KBWI

The Wisdom of Oaktree’s Howard Marks

by

Image Source: emmolos The latest memo from Oaktree’s Howard Marks here should be read and then read again. The section on passive investing is an absolute treasure. “Passive investing is done in vehicles that make no judgments about the soundness of companies and the fairness of prices.  More than $1 billion is flowing daily to “passive managers” (there’s an oxymoron for you) who buy regardless of price.  I’ve always viewed index funds as “freeloaders” who make use of the consensus decisions of active investors for free.  How comfortable can investors be these days, now that fewer and fewer active decisions are being made?” — Howard Marks, Oaktree Capital Financial Tech Services: ACIW, EPAY, FDC, FIS, FISV, FLT, GPN, MA, MELI, … Read more

Adviser Fees on Indexed Assets Can Eat Up Your Nest Egg?

by

Indexing sounds like an easy way to track the market’s performance, but if your indexed assets are held in financial advisors’ accounts, it can come with a big cost: significant underperformance. Over 20 years, we estimate in this hypothetical example that the cumulative cost as a result of a 1% annual financial advisor fee on indexed assets can amount to as much as 66% of a saver’s initial investment — just for holding an index fund. Please be careful out there!

ETF Analysis: Banks and Financials

by

Please select the image below to download the report. Tickerized for ETFs under coverage and stocks included in the XLF.

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in the financials sector, including hopes for a relaxation of certain prohibitive Dodd-Frank rules that, if repealed, could pave the way for improved economic returns across the banking sector during the Trump administration.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

Raising Our Fair Value Estimate on Berkshire Hathaway, Our Thoughts on the Insurance Industry

by

Image Source: AIG Competitive Structure of the Insurance Industry Constituents in the insurance industry earn revenues primarily from insurance premiums, policy fees from life insurance/investment products, and income from investments. Operating expenses consist of policyholder benefits and claims incurred, interest credited to policyholders, commissions and other costs of servicing products, as well as general business expenses. An insurer’s profitability is dependent on its ability to price and manage risk on insurance and annuity products, to manage its portfolio of investments effectively, and to control costs through expense discipline. The insurance industry is highly competitive, with rivals numbering in the thousands–including stock companies, specialty insurance organizations, life insurers, mutual companies, other underwriting firms, and banks. Though risk-acceptance criteria, product pricing, and … Read more

Valuentum’s ETF Reports

by

Image Source: GotCredit Welcome to Valuentum’s ETF coverage. If you’re new to the site, please be sure to access the stock reports and dividend reports as part of your membership. If you are looking for the archives to the Best Ideas Newsletter, they can be found here. The Dividend Growth Newsletter archives can be found here. The Exclusive and High Yield Dividend Newsletter have their own website with archives, the latter coming soon. To learn more about Valuentum’s ETF reports, please see  here . To request a report of an ETF we do not currently cover, please contact us. To access the relevant Valuentum reports for each major ETF category, please click on the respective link, “Click Here to Access Valuentum Report.” The links … Read more