Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

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Jan 4, 2020

Valuentum Exclusive Success Rates Trump Even the Best Quant Hedge Funds
Image: President of Investment Research Brian Nelson, CFA. A new book, “The Man Who Solved the Market,” hit bookshelves last year, and thus far it has been a hit. The text goes into the story of quant hedge fund Renaissance Technologies and its hedge fund, the Medallion Fund, which has put up mammoth returns since inception.

Dec 19, 2019

2019: Another Market Beating Year for the Best Ideas Newsletter Portfolio!
We estimate thus far the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio return has beat the S&P 500 by 2.8 percentage points during 2019 (34.4% versus 31.6% for the S&P 500, as measured by the SPY). Our move to overweight Apple, Facebook, and Visa worked out wonderfully for members during 2019. We continue to overweight big winners, and we credit this to our team's conviction in our very best ideas. We also made quite the savvy move in rolling over a solid gain in Chipotle (60%+) into even more shares of Apple stock during the year. We're putting some of the best ideas right in front of our membership in full transparency. Berkshire Hathaway's overweighting added some stability to the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio, but it was a large drag on returns during the year. This is okay - we like the diversification benefits. 2019 was a very, very difficult year to beat the market, but by our estimates, the Best Ideas Newsletter did so, and by a fair margin, particularly for a large cap orientation. Note this kind of outperformance is unique as many money managers continue to trail their benchmarks during 2019. We credit the outperformance to our team's work ethic and the Valuentum methodology. We are disappointed with the current state of active management, and we are working to develop solutions for our membership. We expect to roll out an important survey in the coming months. We continue to encourage members to add the Exclusive to their membership, if they haven't considered this fantastic publication just yet. More on the Exclusive >> The Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio is part of a regular premium membership to Valuentum. More here >>

Nov 19, 2019

Berkshire Hathaway Invests in RH, a Quality Company in Our View
Image Shown: RH now counts Berkshire Hathaway Inc as a shareholder, which saw shares of RH initially spike up on the news. Having reviewed RH’s business model, capital allocation priorities, and financial position, it’s clear why Berkshire Hathaway would like the business. Strong free cash flows, rising margins, and a management team that’s very capable of adapting to shifting macro forces makes RH a quality company. We continue to like Class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway as a top holding in our Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio, and while its investment in RH is modest compared to a company as big as Berkshire Hathaway, this investment is a sound one in our view. Members interested in reading more about Berkshire Hathaway should check out our third quarter earnings review here---->>>>

Nov 5, 2019

Top Best Ideas Newsletter Portfolio Holding Berkshire Hathaway Reports Solid Third Quarter Performance
Image Shown: Shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc moved higher on Monday November 4 after reporting a decent third quarter 2019 earnings report on Saturday November 2. Berkshire Hathaway reported solid third-quarter 2019 earnings on November 2, and we continue to like Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares as a top holding in our Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. Our fair value estimate for BRK.B stands at $229 per share with room for upside, as the top end of our fair value estimate range sits at $275 per share.

Oct 18, 2019

Buffett Favorite, Bank of America a Bargain
Image Source: Bank of America Earnings Presentation. “If Bank of America can continue to narrow the return on capital gap to JPMorgan, we expect its shares will grow into our $35 fair value estimate.” -- Matthew Warren

Oct 12, 2019

ICYMI: Interview with Valuentum's President Brian M. Nelson, CFA
Catch up with Valuentum's President Brian M. Nelson, CFA in a recent interview with dividend growth investor Arne Magnus Lorentzen Ulland of the blog stockles.

Oct 10, 2019

Covering Best Ideas Newsletter Holding Berkshire Hathaway
Image Source: Berkshire Hathaway Inc – 2018 Annual Report. As a top holding in our Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio, Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares have room to run in our view. Our fair value estimate for BRK.B stands at $229 per share, significantly higher than where shares are trading at as of this writing (~$204 per share). Please note Berkshire Hathaway does not pay out a common dividend at this time.

Sep 23, 2019

Empirical Support for Porter’s “Gospel,” Plus Comments on the “Head Fake” Rotation
“Let’s be very clear: There is strong empirical quantitative evidence that the price-to-fair value equation (“factor”) is predictive of returns, which is what matters for value investors, and in Morningstar’s case, the moat assessment is just part of that overarching conclusion (fair value estimate). Researchers continue to attack the moat “factor” on grounds that don’t make any sense, in my view, and are cherry-picking parameters to assess value investing.” – Brian Nelson, CFA

Sep 22, 2019

Jim Chanos Attacks DaVita and Throws Shade at Warren Buffett
DaVita is a midsized kidney dialysis company with strong free cash flows. However, the company is coming under fire from famed short seller Jim Chanos who recently threw shade at Warren Buffett. Image Source: DaVita Inc – IR Presentation.

Aug 13, 2019

Berkshire Hathaway Gets Ready to Put Part of Its Large Cash Pile to Use
Image Source: Fortune Live Media. We continue to like BRK.B as a quality capital appreciation idea and maintain Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares as a top holding in our simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio.