During the Mortgage Crisis, the Federal Reserve had to issue more than $700B worth of ‘stimulus’ funds towards saving the economy from economic ruin. Ignoring the ongoing debate about how effectively those funds were actually applied, I raise this example to illustrate how it is that … [Read more...]
Part 1 Practical Mutual Funds: How to Gain For Smart Investors
Filed Under: Mutual Funds by
As a personal investor, your mutual funds are your life-blood. Their ability to place a smaller retail client in a favourable buying position, combined with the benefits of professional management out-weigh any other asset class in your portfolio. Be they income producing or … [Read more...]
Big Yields from Covered Cap ETFs
Filed Under: Investing Strategies by
Throughout the week, we’ve discussed the value of using options to hedge returns and increase yields. Having gone through the absolute basics of these strategies, it’s no wonder that their profitability has begun to emerge in the mutual funds industry. Specifically, “Covered Cap” ETFs … [Read more...]
Portfolio Balancing Part 3 – What Should Your Portfolio Look Like?
Filed Under: Portfolio Balancing by
Over the course of the first and second articles we’ve investigated how the four main asset classes can be used in your personal investment portfolio to manage your monthly expenses, while maintaining the liquidity necessary to your lifestyle. To make for an exciting conclusion of … [Read more...]
How to Build an Investment Portfolio within a Given Industry Sector
Filed Under: Risk Analysis by
Having built up a list of all the different sector classifications that we can use to build up a robust investment portfolio, we can start going through each of these industries to make sure that we are gaining a broad exposure throughout the entire industry itself. In doing so, we … [Read more...]
Research in Motion The Failing Giant
Filed Under: Business Value by
Research in Motion has been in the front page of the news for years now. As the manufacturer of the highly sophisticated mobile products in the blackberry line, RIM was able to capture a huge share of the corporate technology market. Focusing on creating secure business communications … [Read more...]
JMCVX & FMILX Mutual Funds Overview: Broad Market Investment and Diversification
Filed Under: Fund Analysis by
Having looked at a number of different mutual funds that focus in on generating returns based on the performance of specific market aspects, I’ve decided to spend this week comparing a set of broad market funds. By including funds such as the Janus Investment Fund Mid-Cap Value Fund, … [Read more...]
Understanding Stock Market Momentum Investing
Filed Under: Investing Strategies by
Momentum investing is a strategy that revolves around buying high, and selling even higher. While not necessarily as mathematically grounded a strategy as others, it has demonstrated itself time and again as being an extremely effective method of money management. Specifically, … [Read more...]
How To Evaluate The Vanguard Energy Fund (VGENX)
Filed Under: Fund Analysis by
In the last post, I summarized the inner-workings of the Vanguard Energy Fund. Today, I’m going to take you through exactly how I would evaluate this fund as an investment opportunity for a personal investor. I’m going to pursue this evaluation under the following … [Read more...]
How to Calculated Diluted Earnings Per Share
Filed Under: Earnings Per Share by
Having looked at how it is we can calculate basic earnings per share, we can now start to look at how it is that the concepts of dilution, and anti-dilution impact the ability of a company to pay out returns to its individual shareholders. Specifically, by keeping track of how it is … [Read more...]
Understanding Economies of Scale: Bid and Ask Spreads
Filed Under: Economics of Scale by
The other day I received a question at work about how it is that a mutual fund or ETF can provide an investor with scale in an investing portfolio. The asking party was mainly curious about how it is that the diversification benefits of a fund can outweigh the liquidity that an … [Read more...]
Increased Demand for Energy Infrastructure
Filed Under: Investing Trends by
So far, all of the major trends we’ve discussed have revolved around expanding consumer demand, as a result of population growth and changes in income dynamics. However, this kind of growth has some implications for growth of the economy as a whole. Specifically, as consumer spending … [Read more...]
2012 Investing Trends: Agricultural Demand & Agricultural ETF
Filed Under: Investing Trends by
A recurring theme for investing in 2012 that people are discussing today involves developing countries. Specifically, trends seem to be surrounding how markets will adapt to accommodate increasing population sizes, and growing levels of wealth. One of the most pervasive investment … [Read more...]
American Investment Licenses: Series 3, Series 55, and Series 86/87
Filed Under: Personal Finance by
Upon having completed the licensing process to become a financial advisor, professionals will often feel the need to continue their education so as to climb the corporate ladder. While many individuals are comfortable remaining in advisory positions, the pursuit of additional … [Read more...]
Strengths and Shortfalls of Dupont Analysis
Filed Under: Dupont Analysis by
Having taken the time to discuss how to calculate and manipulate the three part Dupont and 5 part Dupont models to understand where it is that a company’s return on equity is coming from, we can now start to look at where it is that these formulas are most useful, and where it is that … [Read more...]
Fundamental Classifications to Minimize Investment Risk
Filed Under: Risk Analysis by
In order to create a portfolio that minimizes our investment exposure to unsystemic risks (those risks that apply only to specific companies and groups), we need to start looking at different strategies for classifying companies. In doing so, we can start to separate which kinds of … [Read more...]
How to use the Earnings Per Share Formula
Filed Under: Earnings Per Share by
When looking at the differences between the basic earnings per share (EPS) and diluted earnings per share metrics that we have discussed in previous articles, it can sometimes be confusing to figure out exactly how it is that we can use this sort of information to make a meaningful … [Read more...]
Part 4 Practical Mutual Funds: Finding Fixed Income
Filed Under: Mutual Funds by
I’ve saved the best for last in this ongoing series describing the practical fundamentals of investing in Mutual Funds. You can check out my first three articles in this series here (1, 2, 3). By taking the time to understand how it is that Income-Oriented Mutual Funds create value … [Read more...]
JMCVX & FMILX Mutual Funds Evaluations: Broad Market Investment and Diversification
Filed Under: Fund Analysis by
Having taken a moment to review the comparative numbers of JMCVX & FMILX in the previous post, it’s time to jump in and make some decisions. By the end of this article we’ll have evaluated the fundamentals of the Janus Investment Fund Perkins Mid Cap Value Fund (JMCVX), and the … [Read more...]
Applying Value Analysis to Liabilities and Solvency
Filed Under: Value Investing by
Up to this point, we’ve now examined how to evaluate aspects of the revenues, expenses, and assets of a company using value analysis. Having looked at the asset evaluations we’ve already completed, it is equally important to evaluate the liabilities that a company incurs. Since … [Read more...]
