to 7,080 on Friday. The AIM index is up +24% in the last 12 months, but more recently has given back performance relative to the FTSE 100 +18% because that index has a higher weighting towards bank and oil sectors. Paul Hall, from […]
Alpesh Patel on US Investing: Time to Ditch the FAANGs? What About Small Caps?
The FAANGs — the name given to five of the best performing tech stocks, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google (now called Alphabet) — have produced fantastic returns for years. However, regulatory headwinds and a reopening economy have led some analysts to sound a note of caution. Is it time to ditch the Faangs? Over […]
Empyrean Energy | High hopes for Topaz and Jade
Empyrean Energy PLC (EME) is a small Australian oil 7 gas exploration company with huge potential upside if it can succeed with the drill. The company has big hopes for black stuff turning into gold, or wads of cash for investors and the board. The CEO, Tom Kelly, has serious skin in the game. Empyrean […]
New UK IPOs October 2021: Oxford Nanopore, Made Tech, Peel Hunt, GreenRoc Mining, Net Zero
We take a look at 5 new IPOS listed on the LSE over the past few weeks, including: Oxford Nanopore Technologies ONT Made Tech MTEC Peel Hunt PEEL GreenRoc Mining GROC Net Zero Infrastructure NZI OXFORD NANOPORE TECHNOLOGIES Opening date 30 September 2021 Issue price 425p Market cap £4.5bn Ticker ONT At the helm Dr […]
Weekly Commentary 04/10/21: Distance and Perspective
The FTSE 100 had a volatile week, rallying, selling off then recovering to 7,040 last Friday. The Nasdaq100 was down -4% and S&P500 -3.3% last week. US 10y Govt bond yield continued to trend upwards to 1.55% versus a low of 1.19% at the start of August. The UK 10y bond yield is up even […]
The Trader: A look at the indices
I don’t trade indices as I much prefer equities – however one thing I learned from the pandemic is that instead of shorting 30-40 stocks, I could’ve easily boosted my returns by putting on an index short. Once you go above 20 shares, you start to significantly correlate the very index you’re trying to beat. […]
Four live pivots: Next, Goodwin, Bloomsbury Publishing and Victrex
Richard goes hunting in his own portfolio for companies incubating better businesses. They may be undervalued as a result. As promised, this week I am following up my last article on past pivots that worked with an article about live pivots that look like they are working. I used the word pivot to describe a […]
Weekly Commentary 27/09/21: New tech, old laws
Markets lurched downwards at the start of last week, with the FTSE 100 falling to 6,906 before recovering to 7,067. Nasdaq and the S&P also recovered during the week to 15,316 and 4,449 both moving less than half a percent. The FTSE China 50 was down 3.6%, and down 18% since the start of the […]
Diary of a 17-year-old investor: Portfolio update and more books
I’m back at school and in my last year, studying for my A levels. It has been great having time during the summer break to read some new books. What I’ve been reading Tom Dorsey’s – Point & Figure Charting I started with a book from Tom Dorsey, kindly recommended to me by Michael Taylor […]
Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner: Curtis Banks
Specialist SIPP firm Curtis Banks has seen its dividend go up but shares go nowhere during the last five years. Maynard Paton now wonders whether the small-cap’s recurring income and high margins make it a ‘QARP’ stock. Shares offering ‘Quality At a Reasonable Price’ have been hard to find during the last few years. But […]
Weekly Commentary 20/09/21: Entities multiplied beyond necessity?
UK and US markets remain quiet, with the FTSE 100 at 7,013, struggling to keep its nose just above 7,000 last week. There continue to be spikes and drops in some commodities; earlier this year it was Rhodium hitting $25,000 an ounce, now Uranium is up +48% in the last 3 months, while Iron Ore […]
Betting on change
In the first of two articles, Richard celebrates perhaps the sweetest investment of them all: The humdrum business that incubates a better one. Though my stock-in-trade is businesses reliably executing established and successful strategies, my biggest winners have often been businesses that pivoted. They incubated better businesses from within the business they already operated. In […]
Weekly Commentary 13/09/21: I contain multiples
The FTSE 100 was down -1.4% this week to 7,048. The Nasdaq and S&P500 also fell, but less than -1% each. The FTSE China 50 was up +1% last week, the Mumbai and Russian stock exchanges remain the best performing YTD, both up +25% since the start of the year. Oxford Nanopore, the maker of […]
Prudent 15: The Honeycomb Investment Trust
Our funds specialist returns form a summer break with a new addition to the Prudent 15. It’s a lending fund that has built up a solid track record and offers cautious, income-oriented investors a solid 8% plus yield. My latest addition to the Prudent 15 is a slightly alternative income-oriented fund that has built up […]
Should you buy SDI shares? | Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner
Acquiring private companies that make precision instruments has propelled SDI shares to 12-bagger status over the last five years. Maynard Paton recaps the story and prospects of the ‘buy and build’ specialist. Everybody loves a share that keeps going up. SharePad lists 168 names that have delivered 15% or more annualised turns during the last […]
Weekly Commentary 06/09/21: The Decline in r
The FTSE 100 was up less than half a percent last week to 7,164, towards the top of the trading range that it has occupied since early May. The Nasdaq 100 was up +1.1% ahead of the S&P500 +0.6%. The China 50 was one of the best performing major indices up +2.8% to 18,291 as […]
History of Games Workshop shares | When turnarounds become transformations
Inspired by Maynard’s article on Hornby’s turnaround, Richard examines the history of Games Workshop to imagine what challenges lie ahead if Hornby is to emulate the success of this outwardly similar hobby business. The idea for this article came from Maynard’s article about Hornby. To my mind he convincingly described a turnaround that is already […]
Weekly Commentary 31/08/21: Lower profits, improving performance?
