Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

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Oct 10, 2022

Stay Away from Mortgage REITs!
Image Source: Mortgage REITs have underperformed the broader stock market for years, and we don't think individual investors and financial advisors should be dabbling in the mortgage markets via these instruments. As we have said time and time again, stay away from mortgage REITs!

Oct 10, 2022

Recent Fair Value Estimate Updates
Image Source: Valuentum. We’ve made a number of fair value estimate changes across our coverage universe as a result of what we expect to be substantial weakness in the global economy. Many of our fair value estimate adjustments have come in the consumer discretionary sector, but we have also made tweaks to the fair value estimates of companies in the simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. Though 2022 has been a tough year, we’ve been steady at the wheel, calling the nearly unprecedented fall in the 60/40 stock/bond portfolio this year, the mid-teens percentage weakness in the SPY following the summer rally, all the while driving “outperformance” through the latest simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio update August 19. Another update will be forthcoming. This year has been tough, but it’s been a lot worse for asset allocators that missed out on the big bull market run in equities if they held a hefty allocation in bonds the past decade. Let’s keep our guards up as this market looks like it might get a lot worse before it gets better.

Oct 10, 2022

Best Idea Vertex Pharma Outperforming in 2022
Image Shown: Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc, an idea included in our Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio, have performed incredibly well year-to-date through October 2022. Vertex Pharma’s performance this year has been stellar, and its financial position is rock-solid. The company has ample financial firepower to invest heavily towards commercializing its existing drug development pipeline and is well-positioned to ride out the numerous exogenous shocks seen of late (inflationary pressures, geopolitical tensions, and the increasing likelihood of a global recession in the near term). We continue to like shares of VRTX in the simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio.

Oct 8, 2022

Microsoft Hinted at Trouble in Calendar Q2 But AMD’s Massive $1 Billion Quarterly Q3 Revenue Miss Spells Big Problems for PC Market; Search and News Advertising Revenue Also Likely Weakening Substantially
Image Source: Fritzchens Fritz. Economic conditions have deteriorated rapidly since Microsoft warned about deteriorating PC market demand in July of this year. AMD’s preliminary third-quarter report announced October 6 showed a massive $1 billion miss relative to prior expectations, and we think this is the beginning of a vicious cyclical downturn in the semiconductor industry, with few immune to the troubles, particularly in light of Apple’s warning about iPhone 14 demand. Further, we think search and news advertising has likely deteriorated since the calendar second-quarter reporting season, too, and this doesn’t bode well for the likes of Alphabet and Meta Platforms. Recent news about the strength of Tiktok and the lack of enthusiasm by Meta Platforms’ insiders that are building the metaverse have us thinking that Meta has turned into a value trap. We won’t hesitate to drop shares if the company’s outlook in its third-quarter report comes up short.

Oct 7, 2022

ICYMI: Things Have Changed Fast; Inflation and the Fed Have Damaged the Economy
Image Source: EpicTop10.com. Things have changed fast. Inflation has turned from a positive catalyst in 2021 into a negative catalyst in 2022, all the while the 10-year Treasury rate has soared. We’ve yet to see the impact from a massive negative wealth effect from alternatives, to stocks/bonds, to the U.S. housing market, and the European financial system could eventually need life support as the U.K. bails out pension funds and the sharks start swarming around large European financial institutions. The writing is on the wall for tough times to come in 2023, and things will get worse before they get better. Buckle up because we’re going to be in for a wild ride in the coming 6-12 months, and maybe longer.

Sep 30, 2022

Nike’s Fundamental Backdrop Speaks of Serious Impending Global Recession
Image Source: Raul Gonzalez. Nike’s share price has been roughly cut in half this year, and its fundamental backdrop speaks of a serious impending global recession, in our view. Weak revenue performance, lower gross margins, bloated inventory, and significant troubles in China suggest even tougher times are ahead. Nike is a not included in any of the simulated newsletter portfolios, and we’d be cautious on it as well as the broader retailing industry as the U.S. enters what could be a deep recession in 2023. Things are going to get worse before they get better.

