Posts tagged ‘Stocks’
Rebuilding after the Political & Economic Tsunami
Excerpt from Free April Sidoxia Monthly Newsletter (Subscribe on right-side of page)
The Start of the Arab Uprising
The Arab uprising grew its roots from an isolated and disgraced Tunisian fruit vendor (26- year-old Mohammed Bouazizi) who burned himself to death in protest of the persistent, deep-seeded corruption prevalent throughout the government (view excellent 60 Minutes story on Tunisia uprising). The horrific death ultimately led to the swift removal of Egypt’s 30-year President Hosni Mubarak, whose ejection was spurred by massive Facebook-organized protests. Technology has flattened the world and accelerated the sharing of powerful ideas, which has awoken Arab citizens to see the greener grass across other global democratic nations. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn can be incredible black-holes of productivity destroyers (I know firsthand), but as recent events have proven, these social networking services, which handle about 1 billion users globally, can also serve valuable purposes.
As the flames of unrest have been fanned across the Middle East and Northern Africa, autocratic dictators haven’t had the luxury of idly sitting on their hands. Instead, these leaders have been pushed to relent to the citizens’ wishes by addressing previously taboo issues, such as human rights, corruption, and economic opportunity. These fresh events feel like new-found changes, but these major social tectonic shifts have been occurring throughout history, including our lifetimes (e.g., Tiananmen Square massacre and the fall of the Berlin Wall).
Good News or Bad News?
Recent headlines have created angst among the masses, and the uncertainty has investors asking a lot of questions. Besides radioactive concerns in both Japan and the Middle East (one actual, one figurative), the “worry list” of items continues to stack higher. Oil prices, inflation, the collapsing dollar, exploding deficits, a China bubble, foreclosures, unemployment, quantitative easing (QE2), mountainous debt, 2012 elections, and the end of the world among others, are worries crowding people’s brains. Incredibly, somehow the market still manages to grind higher. More specifically, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed a very respectable +6.4% for 2011.
With the endless number of worries, how on earth could the major market indexes still advance, especially after a doubling in value from 24 months ago? For one, these political and economic shocks are nothing new. History has shown us that democratic, capitalistic markets ultimately move higher in the face of wars, assassinations, banking crises, currency crises, and various other stock market frauds and scandals. I’m willing to go out on a limb and say these worrisome events will continue this year, next year, and even over the next decade.
Most baby boomers living in the early 1980s remember when 30-year mortgage rates on homes reached 18.5%, inflation hit 14.8%, and the Federal Funds interest rate peaked near 20%. Boomers also survived Vietnam, Watergate, the Middle East oil embargo, Iranian hostage crisis, 1987 Black Monday, collapse of the S&L banks, the rise and fall of the Cold War, Gulf War I/II, yada, yada, yada. Despite all these cataclysmic events, from the last birth of the Baby Boomers (1964), the Dow Jones Industrial catapulted from about 890 to 12,320. This is no April Fool’s joke! The market has increased a whopping 14-fold (without dividends) in the face of all this gruesome news. You won’t find that story on the front-page of The Wall Street Journal.
Lost Decade Goes on Sale
The gains over the last four and half decades have been substantial, but much more is said about the recent “Lost Decade.” Although it has generally been a lousy decade for most investors in the stock market, eventually the stock market follows the direction of profits. What the popular press negates to mention is that S&P 500 operating earnings have more than doubled from about $47 in 1999 to an estimated $97 in 2011. Over the same period, the price of the market has been chopped by more than half (i.e., the Price – Earnings multiple has been cut from 29x to 13.5x). With stocks selling at greater than -50% off from 1999, no wonder smart investors like Warren Buffett are buying America – Buffett just spent $9 billion in cash on buying Lubrizol Corp (LZ). Retail investors absolutely loved stocks in 2000 at the peak, believing there was virtually no risk. Now the tables have been turned and while stock prices are trading at a -50% discount, retail investors are intensely skeptical and nervous about the prospects for stocks. Shoppers don’t usually wait for prices to go up 30% and then say, “Oh goody, prices are much higher now, so I think I will buy!” but that is what they are saying now.
I don’t want to oversell my enthusiasm, because the deals were dramatically better in March of 2009. Hindsight is 20-20, but at the nadir of the stock market, stock prices traded at bargain basement levels of 7x times 2011 earnings. We may not see opportunities like that again in our lifetime, so sitting in cash may not be the most advisable positioning.
Although I would argue every investor should have some exposure to equities, an investor’s time horizon, objectives, constraints and risk tolerance should be the key determinants of whether your investment portfolio should have 5% equity exposure or 95% exposure.
