Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

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Nov 17, 2021

Asset Allocators Fail, Advisors Should Pick Stocks, Save Investors $34 Billion Annually
Image: Most asset allocators can’t even keep pace with the underperforming 60/40 stock/bond portfolio. Highlight added by author. Image Source: Wealth Management. Let’s get this industry back on track. This isn’t about going all-in on cryptoassets or being reckless with one’s capital the past 10 years, but merely picking stocks as a risk/wealth management strategy that approximated the S&P 500 for the past 10 years, and how that has crushed not only the best that quant has had to offer in small cap value but also indexing and asset allocation. One hundred and seventy percentage points of difference relative to the 60/40 stock/bond portfolio, which itself beat many of the “best” asset allocators out there!!! This isn’t about taking on more risk, but rather that active stock selection should be viewed in the same vein as asset allocation. Why do we continue to publish the obviously-biased research in favor of indexing and asset allocation when stock selection could have delivered so much more for investors while saving them billions in annual fees from ETFs, etc. Today, the SEC has a lot on its plate regarding SPACs, cryptocurrency, new issues, ETF approvals and beyond, but in our view, the SEC shouldn’t necessarily be prioritizing 2 and 20 fees more than the index-fund fee chain, and it shouldn’t necessarily be trying to eliminate payment for order flow (PFOF) any more than it should seek to eliminate low-cost index funds. Let us not kid ourselves: It's clear why index funds and passive is winning -- the fees are tremendous! All things considered, if investors want to believe risk is volatility and suffer with indexing and asset allocators, that is their prerogative, but what worked in the past (deviations from equity selection as in the 60/40 stock/bond portfolio) bolstered by high interest rates in the 1980s is far from relevant today (and making up alternative assets isn't going to help). We don’t need more indexing and asset allocation books these days. We need more common sense. Stop selling index funds and start trying to help investors.

Nov 16, 2021

The Valuentum Weekly Is a Hit! Only Delivered By Email!
The Valuentum Weekly is a brand-new weekly market commentary from Valuentum Securities, released each weekend in digital form. The Valuentum Weekly offers members a weekly synopsis of the markets and major events. It will be straight and to-the-point. Our goal is to deliver to you the latest information and insights. We welcome your feedback on how we can make the Valuentum Weekly as useful and as relevant for you as ever!

Nov 12, 2021

Hard Work and the Trust That Binds
Image: Terry Johnson. It’s easy to forget how much we’ve been through the past two years. Often, we forget how helpful the warning that markets were going to crash was the weekend before they did on February 22, 2020, “Is a Stock Market Crash Coming? – Coronavirus Update and P/E Ratios,” how we thought dollar-cost-averaging made sense at the bottom in March 2020, and how we went “all-in” in April 29, 2020, “ALERT: Going to “Fully Invested” – The Fed and Treasury Have Your Back,” when we saw the writing was on the wall for this blow off top. If nothing else, these three moves alone during the past couple years have paid for a lifetime of subscriptions.

Oct 21, 2021

Johnson & Johnson Boosts Guidance Again, Posts Great Earnings Update
Image Shown: Johnson & Johnson reported strong performance across its three core business operating segments in the third quarter of fiscal 2021. Image Source: Johnson & Johnson – Third Quarter of Fiscal 2021 IR Earnings Presentation. On October 19, Johnson & Johnson reported third quarter earnings for fiscal 2021 (period ended around the end of September 2021) that missed consensus top-line estimates but beat consensus bottom-line estimates. The healthcare giant also raised its full-year guidance (again) for fiscal 2021 as its ‘Pharmaceutical’ segment is growing at a robust pace, its ‘Medical Device’ segment is steadily recovering from the worst of the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic, and its ‘Consumer Health’ segment is holding up well. We continue to like Johnson & Johnson as an idea in both the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio.

Sep 13, 2021

The Investment Case for More Gender Diversity
Image: The Impact Shares' YWCA Women’s Empowerment ETF (WOMN) has trounced the S&P 500 since inception, while the SPDR SSGA Gender Diversity Index ETF (SHE) has bested the quantitatively-hailed small cap value ETF over the same time period. There has been a plethora of research over the years regarding the value of diversity on teams, in corporate boardrooms, and across asset management. One of the forms of diversity is gender diversity. It has been documented that diverse teams create more innovative ideas and creativity, which can serve as quite an advantage in industries where margins are slim, or there are few barriers to entry. While a 2019 study summarized in the Harvard Business Review indicated that the value of gender diversity is highly context-dependent and tends to have the greatest benefit where it is already valued, the corporate environment, and arguably the stock market, itself, are a few of those areas where value has been demonstrated.

Jul 22, 2021

Johnson & Johnson Beats Estimates, Raises Guidance Once Again
Image Source: Johnson & Johnson – Second Quarter of 2021 IR Earnings Presentation. On July 21, Johnson & Johnson reported second-quarter 2021 earnings that beat both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. The company (once again) boosted its full-year guidance in conjunction with its latest earnings update as Johnson & Johnson’s business is steadily rebounding from the worst of the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic, with an eye towards the ongoing recovery in the sales of its medical devices and related offerings. We include shares of JNJ as an idea in both the Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolios. Its latest earnings report and guidance boost reinforced our favorable view towards the name. Shares of JNJ yield ~2.5% as of this writing, and the top end of our recently updated fair value estimate range sits at $206 per share of Johnson & Johnson, well above where shares are trading at as of this writing.

Jul 14, 2021

10 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE AT VALUENTUM
Join Valuentum as it celebrates its 10th anniversary of putting investors first!

Jun 27, 2021

Two Alerts and Bull Market On!
Image Source: Mike Cohen. "We like stocks in an inflationary environment, and we love big cap tech and large cap growth in any environment." -- Brian Nelson, CFA

Jun 21, 2021

Top Ideas Doing Great
Image Source: Aguayo Samuel. The Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio continues to showcase the benefits of diversified stock selection in a portfolio setting over asset-allocation rebalancing (the 60/40 stock/bond portfolio is up just ~3% so far this year). Google and Facebook, the two top holdings in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio, continue to roar higher!

Jun 18, 2021

ICYMI: Watch Valuentum's November 2019 Presentation on 'Value Trap' Now!
YOU WILL LEARN  ---  * The pitfalls of valuation multiple analysis and the risks of extrapolating some empirical quantitative conclusions.  * A critical framework to view and interpret stock price movements and stock valuation.  * The universal nature of enterprise valuation to all things finance from competitive advantage analysis to dividend-growth investing and beyond.