With the Socceroos carrying the hopes of a nation into the tournament, the Australian equities team at Aberdeen Standard Investments has selected its own dream team of locally listed stocks. Just like Australia’s coach, Bert van Marwijk, the investment team sought to combine skills and strength in its final XI... Show More
It is now passé to say the Australian equity market is becoming fully valued, led by the TIHCs — Technology, Infrastructure, Healthcare and China-facing consumer stocks — where multiples are at record levels. The bigger question is whether this is, in fact, just a natural state of affairs. Shouldn’t investors... Show More
Many investment managers use quantitative screens to focus their attention on the investment opportunities that are most likely to reward close study, and we are certainly among them. Over the years we have built software tools that make it easy for us to analyse the historic performance of a wide... Show More
As with all of our investments we are looking for a company with a current sustainable after tax cash earnings yield of 6 – 8% p.a. with strong growth for the medium term. CSL sits at 6% and is growing at 10%+. Six reasons we like CSL Limited include the... Show More
This month we outline four microcaps to watch, and discuss some research from Goldman Sachs on coverage at the small end of the market. We also talk to a high performing microcap fund, and discuss one of the more interesting stocks from their portfolio. Show More
Energy Action (EAX: ASX) has had a very chequered past in recent times. Following a successful IPO and relatively successful early days post IPO the performance under the tenure of the previous CEO Scott Woodridge was a torrid affair from a shareholders point of view. The share price fell from... Show More
The Katana Australian Equity Fund (KAEF) is a long-only, actively managed investment fund that invests in a range of Australian listed companies. Since inception in December 2005, it has outperformed the All Ordinaries index by 163.7%, or 7.21%p.a. net of fees. Show More
Eley Griffiths Group has been successfully investing in small caps since 2003. Last year the firm launched the Emerging Companies Fund, which is focussed on uncovering microcap companies with the ability to grow into larger businesses. The Fund has had a strong debut, returning 34.5% after fees in its maiden... Show More
Software companies often attract a very high valuation, at least at face value. Drilling down deeper into the economics of these business reveals the real value of owning a business with a sustainable ‘moat’ that can reinvest at high rates of return, says Kate Howitt, Portfolio Manager at Fidelity International. Show More
Janus Henderson Group (JHG) is a global asset manager listed on the ASX and NYSE. In 2017 London based Henderson Group (which was created after its spin-off from AMP in 2004) merged with US based Janus Capital to form Janus Henderson. The company provides investment management services across retail and... Show More
The rhythm of life is no different to the rhythm of economic and corporate cycles. The optimism of birth, the excitement of growing up, the cynicism arising from the compromises that come with maturity, the tumult of unfair turns and the joys of victory, all in turn impacting upon performance.... Show More
Caltex Australia Limited is the leading provider of transport fuels in Australia, providing about 20% of the total fuel market. In addition to being a vertically integrated supplier of fuel, Caltex operates Australia’s largest convenience retail network of fuel and convenience sites trading under the Star Mart brand; with more... Show More
Many investors wouldn’t have touched Whitehaven Coal with a hazmat suit on. It was January 2016 and thermal coal had just hit US$47/ton. Under the weight of $925m of net debt, Whitehaven’s market capitalisation had fallen by almost 90%. Forager’s investment case at the time made the downside clear –... Show More
Veris Limited (VRS: ASX announced another acquisition in its continuing strategy to rollup firms in the surveying and urban/regional planning business. Veris decided to wind down its old OTOC construction business over last 18 months to focus on its surveying and planning strategy. The new acquisition was well received with... Show More
Dividend lovers: we’re witnessing a bit of a changing of the guard when it comes to the performance of ASX listed companies. Financials and in particular banks – where investors have traditionally looked for their sustainable dividend growth – are beginning to be threatened for the mantle of sustainable dividend... Show More
Kip McGrath Education Centres Limited (KME: ASX) has been a long-standing microcap on the ASX. The company provides private tuition for students through a network of franchise tutors. The company has been overhauling its business model and systems in the last few years in order to improve profitability and capture... Show More
Consolidated Operations Group (COG:ASX) is the new incarnation of the old Armidale Investment Corporation (AIK:ASX). COG has been slowly transitioning itself from the old LIC structure to a proper operating business structure over the last two years. COG is now pursuing two main lines of business: Show More
What do Amazon, Buffett and Sydney CBD retail have in common? You know about Amazon and its potential to destroy retailers. While Amazon’s Australian launch last December was somewhat underwhelming, one could consider it a ‘soft’ launch. Whether it’s next year or next decade, odds are Amazon will get its... Show More
The February corporate reporting season in Australia takes place against a background of global equities going through a 'Risk Off' phase with Wall Street correcting from dizzying highs. Show More
The recovery in global stock markets has turned into one of the strongest bull markets on record, eclipsed only by the 1990s bubble in technology, media and telecoms. That in itself need not necessarily be cause for alarm. Records, as they say, are there to be broken and bull markets... Show More