So while the economic and political dominoes may appear to be tumbling based on the news du jour, don’t let the headlines and the so-called media pundits scare you into paralysis. Bad news and tragedy will continue, but fortunately when it comes to prosperity, history is on our side. As you attempt to organize and pickup the financial pieces of the last few years, make sure you have a disciplined, long-term investment plan that adapts to changing market and personal conditions.
Wade W. Slome, CFA, CFP®
Plan. Invest. Prosper.
DISCLOSURE: Sidoxia Capital Management (SCM) and some of its clients own certain exchange traded funds, but at the time of publishing SCM had no direct position in LZ, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, BRKA/B, or any other security referenced in this article. No information accessed through the Investing Caffeine (IC) website constitutes investment, financial, legal, tax or other advice nor is to be relied on in making an investment or other decision. Please read disclosure language on IC “Contact” page.
Cutting Losses with Fisher’s 3 Golden Sell Rules
Returning readers to Investing Caffeine understand this is a location to cover a wide assortment of investing topics, ranging from electric cars and professional poker to taxes and globalization. Investing Caffeine is also a location that profiles great investors and their associated investment lessons.
Today we are going to revisit investing giant Phil Fisher, but rather than rehashing his accomplishments and overall philosophy, we will dig deeper into his selling discipline. For most investors, selling securities is much more difficult than buying them. The average investor often lacks emotional self-control and is unable to be honest with himself. Since most investors hate being wrong, their egos prevent taking losses on positions, even if it is the proper, rational decision. Often the end result is an inability to sell deteriorating stocks until capitulating near price bottoms.
Selling may be more difficult for most, but Fisher actually has a simpler and crisper number of sell rules as compared to his buy rules (3 vs. 15). Here are Fisher’s three sell rules:
1) Wrong Facts: There are times after a security is purchased that the investor realizes the facts do not support the supposed rosy reasons of the original purchase. If the purchase thesis was initially built on a shaky foundation, then the shares should be sold.
2) Changing Facts: The facts of the original purchase may have been deemed correct, but facts can change negatively over the passage of time. Management deterioration and/or the exhaustion of growth opportunities are a few reasons why a security should be sold according to Fisher.
3) Scarcity of Cash: If there is a shortage of cash available, and if a unique opportunity presents itself, then Fisher advises the sale of other securities to fund the purchase.
Reasons Not to Sell
Prognostications or gut feelings about a potential market decline are not reasons to sell in Fisher’s eyes. Selling out of fear generally is a poor and costly idea. Fisher explains:
“When a bear market has come, I have not seen one time in ten when the investor actually got back into the same shares before they had gone up above his selling price.”
In Fisher’s mind, another reason not to sell stocks is solely based on valuation. Longer-term earnings power and comparable company ratios should be considered before spontaneous sales. What appears expensive today may look cheap tomorrow.
There are many reasons to buy and sell a stock, but like most good long –term investors, Fisher has managed to explain his three-point sale plan in simplistic terms the masses can understand. If you are committed to cutting investment losses, I advise you to follow investment legend Phil Fisher – cutting losses will actually help prevent your portfolio from splitting apart.
Wade W. Slome, CFA, CFP®
Plan. Invest. Prosper.
DISCLOSURE: Sidoxia Capital Management (SCM) and some of its clients own certain exchange traded funds, but at the time of publishing SCM had no direct position in any other security referenced in this article. No information accessed through the Investing Caffeine (IC) website constitutes investment, financial, legal, tax or other advice nor is to be relied on in making an investment or other decision. Please read disclosure language on IC “Contact” page.
Reasoning with Investment Confusion
Some things never change, and in the world of investing many of the same principles instituted a century ago are just as important today. So while we are dealing with wars, military conflicts, civil unrest, and natural disasters, today’s process of filtering and discounting all these events into stock prices is very similar to the process that George Selden describes in his 1912 book, “Psychology of the Stock Market.”
Snub the Public
Investing in stocks is nowhere close to a risk-free endeavor, and 2008-2009 was a harsh reminder of that fact. Since a large part of the stock market is based on emotions and public opinion, stock prices can swing wildly. Public opinion may explain why the market is peaking or troughing, but Selden highlights the importance of the silent millionaires (today’s billionaires and institutional investors), and that the true measurement of the stock market is dollars (not opinions of the masses):
“Public opinion in a speculative market is measured in dollars, not in population. One man controlling one million dollars has double the weight of five hundred men with one thousand dollars each. Dollars are the horsepower of the markets–the mere number of men does not signify.”
