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CFA Institute Blog: “Hide-‘Til-Maturity” Accounting

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The Silicon Valley Bank collapse recalls the tussle over the accounting for financial instruments after the global financial crisis [GFC] in 2009, particularly the debate about whether some financial instruments should be carried at amortized cost (held-to-maturity, HTM) rather than at fair value (available-for-sale, AFS), or what is referred to as the “mixed measurement model.”  — Sandy Peters, CPA, CFA To read the article on the CFA Institute Blog >> —– Related: 4 Very Good Reasons Why We Don’t Like Dividends of Banking Stocks Banks & Money Centers: AXP, BAC, BBT, BK, C, DFS, FITB, GS, HBC, JPM, KEY, MS, NTRS, PNC, RF, STI, TFC, USB, WFC Valuentum does not believe the long-term dividend health of any financial institution can be accurately … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending November 10

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending November 10. 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 Aaron’s Inc. (AAN): now $0.03 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.0275. Acadia Realty Trust (AKR): now $0.27 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.26. Assurant (AIZ): now $0.56 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.53. Atmos Energy (ATO): now $0.485 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.45. Automatic Data Processing (ADP): now $0.63 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.57. BorgWarner (BWA): now $0.17 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.14. … Read more

Prepared Remarks From Nelson Exclusive Conference Call June 30

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Read President of Investment Research Brian Nelson’s prepared remarks for the yearly roundup conference call, held for Nelson Exclusive members. If you would like to subscribe to the Nelson Exclusive publication, please learn more about the publication here. The Nelson Exclusive publication does not reflect real performance. Performance is hypothetical and does not represent actual trading. Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you very much for joining us on the first conference call for members of the Nelson Exclusive publication. The first year of the publication has surely been an exciting one for all involved. When I first wrote the introductory letter of the Nelson Exclusive on July 1, 2016, we were well-aware the market had laid down the gauntlet for this publication. … Read more

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

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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

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending August 21

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending August 21. 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 Altria (MO): now $0.56 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.52. Brinker (EAT): now $0.32 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.28. Community Bank System (CBU): now $0.31 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.30. Connecticut Water Service (CTWS): now $0.2675 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.2575. Dillard’s (DDS): now $0.07 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.06. Ferrellgas Partners (FGP): now $0.51 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.50. FirstMerit … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending January 30

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

The Mortgage Refinancing Boom Could Be Ending

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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

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

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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

Why We Don’t Like Dividends of Banking Firms: 4 Very Good Reasons

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Untermyer: Is not commercial credit based primarily upon money or property? Morgan: No, sir. The first thing is character. Untermyer: Before money or property? Morgan: Before money or anything else. Money cannot buy it … a man I do not trust could not get money from me on all the bonds in Christendom. –Mr. JP Morgan’s testimony before the Pujo Committee (questioning from Samuel Untermyer), 1912-1913 Reason #1: A Bank Run Is Always Possible Though the history of banking dates back to as early as 2000 BC in Babylonia, the makings of the present-day banking system in the US really didn’t take hold until the beginning of the 20th century. Some financial historians may argue for a later date, but we … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending January 29

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending January 29. 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 A.O. Smith (AOS): now $0.24 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.19. AGCO (AGCO): now $0.13 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.12. Apartment Investment (AIV): now $0.33 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.30. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (AIT): now $0.28 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.27. Archrock Inc. (AROC): now $0.1875 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.15. Arthur J. Gallagher (AJG): now $0.38 per share quarterly dividend, … Read more