This section of the Tweedy Browne publication What Has Worked In Investing referenced in yesterday’s blog describes the investment approach related to low price in relation to earnings. Legendary value investor Benjamin Graham’s focused on what he called the “margin of safety” (the difference between a stock’s price and the company’s underlying value) and gravitated toward stocks that had price-earnings ratios below 15. The Tweedy publication references a study that tested Graham’s criteria on stocks… Read More
This describes the first investment approach outlined in the Tweedy Browne Company publication entitled What Has Worked In Investing referenced in yesterday’s blog post. The net current assets approach was developed and tested by Benjamin Graham between 1930 and 1932 and is described by Tweedy as the “oldest approach to investment in groups of securities with common selection characteristics of which we are aware.” The technique involves identifying and purchasing those stocks which are “priced at… Read More
For the next several weeks, our daily blogs will include information from a 1992 publication by the investment firm Tweedy, Browne Company LLC entitled What Has Worked in Investing: Studies of Investment Approaches and Characteristics Associated with Exceptional Returns. The booklet includes data from over fifty studies of share performance woven together with insights based on the firm’s five plus decades of industry experience as to which stock characteristics have provided the best returns over… Read More
No single investment strategy ensures success and, as we have emphasized time and again, zig-zagging from one to another is a futile (and often costly) exercise. In a recent article for Nasdaq, Validea CEO John Reese explains how combining different investment methodologies can reduce overall volatility in a portfolio and lead to improved long-term results. Since inception (in 2003), Validea’s Momentum Investor portfolio has returned 192.2% and our Value Investor portfolio has returned 238.3% (outperforming… Read More
When considering shopping for “cheap” stocks that have emerged post-Brexit, keep in mind that this group of stocks has offered bargains for quite some time. In a recent article for Forbes, John Reese, CEO of Validea, explains that while investing overseas may seem smart due to the current political and economic turmoil, investors may be better served by focusing on company-specific financials and fundamentals. Here are five European stocks that get high marks according to… Read More
Hedge fund manager Joel Greenblatt, author of The Little Book that Beats the Market, uses what he calls a “magic formula” to earn returns that outperform the market. In a recent article for TheStreet.com, John Reese, CEO of Validea, explains Greenblatt’s strategy of focusing on return-on-capital and earnings yield to find “good companies at bargain prices.” But this straightforward, seemingly simple strategy is no magic bullet. It is based on a long-term view (3 to… Read More
David Larrabee, Director of Member and Corporate Products at CFA Institute, gave investors an insider’s thought from the 69th CFA Institute Annual Conference in his latest article. Empirical data suggests that there are a number of opportunities for disciplined investors to take advantage of market anomalies in a “meaningful and profitable manner”. Larrabee reminds investors of the macroeconomic picture by discussing chief strategist at BCA Research Peter Berlin’s key advice of what to do in… Read More
Value stocks seem to be staging a comeback, but many are still trading at 30%-40% below their highs, and a significant opportunity may still exist. At least that’s the view outlined in a recent Barron’s interview with fund manager David Wallack of T.Rowe Price Mid-Cap Value Fund. “We’re finding more places to put money to work in the last five to six months than in the previous five to six years,” Wallack contended. Wallack said… Read More
Investors might be surprised to know that Warren Buffett, perhaps the greatest investor of all time, is a big fan of indexing. For instance, “He has already declared that 90 percent of the money he leaves to his wife will be invested in Vanguard’s S&P 500 index fund.” But as Nir Kaissar, a Bloomberg Gadfly columnist points out, investors can glean insight into Buffett’s high quality and value portfolio at Berkshire. For example, the chart… Read More
After a lengthy period of underperformance, value stocks have started to rebound. And in a recent piece for Proactive Advisor, Validea CEO John P. Reese says they are now poised to outperform their pricier growth stock counterparts. Reese talks about some of the reasons value stocks have struggled over the past decade, saying that investors have been incredibly risk-averse in the aftermath of the financial crisis and Great Recession and thus very hesitant to buy… Read More