When the overwhelming consensus of participants is bullish, by definition, the small inexperienced investors and speculators are supplied stock from someone else – the silent, wealthy millionaires.
The newspaper headlines that we get bombarded with on a daily basis are a mirror reflection of the general public’s attitudes and when the euphoria or despondency reaches extreme levels, these points in time have been shown to correlate with market tops and bottoms (see Back to the Future Magazine Covers).
In the short-run, professional traders understand this dynamic and will often take a contrarian approach to news flow. Or as Seldon explains:
“A market which repeatedly refuses to respond to good news after a considerable advance is likelely to be ‘full of stocks.’ Likewise a market which will not go down on bad news is usually ‘bare of stock.’”
This contrarian dynamic in the market makes it virtually impossible for the average investor to trade the market based on the news flow of headlines and commentator. Before the advent of the internet, 98 years ago, Selden prophetically noted that the increasing difficulty of responding to sentiment and tracking market information:
“Public opinion is becoming more volatile and changeable by the year, owing to the quicker spread of information and the rapid multiplication of the reading public.”
Following what the so-called pundits are saying is fruitless, or as Gary Helms says, “If anybody really knew, they wouldn’t tell you.”
Selden’s Sage Advice
If trading was difficult in 1912, it must be more challenging today. Selden’s advice is fairly straightforward:
“Stick to common sense. Maintain a balanced, receptive mind and avoid abstruse deductions…After a prolonged advance, do not call inverted reasoning to your aid in order to prove that prices are going still higher; likewise after a big break do not let your bearish deductions become too complicated.”
The brain is a complex organ, but we humans are limited in the amount and difficulty of information we can assimilate.
“When it comes to so complicated a matter as the price of stocks, our haziness increases in proportion to the difficulty of the subject and our ignorance of it.”
The mental somersault that investors continually manage is due to the practice of “discounting.” Discounting is a process that adjusts today’s price based on future expected news. Handicapping sports “spreads” involves a very similar methodology as discounting stock prices (read What Happens in Vegas). But not all events can be discounted, for instance the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan. When certain factors are over-discounted or under-discounted, these are the situations to profit from on a purchase or shorting basis.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded below a value of 100 versus more than 12,000 today, but over that period some things never change, like the emotional and mental aspects of investing. George Selden makes this point clear in his century old writings – it’s better to focus on the future rather than fall prey to the game of mental somersault we call the stock market.
Wade W. Slome, CFA, CFP®
Plan. Invest. Prosper.
DISCLOSURE: Sidoxia Capital Management (SCM) and some of its clients own certain exchange traded funds, but at the time of publishing SCM had no direct position in any other security referenced in this article. No information accessed through the Investing Caffeine (IC) website constitutes investment, financial, legal, tax or other advice nor is to be relied on in making an investment or other decision. Please read disclosure language on IC “Contact” page.
Share Buybacks and Bathroom Violators
We all have our own unique pet peeves that drive us crazy, and I am no exception. More grating than fingernails scraping down the chalkboard or rude drivers who refuse to let you merge lanes are those citizens that unabashedly exercise poor public bathroom etiquette. The only thing worse than listening to the loud-mouth cell phone talker in the neighboring stall is watching a restroom participant move straight from zipper closure (if they remember), immediately to the bathroom exit. I mean really, would it kill you at a minimum to pay a visit to the sink and feign a phantom hand-swipe under some running water? Don’t those people understand that I have to grab the same handle they use to exit the facility after they conduct their bathroom business? OK, now that I have gotten this issue off my chest, I feel better and I can get off my soapbox (no pun intended).
Something Stinks in Share Buyback Land
Beyond potty etiquette, there is another maddening pet peeve that drives me nuts in the realm of corporate capital allocation. I like to call this particular scheme the “empty share buyback.” Those companies that announce the empty share buyback do it with the intention of either getting a quick, short-term jump in stock price, or use the ploy as a way to indirectly line their pockets with future stock and option grants.
Here are a few ways on how the ruse works:
Scheme #1 – The Empty Pump-Fake: In one form or another, here is what the CEO basically says, “We plan to buyback zillions of shares from time to time, based on market conditions, and do not have any set expiration date for the plan.” In other words, the company executives are committing to absolutely nothing, but are hoping to confuse traders into buying shares to temporarily increase the stock price, so management can unload their shares for a swift profit. In actuality the management team is not obligated to purchase one share and may keep the pseudo-share buyback plan in place for years with no benefit to shareholders.