The FTSE 100 was up half a percent last week to 7,124. The Nasdaq 100 had a better week +1.2% and the China 50 rebounded +4.5%, though that index is still down -14% in the last 3 months. The US 10-year bond yield finished last week at 1.35%, recovering from a low of 1.19% in […]
The Trader: 3 principles for trading on the stock market
Breakouts are an excellent way to swing trade and profit from bull markets. I love breakouts because they’re a high probability pattern of continuation and also because it means that the price is rising. However, many people try strategies that that are inherently risky. Sadly, one private investor commented that they’d invested into a stock […]
State of the Stock Market – Over or Undervalued?
Since the post-pandemic stock market boom, analysts and experts have warned us that the market was overvalued. Some have gone even further and submitted that we’re in a bubble that is set to burst. However, prices keep rising, suggesting many investors believe there is still value to be found. So which is it? Is the […]
Weekly Commentary 23/08/21: Freezing and burning cash in a digital age
The FTSE 100 fell 2.5% last week and remains at the level it was in early May, at 7,048. The China 50 Index was down even more sharply 7.6% to 16,959. Alibaba fell 15% last week, and Tencent was also down 11%. The damage is being done by new data privacy laws that Beijing will […]
3 questions about Oxford Instruments plc | Deep dive into financials
Richard goes deep into Oxford Instruments’ annual reports and SharePad for answers to three questions to establish whether it is a good “pick and shovel play”. In my last article I explained how I used custom tables to find Oxford Instruments, a highly profitable business that seemed to have lost its way and then found […]
Should you buy Hornby shares? | Small-Cap Spotlight Report
Events at Hornby prove how turnarounds can take years. But fresh capital, better management and a return to profit could mean the model-train specialist is over the worst and finally heading towards a proper recovery. Turnarounds can be tempting. You find a business that has hit big trouble with a stock price at rock bottom… […]
Weekly Commentary 16/08/21: The S&P494
Bruce looks at how stock market indices can be skewed by a few large winners. The same goes for portfolio returns. Stocks covered this week are BOTB’s profit warning, plus H1 results from Clarkson, Ocean Wilsons and Georgia Capital. The FTSE was up +1.0% to 7,193 last week, outperforming the S&P500 which was up 0.5% […]
Journeo PLC | Small-cap, ESG-friendly and on the rise
Journeo PLC (JNEO) is a tiddler I have had on my watchlist for a year or more. At today’s share price of 122p, the market cap is just £10.7 million, so very much at the lower end of valuations of the companies I have covered. Many investors would view this as a concern, a risk […]
Trading with Golden Crosses: Easy win or easy loss?
I should start by saying that I am no technical analysis whiz, and this article will likely bore those with an encyclopaedic knowledge of buy/sell signals and chart shapes (cup and handle, anyone?). I got into investing after I started working at ShareScope, and I desperately wanted it to be easy. Technical analysis seemed like […]
Weekly Commentary 09/08/21: What $16 trillion of negative yields are signalling
Last week the FTSE 100 was up +1.1% to 7,111, Nasdaq was up 1.5% to 15,181, outperforming the S&P 500, up +0.8% to 4,429. Both the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong and the FTSE China 50 Index were up less than 1% last week. The US 10Y bond yield continued to fall to 1.19% […]
4 FTSE miners | Centamin, Fresnillo, Ferrexpo, Petropavlovsk
We looked at two potential stage 2 stocks a few weeks ago here. The issue with some AIM stocks is that they don’t offer the liquidity that some traders prefer. In this article, we’ll look at some FTSE miners that trade on both the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 indices. These stocks are traded in […]
Financials, filters and FOMO | Using SharePad to find opportunities
Filters are one of the most powerful tools in SharePad, but Richard has been experimenting with another way to discover investment ideas and increase his “market intimacy”. Traders, of course, have price charts to guide them. Many investors focus on financials, and use filters to find new shares with attractive financial characteristics. Being a buy-and-hold […]
Weekly Commentary 02/08/21: Credit and Contagion
The FTSE 100 bobbled about just above 7,000 last week. Nasdaq 100 was down less than half a percent, as strong results from Alphabet, Microsoft and Apple all beat analyst forecasts on the top line. This was offset somewhat by Amazon, which reported sales growth slowing as lockdown measures eased. Maybe Jeff Bezos has timed […]
Dynamic 35 : Montanaro European Smaller Companies Trust
Our funds specialist returns with a star performer in the relatively unloved European equities space: Montanaro European Smaller Companies Trust. He reckons now is the time to focus on fast growing European small caps. This week I have a relatively short note for you, outlining why I think now might be an interesting moment to […]
Should you buy ASOS shares? | Screening For My Next Long-Term Winner
ASOS share news Fashion website ASOS is among the market’s greatest growth stocks, but a recent update knocked 18% off the share price. The P/E may not be outrageous if huge warehouse and IT costs can one day deliver a suitable return. One of my favourite screening strategies is to hunt for attractive growth companies […]
Weekly Commentary 26/07/21: Red flags from China
Markets sold off at the beginning of last week, with the FTSE 100 falling to 6,849 before recovering to above 7000 at the end of the week. We saw similar sell offs in the Europe and the US markets, including Nasdaq which was down -2.5% early last week, which seems odd if jitters were caused […]
How to identify breakout stocks | The effects of overhead supply.
In this article I will dig a little deeper into buying breakout stocks and identifying stock breakout signals. I will share with you what I look for in a breakout from a technical, fundamental, risk-to-reward and time-to-reward viewpoint. This article will include elements from all my previous ShareScope articles (which you can read here), which […]
