ISBC

The Coming “Goldman Sachs Era”

by

Valuentum covers recent developments in the financials sector, including hopes for a relaxation of certain prohibitive Dodd-Frank rules that, if repealed, could pave the way for improved economic returns across the banking sector during the Trump administration. A look back at the month of September 2008, and how Goldman Sachs may very well shape the financial markets during the next few years are two other areas in the piece. Financials stocks have come roaring back since Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States. We’ve participated. By Brian Nelson, CFA It’s been more than 8 years now. The month of September 2008 shaped my view of the financials and banking sector more than any other month possibly could–The … Read more

Podcast: Why ETFs and Roasting the Banks

by

The Valuentum analyst team talks about why we don’t like the business models of banking entities, why they are currently destroying economic value, but also why the team includes exposure in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. What gives? Find out in this ~9 minute podcast. If you cannot view the video, please view the transcript that follows. Tickerized for holdings in the exchange traded funds, XLF and KBE, and for various financials-oriented ETFs.  Kris Rosemann: Hello and welcome to the Valuentum Securities podcast. My name is Kris Rosemann Associate Investment Analyst at Valuentum. With me is Chris Araos and Brian Nelson President of Equity Research and ETF Analysis at Valuentum. Today, we are going to have a quick discussion over … Read more

Asset Managers: Capital Retention In the Name of Capital Preservation

by

In recent years, the operating theme for many asset managers has shifted to capital preservation, particularly in their efforts to serve the large and growing number of baby boomers and commercial clients managing pensions. This is a reasonably expected change when considering that many investors lost a significant amount of capital during the Financial Crisis, many of which are still recovering. The ramifications of the credit crunch have led to requirements for increased transparency and regulatory compliance, adding structural costs to the asset-management business model, but this is only one side of the coin. The volume of investable assets is set to increase to a whopping $102 trillion by 2020 from ~$64 trillion today, fueled by an increase in the … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending January 30

by

Let’s take a look at dividend increases/decreases for the week ending January 30.

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending July 25

by

Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending July 25. 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 Alliance Bancorp (ALLB): now $0.06 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.05. Altera (ALTR): now $0.18 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.15. BancorpSouth (BXS): now $0.075 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.05. BankFinancial (BFIN): now $0.02 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.01. Bar Harbor Bankshares (BHB): now $0.23 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.223. BBCN Bancorp (BBCN): now $0.10 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.075. BorgWarner (BWA): … Read more

Valuentum Economic Castleâ„¢ Rating Update

by

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

Surveying Fourth Quarter Performance at the Money Center Banks

by

Let’s examine a number of reasons why we don’t prefer banking entities and take a look at recent performance from industry constituents. A challenging rate environment and declining mortgage originations offer key headwinds.

The Mortgage Refinancing Boom Could Be Ending

by

Early Wednesday morning, the Mortgage Banker’s Association (MBA) announced that refinancing activity declined 20% from one week earlier. Adjusted for the Labor Day weekend, total mortgage applications dropped 13.5% from the previous week. Consistent with the dramatic upward movement in interest rates, refinancing activity is down 71% since it peaked during the week of May 3, 2013. Why Do We Monitoring Refinancing Activity? When homeowners refinance, a couple outcomes can occur that pump more dollars into the economy. First, with a refinanced mortgage, owners may choose to take equity out of the home, allowing for large purchases like vehicles or even home remodeling. CoreLogic recently reported that 2.5 million more residential properties have returned to positive equity in the second quarter … Read more

There Is Milk At The Store

by

This article first appeared in the September edition of the High Yield Dividend Newsletter. For more information about this publication, please see here. “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” — Winston Churchill By Brian Nelson, CFA Very few of us could have imagined that we’d witness the bull market that began on that fateful day in March 2009 that might very well mark a generational low. In 2009, major investment banks around the globe were struggling to survive, and the fallout in the mortgage markets left the banks holding paper that nobody wanted to own, let alone buy. The global financial system … Read more

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

by

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