Scheme #2 – The Pocket Swap: Another one of my favorites, I like to call the pocket swap. Management effectively exchanges money from one pocket to the other. Typically management starts off by stating, “We treasure investor feedback, so we have initiated a new program to return capital to our valued shareholders in the form of a share buyback.” What they usually don’t tell investors is that the shares are being purchased (with shareholder money), so the executives can give more shares back to themselves (and a few other fortunate employees). That’s great for them, but what about me?!
At the end of the day, if the management team is truly working for the shareholder, the game is all about reducing the outstanding share count, which thereby increases earnings per share (and better yet free cash flow per share). Despite the recent climb in interest rates, yields are still near multi-decade lows. Corporations are flush with cash after cutting expenses to the bone, delaying hiring, and riding the global recovery wave. For those real investors not trading a position for a few days, weeks, or months, it behooves you to hold management’s feet to the fire to make sure “empty pump-fakes” or “pocket swap” share buybacks are not occurring.
If you have difficulty gauging the integrity of those management teams announcing share buybacks, I have a litmus test that can be used to judge the executive’s true intentions. It’s quite simple – just follow the CEO into the bathroom (same gender required) and see whether they honorably follow bathroom etiquette by washing their hands after completing their duty. Sleuth work can be tricky, but failure in determining the genuine purpose of management’s capital allocation decisions can lead to a share buyback program that will get flushed down the toilet.
Wade W. Slome, CFA, CFP®
Plan. Invest. Prosper.
DISCLOSURE: Sidoxia Capital Management (SCM) and some of its clients own certain exchange traded funds, but at the time of publishing SCM had no direct position in any other security referenced in this article. No information accessed through the Investing Caffeine (IC) website constitutes investment, financial, legal, tax or other advice nor is to be relied on in making an investment or other decision. Please read disclosure language on IC “Contact” page.
Short Interest Coiled Springs
If short interest measures the amount of bearish bets against a particular stock, then what are you supposed to do with that data? The answer really depends on your view regarding the research quality of the bears. If you believe the bears have done excellent homework, then it will pay to pile onto the bearish bandwagon and short the stock. There’s just one problem…it’s virtually impossible to know whether the brains of Warren Buffett are leading the shorting brigade, or the boobs of Snookie from Jersey Shore are driving the negative bets.
The situations that I find especially appealing are the cases in which your research conclusions are extremely bullish, yet a large herd of traders have piled up their pessimistic short positions up to the sky in the belief share prices are going lower. These “crowded shorts” provide a large tailwind of pending buy orders – effectively pouring gasoline on the fire – if you are arrogant enough, like me, to believe your bullish thesis will play out. These “short squeezes” occur often when fundamental momentum lasts longer than the bears expect, or when downbeat expectations do not come to fruition. A classic short squeeze occurred when well-known investor Whitney Tilson recently covered his Netflix Inc. (NFLX) short position (see Whitney the Waffler), pushing a high priced stock even higher. Short interest reached almost 13 million shares in September 2010, and declined to a little more than 11 million shares a few weeks ago (compared to about 53 million shares outstanding). Given the stock’s price action, and Tilson’s response, the short interest has likely declined – at least temporarily.
The Challenge of Timing
Shorting is difficult enough with the theoretical unlimited losses hanging over your head, but timing is of the essence too. Often, a short-seller may be correct on their unconstructive view on a particular stock, but the heat in the kitchen gets too hot for them to stick around for the main course. Shorting stocks in a down market can be just as easy as buying in an up market – making money in your shorts in a rising market is that much more difficult.
Rather than follow the herd of short sellers as a trading strategy, I choose to stick with the credo of legendary investor Benjamin Graham, who stated:
“You’re neither right nor wrong because others agree with you. You’re right because your facts and reasoning are right.”
It’s my strong belief the long-term share price of a stock is driven by the sustainable earnings and cash flows of a company. The direction of price and earnings (cash flow) may diverge in the short-run, but in the long-run the relationship between price and profits converges.
Shorting Criteria
The criteria for shorting a stock are just as varied as the factors used to buy a stock, but these are some of the factors I consider when shorting a stock:
- Weak and/or deteriorating market share positioning.
- Excessive leverage – substandard financial positioning.
- Weak cash flow based quality of earnings.
- Management mis-execution and deteriorating fundamentals.
- Expensive valuations on an absolute and relative basis.
A stock is not required to exhibit all these characteristics simultaneously in order to generate a profitable short position, but the framework works for me.
If long investing is your main focus, then I urge you seek out those heavily shorted stocks that maintain attractive growth opportunities at attractive prices. If you are going to seek out rising stocks, you may as well use the assistance of a coiled spring to get you there.
Click Here to Check Out High Short Interest Stocks
Click Here for NYSE Shorts at WSJ
Wade W. Slome, CFA, CFP®
Plan. Invest. Prosper.
