Member Articles

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of March 24

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending March 24. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access our dividend reports use the ‘Symbol’ search box in our website header. Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week                          Acer (ACEYY): now NT$1.50 per share dividend. AGF Management Limited (AGF.B:CA): now CAD 0.11 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 0.10. Aimia Inc. CUM RT PFD SER 3 (AIM.PRC:CA): now CAD 0.3757 per share quarterly dividend. Aimia Inc. PFD-1 (AIM.PRA:CA): now CAD 0.3001 per share quarterly dividend. Alvopetro Energy (ALVOF): now $0.14 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.12. Badger Infrastructure Solutions Ltd. (BDGI:CA): now … Read more

Charles Schwab CEO on SVB fallout, contagion risk and deposits — CNBC Television

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“CNBC’s Sara Eisen and Charles Schwab CEO Walter Bettinger join ‘The Exchange’ to discuss the impact of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on financials.” — CNBC Source >> Tickerized for SCHW, ICE, NDAQ, HOOD, COIN, IBKR, MS, SQ, VIRT, ALLY, JXN, FUTU, BMA, OWL, KKR, ARES, FOCS, AMP, MORN, SPGI, FDS, VALU NOW READ: 4 Very Good Reasons Why We Don’t Like Dividends of Banking Stocks  ———- It’s Here!  The Second Edition of Value Trap! Order today!   —– Brian Nelson owns shares in SPY, SCHG, QQQ, DIA, VOT, BITO, RSP, and IWM. Valuentum owns SPY, SCHG, QQQ, VOO, and DIA. Brian Nelson’s household owns shares in HON, DIS, HAS, NKE, DIA, and RSP. Some of the other securities written about in … Read more

Quick Take: Fed Raises 25 Basis Points; This Banking Crisis Is Far from Over

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Image: FOMC Chairman Powell answers a reporter’s question at the March 20, 2019 press conference. By Brian Nelson, CFA On March 22, 2023, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate 25 basis points, to the range of 4.75%-5%, a move that we think reflects a government agency that is now more or less a deer caught in headlights–given the nascent regional banking crisis in the United States. The bottom line is that the U.S. banking system does not have enough cash on hand to redeem all deposits (it never has), and with respect to U.S. banks, deposit insurance is only up to $250,000 per depositor, per FDIC-insured bank, per ownership category. The U.S. public has grown concerned, and that may … Read more

The Power of Expectations: How Financial Advisors Can Improve Client Retention

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  Image Source: Frédéric Glorieux By Brian Nelson, CFA There’s a reason why Twitter is one of the most successful news outlets today. The same reason may be why football has largely replaced baseball as the most popular sport in America — despite baseball tracing its roots to the Civil War in the mid-19th century. This reason, too, may be why motor sports (think NASCAR) are America’s second-most watched sport after football. Look at the popularity of casinos. And of course, how can we forget when people quit their jobs in the late-1990s to become day-trading experts at the peak of the dot-com bubble—only to lose it all. Oh, and the excitement of winning the lottery! The reason behind these phenomena is … Read more

Cost Cutting Drives Fair Value Increase of Meta Platforms

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To download Meta Platform’s 16-page stock report (pdf) >> ———- It’s Here!  The Second Edition of Value Trap! Order today!   —– Brian Nelson owns shares in SPY, SCHG, QQQ, DIA, VOT, BITO, RSP, and IWM. Valuentum owns SPY, SCHG, QQQ, VOO, and DIA. Brian Nelson’s household owns shares in HON, DIS, HAS, NKE, DIA, and RSP. Some of the securities written about in this article may be included in Valuentum’s simulated newsletter portfolios. Contact Valuentum for more information about its editorial policies.  Valuentum members have access to our 16-page stock reports, Valuentum Buying Index ratings, Dividend Cushion ratios, fair value estimates and ranges, dividend reports and more. Not a member? Subscribe today. The first 14 days are free.

Berkshire Hathaway’s 2022 Shareholder Letter Addresses Buybacks

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Image: Berkshire Hathaway has held up fairly well following the market rout in 2022. Image Source: TradingView — “A very minor gain in per-share intrinsic value took place in 2022 through Berkshire share repurchases as well as similar moves at Apple and American Express, both significant investees of ours. At Berkshire, we directly increased your interest in our unique collection of businesses by repurchasing 1.2% of the company’s outstanding shares. At Apple and Amex, repurchases increased Berkshire’s ownership a bit without any cost to us. The math isn’t complicated: When the share count goes down, your interest in our many businesses goes up. Every small bit helps if repurchases are made at value-accretive prices. Just as surely, when a company … Read more

Norfolk Southern’s Environmental and Safety Troubles Plague Stock

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Image: Norfolk Southern’s environmental troubles have sent its stock back to pre-pandemic levels. The company is yet another example of why companies cannot take for granted how their operations can negatively impact the environment. Image Source: TradingView By Brian Nelson, CFA Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) dynamics have always commanded a large share of executives’ mindshare, but ESG investing has taken on a more prominent role in investing given the preference of many investors to hold stock in companies that share their personal values. But this isn’t lip service. Entities that aren’t taking the highest care when it comes to protecting the environment and ensuring employee/consumer safety can face a whirlwind of negative publicity and huge backlash that can have … Read more

ALERT: We’re ‘Raising Cash’ in the Newsletter Portfolios

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Image: American Union Bank, New York City. April 26, 1932. Public Domain “We firmly believe that an investment in a bank must come with the acknowledgement of the distinct possibility that another financial crisis may occur at an unknown time in the future. Why? Banks do not keep a 100% reserve against deposits. Our good friend George Bailey knew this very well when he tried to discourage Bedford Falls residents from making a “run” on the famous and beloved Building and Loan.” – Brian Nelson, CFA, September 4, 2013   SUMMARY OF CHANGES Best Ideas Newsletter Portfolio Johnson & Johnson (JNJ): 4%-6% à 0% Exxon Mobil (XOM): 4%-6% à 0% Chevron (CVX) 3%-5% à 0% Dollar General (DG): 3%-5% à 0% Korn/Ferry (KFY): 1%-2% à 0% … Read more

ICYMI: How Big Is Your “Too Hard” Bucket?

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Dear members: — I wrote a note about the role of luck in investing, and luck is certainly not to be underestimated when it comes to the long-term success of a company. Even minor changes in the history of the path of successful companies would have relegated them to mere footnotes in the annals of time. — Amazon (AMZN), as probably the best example, may not have made it past the dot-com bust without some timely financing just before the dot-com crash in 2000, while other companies may have looked a whole lot different today had just a few things not gone their way, from Apple (AAPL) to Meta Platforms (META) to Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) and beyond. — In investing, it’s okay to … Read more

SVB Financial, Silvergate Capital, Credit Suisse Reveal Cracks in Global Financial System

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Image: SVB Financial looks to be collateral damage of the Fed’s rate-hiking cycle, and we can’t rule out that other regional banks could have also managed interest-rate risk wrong. Shares of SVB Financial have collapsed, and other banks could be facing similar issues that have yet to come to light. Image Source: TradingView By Brian Nelson, CFA We don’t include any banks in the newsletter portfolios, but we include slight “exposure” to the Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio, primarily for diversification reasons. We have never been fans of the banking business model, and here is what we wrote in the first edition of Value Trap: Theory of Universal Valuation: It’s likely we will have … Read more