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

Industrials Empty Tool Box Amid Tough Operating Environment

By Kris Rosemann How far we have come from the financial abyss! The US economy is now more than seven years removed from the credit crisis that sent shockwaves through the global financial system in the latter years of the past decade. In the fourth quarter of 2008, for example, real GDP in the US tumbled more than 8%, a figure not witnessed since the double-dip recession of the 1980s, and perhaps not surpassed since the time of the Great Depression. During the Financial Crisis of 2008-2009, many industrial entities, particularly those with finance subsidiaries faced dwindling credit health, and several including General Electric (GE) and Harley-Davidson (HOG) cut their dividends to shareholders. Others such as General Motors (GM) even … Read more

Industrial Earnings Roundup

By Kris Rosemann US GDP growth slowed to 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2015, down from 2% in the third quarter of the year. The deceleration was primarily due to a slowdown in personal consumption expenditures and decreases in nonresidential fixed investment, exports, and state and local government spending. The slowing of spending in both the public and private sectors was felt by industrial companies in the period, many of which reported less-than-spectacular results. Currency headwinds also provided a drag on multinational industrial companies, such as 3M (MMM), Parker Hannifin (PH), Dover (DOV), and Illinois Tool Works (ITW). The US dollar is not expected to weaken relative to other currencies across the globe in the near term, especially when … 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

Third-Quarter Industrial Earnings Support Exposure in Best Ideas Portfolio

For starters, if you haven’t yet read through our piece on General Electric’s (GE) third-quarter earnings, it’s a must-read. The step-up in backlog and order trends at the industrial behemoth are quite remarkable, and we think GE’s performance bodes well for the sector as a whole. Still, let’s drill down on a few themes across the industrial space and how our Best Ideas portfolio is well-positioned to capture the strength of underlying trends. Danaher (DHR) Danaher reported third-quarter results Thursday that showed revenue expansion of 5.5% and diluted net earnings per share growth of 9%. The company generated 30 basis points of operating-margin improvement and generated more than $800 million in free cash flow, or about 17.8% of revenue (a very … Read more

Keeping Some Dry Powder

A young cowboy named Billy Joe grew restless on the farm A boy filled with wonderlust who really meant no harm He changed his clothes and shined his boots And combed his dark hair down And his mother cried as he walked out Don’t take your guns to town son Leave your guns at home Bill Don’t take your guns to town — Johnny Cash “Don’t Take Your Guns to Town” << What does it mean to have “dry powder”? Valuentum pursues a standard quarterly report update cycle, and our latest update of companies in the Electrical Equipment industry was quite informative. This group includes many companies that operate within the heart of the industrial economy but fall short of … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week April 23

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending April 23. 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 1st Source (SRCE): now $0.30 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.29. Advance Auto Parts (AAP): now $1.00 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.25. AGCO (AGCO): now $0.20 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.16. Alpine Income Property Trust (PINE): now $0.25 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.24. Avery Dennison (AVY): now $0.68 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.62. The Bank of Princeton (BPRN): now $0.18 per share … 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