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

Utilities and Telecoms to Benefit Most from Corporate Tax Reduction?

Image Source: Michael Vadon By Kris Rosemann and Brian Nelson, CFA Speculation over which sectors may be the biggest beneficiaries of the incoming Trump administration has been running rampant in recent weeks, and we’ve received questions from members pertaining to this topic, specifically with respect to the utilities and telecom sectors. In fact, an article in the Financial Times, released mid-November, tabbed the utilities (XLU) and telecom (XTL) spaces as two sectors that may be able to generate outsize earnings improvements thanks to a reduced corporate income tax. But will they truly benefit over the long haul? Let’s walk through our take on the impact a potential reduction in corporate tax rates may provide these two areas. It may not all be … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending May 13

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending May 13. 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 AirBoss of America (ABSSF): now C$0.065 per share quarterly dividend, was C$0.06. Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQUNF): now $0.1059 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.09626. American Software (AMSWA): now $0.11 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.10. Black Box (BBOX): now $0.12 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.11. Colombia Pipeline (CPGX): now $0.13875 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.13375. Connecticut Water Service (CTWS): now $0.2825 per share … 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

Dividend Increases for the Week Ending May 16

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending May 16. 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 ACE Limited (ACE): now $0.65 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.63. Albany International (AIN): now $0.16 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.15. American Express (AXP): now $0.26 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.23. Anadarko Petroleum (APC): now $0.27 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.18. Arctic Cat (ACAT): now $0.125 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.10. Clorox (CLX): now $0.74 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.71. Gentex … Read more

PPL Corp Reports Solid 3Q; Raises Midpoint of 2013 Earnings Forecast

Generally speaking, we like the utility industry. Utilities provide an essential service, generally operate in a near-monopoly position and benefit from significant barriers to entry due to the capital intensity of new projects and regulatory/environmental requirements. Regulatory frameworks differ across the grid, but most utilities benefit from an assured rate of return on capital investments through predetermined rate structures, where cost adjustments are made by authorities periodically. Most constituents also benefit from stable operations and generally lower debt financing, though we note credit ratings should be monitored closely. The strong industry backdrop was apparent in PPL Corp’s third-quarter earnings release, issued last Thursday. Though adjusted earnings from ongoing operations per share declined on a year-over-year basis during the period as … 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

Which Sectors Are Leading the Market Higher? And Why Is This Important?

Missed the ’13 Most Important Steps to Understand the Stock Market’? Click here. Demand academic evidence regarding the efficacy of the Valuentum process? Click here. Tobias J. Moskowitz and Mark Grinblatt documented the “strong and prevalent momentum effect in industry components of stock returns which accounts for much of the individual stock momentum anomaly” in their scholarly article published in the Journal of Finance, ‘Do Industries Explain Momentum’ (download here; stable link here; updated by Fraulo and Nguyen here). Moskowitz and Grinblatt also concluded that “industry momentum investment strategies, which buy stocks from past winning industries and sell stocks from past losing industries, appear highly profitable.” Such findings are consistent with the ‘Case for the Valuentum Style of Investing,’ and … Read more