Author Archives: Alan

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Why I stayed away from REITs until now + new research report

Real estate investment trusts have been a favored asset class of many due to enabling property ownership without enslaving oneself with mountains of debt and without betting just on one horse. Other factors like liquidity, the ability to sale fractions of your ownership and often great shareholder returns have been other arguments. I was avoiding them on purpose – but there’s a sub-sector that could be interesting just right now.

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My 7 mission-critical checkpoints to pick my best stock ideas that beat the market

With the turn of my blog into its second year, I first started to publicly present the performance of my stock ideas that are exclusive to my Premium / Premium PLUS members. As it stands, on average my picks have been beating the market. Now, I also want to explain more in-depth the recipe behind how I pick those ideas – my analysis approach. I am transparent in what I do. Here’s my concept I developed over the years.

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Why I am skeptical about the “safe copper bet”

Who hasn’t heard of it, yet? The price of copper, together with the respective miners, can only see one way: up, up and upper! This thesis is based on the ongoing electrification of our society. Where there is electricity, copper is needed. More electricity demand = more copper demand, right? What sounds plausible, has some weak points to it. Actually, I am even skeptical that this will play out in the way that the majority thinks, at the very least in the short to medium term.

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Update to my first silver Weekly + new research report

Almost exactly a year ago I published a Weekly with the question whether it was the right time back then to buy silver. I rather referred to silver in physical form, respectively via ETFs which hold it in physical form, as I had difficulties in finding an investable stock of a producer that fit my strict quality filter. This industry is still a mess, as many miners are actively destroying shareholder value and / or are having difficulties with their costs, but also declining reserves.

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Invest in businesses with net cash or net debt?

During the last one and a half decades, it nearly didn’t matter to look at a company’s balance sheet. The reason was quasi non-existent interest rates – a historically unprecedented scenario, not only for the younger generation. Hence, it is no wonder that those who held too much cash in their books even got punished by not receiving any income on their deposits. On the other hand, debt-hungry entities got subsidized. However, the winds have changed. Interest rates are up dramatically. What are the consequences?

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One year of Financial Engineering

How time flies – with the publication of this Weekly, my blog now has officially turned a full year. Since launching my website on 08 August 2022, I have published now more than fifty two Weeklies, consistently one each week. I also launched two memberships where I am sharing my best stock ideas with my subscribed members (14 reports in total). Time for a look back, but also to the future.

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Why you should prefer low-cost commodity producers + new research report

While my statement from the headline might sound as obvious as brushing teeth each day, there are indeed also proponents of buying shares of companies that have among the worst economics – not the best. This is then justified by a higher operating leverage, should commodity prices rise, due to then disproportionately higher improvements in the financial statements. Here’s what you should know.

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Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield – A steel at 0.3x property value?

Who does not dream of owning at least part of a city’s most valuable properties? And what about several prime locations? Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is Europe’s biggest owner of mainly shopping malls, but also offices, in many metropolitan areas with high foot traffic. The stock is currently valued at a third of its “net reinstatement value”, i.e. its replacement or asset value as an investor would call it. 33% is less than Buffett’s famous “dollar for 50 cents” – is URW a buy?

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A silver lining for Argentina? A look at YPF + new research report

Argentina is mainly known as a nation being in perpetual crisis mode. Besides beef, wine and tango, among the first thoughts that likely come to one’s mind are debt, economic hardship and hyperinflation. Needless to say that in such an environment you won’t find a booming economy. However, many Argentine stocks or those with a vast exposure to this market, have been rising over the last months. Is a (massive) turnaround in sight?

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Is it worth it to buy small stock positions?

This question is likely one of those where you will receive many different answers, depending on who you ask. Advocates of big positions are likely to tell you that without decent individual positions in a concentrated portfolio, you won’t achieve any meaningful returns. Practitioners of many small positions, on the contrary, will warn you about the risks of putting all your eggs in one basket. So, who’s right, what is definitely wrong, and what to apply?

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