Sep 28, 2022

Things Are Bad Out There
The Bank of England’s intervention to stem what might have turned into a “run on the bank” dynamic for pension funds in the country amid a collapsing pound has given rise to the view that the Fed may start to slow its rate of increases amid global uncertainty. We think it’s too early to tell. From our perspective, the Fed remains committed to stomping out inflation, something that it may not truly be able to do, given that interest rate hikes may be too blunt of an instrument to stymie food cost inflation, which remains one of the the biggest inflationary headwinds that is hurting consumer budgets. What is happening on the global stage is quite concerning, and we remain bearish on the equity markets. The bull case may very well be a deep recession in the U.S., where dollar cost averaging in the U.S. markets could be had, followed by sharp interest rate cuts by the Fed, and a return to all-time highs. This is not a time to lose interest, but a time to pay even closer attention to your investments. What you do over the next couple years will have implications on your portfolio 5, 10, and 20 years forward. Let’s keep focused on preserving and building long-term wealth!

Sep 15, 2022

High-Yielding Digital Realty Is Committed to Rewarding Income Seeking Investors
Image Shown: Digital Realty Trust Inc continues to secure new leases which supports its growth outlook. Image Source: Digital Realty Trust Inc – Second Quarter of 2022 Earnings Press Release. Data center real estate investment trusts (‘REITs’) are a great source of income with ample growth opportunities given the secular tailwinds underpinning data demand growth. The proliferation of cloud computing, the Internet of Things (‘IoT’) trend, the rise of autonomous automobiles, households that previously did not have access to the Internet gaining access (particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asian), the rollout of 5G wireless services, and other factors are all driving up data demand around the world. In turn, that makes it easier for data center REITs to renew existing leases, sign new leases, and expand their asset bases. Digital Realty Trust is one of our favorite data center REITs given its global footprint, scale, and commitment to income seeking investors as it has pushed through 15+ years on consecutive annual dividend increases. Shares of DLR yield ~4.1% as of this writing.

Sep 11, 2022

U.S. Housing Market Showing Signs of Weakness
Image Shown: The U.S. housing market is starting to show signs of weakness. Companies involved in the home building business in the U.S. are starting to feel the heat, with the iShares US Home Construction ETF down ~30% year-to-date as of early September 2022 on a price-only basis. The national U.S. housing market has been on fire during the past few years. Sharp increases in U.S. housing prices are now contending with rising mortgage rates, which is prompting the question, are U.S. housing prices heading for a crash? Affordability issues are rampant, with many households now priced out of the market, and signs of weakness are emerging in the U.S. housing market. We think the prospect for rising mortgage interest rates could send housing prices spiraling lower, but nothing like that of the housing crisis of 2007-2009.

Sep 8, 2022

LINK --> Massive Unrest In Europe, Energy Crisis Could Be the Catalyst to Topple the Global Markets
Europe is on the brink Over 70000 people came out in support of Russia in Prague and are forcing the Govt to resign for supporting Ukraine pic.twitter.com/lwMAjkBM2U — Mahesh 🇮🇳 (@Mahesh10816) September 3, 2022 The European energy crisis continues to unfold, and we’ve been keeping our members updated on this huge story. In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the European Union (‘EU’) along with key Western allies (such as the US, UK, Canada, Japan, South Korea, and Australia) imposed punishing economic sanctions on Russia to hinder its efforts in Ukraine and deter other nations from pursuing imperialistic land grabs. Russia retaliated by limiting the flow of various energy products to nations that imposed those sanctions. In particularly, energy flows from Russia to member nations within the EU were curtailed aggressively, with an eye towards France, Italy, and Germany along with Poland and the Baltic states (Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia). Natural gas, crude oil, and petroleum product exports from Russia to EU member nations have tanked this year. The land war in Ukraine has not grown into a massive economic war in Europe, and this catalyst could be the one that topples the global markets.