Barriers to Entry: Avoiding Low Profit & Competitive Industries
One of the first concepts learned in business strategy classes is often barriers to entry. Barriers to entry is the term used to describe the factors which would deter new competitors from entering a market. Barriers to entry can be natural or human-made obstacles which make it difficult for a new entrant to compete with […]
Non-Controlling Interest in Financial Statements
On a consolidated balance sheet of a major company, you will likely see non-controlling interest come up so it is important for investors to understand this common item and ensure to back it out for valuation purposes. This article will teach investors all about non-controlling interest as we walk through Coca-Cola’s 2022 financial statements and […]
Retire 42% Richer with Lower Management Fees!
The rise of exchange traded funds (ETF) have made the landscape of investment products much more competitive but there are still far too many investors out there paying inappropriately high management fees! Investment products with high management fees can have a detrimental impact on retirement returns as they will diminish the compounding effect of wealth. […]
Tax-Efficient Investing: Understanding After-Tax Returns with Calculator! (CFA Level 3)
Understanding the concept of pre-tax and after-tax investment income is an imperative part of the financial planning roadmap. It is the net after-tax return that adds to your retirement savings, so it is important to plan your long-term investment returns and financial plan based on these real after-tax dollars. This article will teach investors about […]
Tax-Efficient Investing: Understanding Tax Types and Investment Accounts (CFA Level 3)
Understanding the concept of pre-tax and post-tax investment income is an imperative part of the investing and financial planning roadmap. Different assets (ie. stocks, bonds, REITs) have different types of income that will be taxed in different ways from annual taxes, to deferred taxes, to wealth taxes. The difference in after-tax income adds up to […]
Blackstone and Starwood REITs Gate Redemptions: What Investors Need to Understand about Private Markets and Liquidity
In the market’s current upheaval brought on by rising interest rates, one interesting story to emerge has been major private REITs gating redemptions to investors. When I say major, I mean Blackstone’s $69 billion REIT and Starwood’s $14.6 billion REIT. The amount of redemptions by investors in these highly interest rate-sensitive REIT assets will have […]
Value-at-Risk (VAR) – CFA Level 2 & 3
Value-at-Risk (VAR) is a critical concept for risk and portfolio management which is often taught during CFA level II and level III. Value-at-Risk is a measure of the minimum loss expected in either dollar or percentage terms as it relates to the portfolio value. VAR is measured both over a period of time (ex. 1 […]
Meta is Now a Value Investment at 10.4x P/E after its 67% Decline!
With the S&P down 16% from 52-week highs, the correction in the market is starting to get me excited about stock valuations again and putting fresh savings to work in my investment portfolio. Technology companies have taken a particularly hard hit with the Nasdaq down 30% over the past year. Meta is one such company […]
Microsoft’s Valuation is Looking Attractive after its 32% Decline
With the S&P down 19.0% from 52-week highs, the correction in the market is starting to get me excited about stock valuations again and putting fresh savings to work in my investment portfolio. Technology companies have taken a particularly hard hit with the Nasdaq down 31.5% over the past year. Microsoft has a strong economic […]
3 Leading Indicators for Markets – Why FedEx’s Latest Release is a Big Signal
FedEx’s latest preliminary earnings release sent the stock down 21.4% on Friday, September 16th as management withdrew their forecast on worsening business conditions. The news of forecasts being pulled at FedEx helped send the broad S&P down 0.72% because FedEx is a key company in the transportation industry and a component of the Dow Jones […]
