Video: Quants! You’re NOT Measuring VALUE and Nelson’s Theory of Universal Value

President of Investment Research Brian Nelson defines the concept of universal value and shows how quantitative statistical methods are inextricably linked to those of fundamental, financial, business-model related analysis. Value does not exist in respective process vacuums! Value is universal. Find out why. Running time: ~10 minutes.  Tickerized for Valuentum’s stock and ETF coverage universe. Transcript Hi this is Brian Nelson from Valuentum Securities, and this is the tenth edition of a series that I call “Off the Cuff,” where I get in front of the camera and I talk for ten minutes. This is what we have to talk about today. We have to talk about this concept: The Theory of Universal Value. Value does not exist in vacuums … Read more

Valuentum’s 3 Breakthroughs in the Field of Finance and More

Valuentum’s President Brian Nelson pauses for a picture before speaking at the CFA Society of Houston in March 2017. By Valuentum Editorial Staff Let’s cover Valuentum’s 3 major breakthroughs in the field of finance. The first one is big and may challenge you to rethink everything you think you know about investing. 1. On a logical framework, Valuentum has debunked John C. Bogle’s landmark syllogism that has paved the way for the concept of index investing. Index investing has been built on a logical shortcoming, whether supported by evidence or not. We think it is important that the investment community know of this. Read (pdf): The “Luck” and “Randomness” of Index Funds (2018), Brian Nelson, CFA See video documentation: /FALLACY_of_Index_Funds To … Read more

Major Automakers: Fundamental Uncertainty But Potential Investment Opportunity…Soon

Source: YCharts The fates of major US automakers General Motors and Ford remain as tethered as ever, but we remain in awe at how punitive “this” frothy market is on their respective valuations. For one, GM is trading at 5 times forward adjusted earnings and boasts a near-5% dividend yield! By Kris Rosemann The market has been very kind to some, but perhaps overly punitive to others. While dividend-rich consumer staples giants continue to garner the favor of investors, “A Kleenex? Consumer Staples Trading At Nosebleed Levels (August 2016),” the ‘Detroit Three’ — Ford (F), General Motors (GM), and Chrysler (FCAU) — have all trailed the S&P 500 Index (SPY) return thus far in 2016 due to a variety of … Read more

Valuentum Economic Castleâ„¢ Rating Update

Read: Keeping the Horse Before the Cart: Valuentum’s Economic Castle™ Rating The Economic Castle Focuses on the Magnitude of Economic Value Creation The Valuentum Economic Castle™ rating is an enhancement of the competitive advantage framework (commonly known as economic moat analysis) that has become widespread and ubiquitous within the investing world. Whereas an economic moat framework evaluates a firm on the basis of the sustainability and durability of its competitive advantages, Valuentum’s Economic Castle™ rating evaluates a firm on the basis of the firm’s future economic profit spread (return on invested capital less its weighted average cost of capital). The companies with the strongest Valuentum Economic Castle™ ratings are poised to generate the most economic value for shareholders in the … Read more

Throw December Auto Sales Numbers Away; December Ice Storms and a Late Thanksgiving Holiday to Blame

The excuses for the subpar selling performance at automakers in December (up just 0.3%) were many: the frigid ice and snow storms that scared customers away; a late Thanksgiving holiday that stole sales from the month; and a shortened holiday shopping season that left consumers scrambling to buy holiday gifts for family and friends, as opposed to spending time car shopping. Though the impact of each contributing factor is difficult to measure, we think the combination of these items was the main culprit for disappointing December auto sales, not that the consumer has decided to forgo car purchases and that the upswing in auto sales has come to an abrupt halt. Some caution is starting to creep into the market—see … Read more

Ford Shines Bright in November; Potential Channel Stuffing By GM; Toyota Suggests Industry Sales at Fastest Pace Since 2007; Nissan Sets November Record; Honda’s Second-Best November Performance

On Tuesday, Best Ideas portfolio holding Ford (F) put up its best November US auto sales performance in almost a decade. US sales at the automaker advanced 7% in the month, exceeding the mid-5% consensus forecast, while retail sales were up 9% for the period. The F-Series topped 60,000 sales for the seventh consecutive month (it sold 65,501 F-Series trucks in the month, up 16% on a year-over-year basis), and passenger car strength was led by Fusion and Fiesta sales, which jumped 51% and 26%, respectively. Total passenger car sales achieved the best sales result since 2002. November was a month to remember for Ford!  The automaker announced that it would build 770,000 vehicles in the first quarter of 2014 … Read more

Nelson: The 16 Most Important Steps To Understand The Stock Market

A previous version of this article appeared on our website July 21, 2013. Refreshed and updated throughout, as of July 2018. By Brian Nelson, CFA After earning my MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and training stock and credit analysts from large organizations over the past decade or so, I have heard just about every question (though I admit I am still surprised by many things and remain a very humble student of the markets). I’ve also spent years perfecting the discounted cash flow process for large research organizations such as Morningstar and studied under one of the most famed aggressive growth investors of all time, Richard Driehaus. My knowledge runs the gamut from value through … Read more

Stock Market Outlook for 2021

By Valuentum Analysts February 8, 2021 2020 was one for the history books. We covered our thoughts and reflections on the past year in our “2020 Won’t Soon Be Forgotten” article (link here), and now we are looking towards the future. Global health authorities should be able to bring an end to the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic sooner than many had expected as several vaccines have already been improved for emergency use and several others appear increasingly likely to get approved. Global vaccine distribution activities are currently underway, and this should allow the world to slowly return to pre-pandemic activities. Before then, immense stimulus measures launched primarily in developed nations should support global economic activities until the public health crisis … Read more

2015 Marks Record Year for US Auto Industry

The US auto industry set a sales record in 2015, as the largest automakers finished the year on a high note and pushed the full-year sales tally above the 17.4 million units sold mark set in 2000. 17.5 million light-vehicle sales were made in the US in 2015, which represents an increase of nearly 6% from 2014. December’s unit sales growth rate of 8.9% was one of the highest marks of any month during the year. December was a strong month for each of the major automakers in our coverage universe, as the lowest unit sales growth rate among the group was the 5.7% growth reported by General Motors (GM). Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) reported the highest growth in the month … Read more

How to Think About Corporate Tax Reform