DISCLOSURE: Sidoxia Capital Management (SCM) and some of its clients own certain exchange traded funds and NFLX, but at the time of publishing SCM had no direct position in any other security referenced in this article. No information accessed through the Investing Caffeine (IC) website constitutes investment, financial, legal, tax or other advice nor is to be relied on in making an investment or other decision. Please read disclosure language on IC “Contact” page.
Creating Your Investment Dashboard
Navigating the financial markets can be difficult in this volatile environment we’ve experienced over the last few years, which is why it is more important than ever to have a financial dashboard to ensure you do not drive off a cliff. If investors do not have the time or focus to drive their financial future, then perhaps for the safety of themselves and others, they may consider taking the bus or hiring a chauffeur. For those committed to handling their finances on their own, the road may become rocky, so here are some important factors to monitor on your financial dashboard:
1) Fundamental Direction: Before you decide on an investment destination, it is important to know whether trends are accelerating (speeding up) or deteriorating (slowing down) – see also Forecasting – Trend Analysis.
2) Are You Going the Speed limit? Nobody wants to get a costly speeding ticket, therefore assessing valuation metrics on your dashboard is a beneficiary tool. If you are speeding along the highway at a 100 miles per hour in an expensive stock (e.g., trading at a 50x+ Price/Earnings multiple), then there is little room for error. When traveling that fast you can forget about the price of a speeding ticket, because hitting a pothole at those speeds (valuation) can be much more costly to your portfolio, if you are not careful.
3) Temperature Outside: There’s a huge difference between driving in the icy-cold snow and in 100 degree heat. Each environment has its own challenges. The same principle applies to the financial markets. On occasion, sentiment can become red hot, forcing heightened caution, whereas during other periods, chilling fear can scare everyone else off the roads, leaving clear sailing ahead.
4) Optimal Tire Pressure: Low pressure or bald tires can lead to treacherous driving conditions. A company with healthy cash flow generation relative to its market capitalization can make your investment ride a lot more stable (see also Cash Flow Register). Dividends and share buybacks are generated from healthy and stable cash flows…not earnings.
5) Driver Skill Level: People generally believe they are better than average drivers, however statistics tell a different story. By definition, half of all drivers must be below average. If you are going to put your life’s retirement assets into stocks, you might as well select those companies led by seasoned management teams with proven track records.
Many investors drive blindly without relying on a dashboard. In the investment world, visibility is not very clear. Often, weather conditions in the financial markets become rainy, dark, and/or foggy. If you don’t want your portfolio to crash, it makes sense to build a reliable dashboard to navigate through the hazardous investment road conditions.
Wade W. Slome, CFA, CFP®
Plan. Invest. Prosper.
DISCLOSURE: Sidoxia Capital Management (SCM) and some of its clients own certain exchange traded funds, but at the time of publishing SCM had no direct position in any other security referenced in this article. No information accessed through the Investing Caffeine (IC) website constitutes investment, financial, legal, tax or other advice nor is to be relied on in making an investment or other decision. Please read disclosure language on IC “Contact” page.
New Year’s Investing Resolutions
As we exit 2010 and enter 2011, many people go through the annual ritual of making personal New Year’s resolutions. Here is a list of go-to resolutions if you haven’t made one, or are having trouble coming up with one.
1) Lose weight
2) Spend More Time with Family & Friends
3) Quit Smoking
4) Quit Drinking
5) Enjoy Life More
6) Save Money & Get Out of Debt
7) Learn Something New
8) Help Others
9) Get Organized
10) Travel More
I have a few on the list above that I would like to work on, but when it comes to investing, there are a few other resolutions I am looking to make or maintain in 2011:
1) Don’t be a Hog. The last few years have produced excellent returns, but we all know that pigs get fat, and hogs get slaughtered. Cashing the register and banking some of my gains can be frustrating when positions charge higher, but sticking to a disciplined approach pays off handsomely in the long-run and helps navigate through the volatile times.
2) Follow Crash Litmus Test. Only buy what you would confidently purchase at lower prices. Sure, company or industry fundamentals can change over time, but for the vast majority of the time, companies and industries do not undergo paradigm shifts. Even though there are a 1,001 bombs that get launched daily, explaining why the world is coming to an end, I do my best to block out the useless noise and stick to the numbers and facts.
3) Remove Name Creep. It’s easy to fall in love with every new stock that walks by, but limiting the number requires a conviction discipline that pays off in the long run. Academic research and practical experience dictate diversification can be achieved without spreading yourself too thin. As Warren Buffett says, “I prefer to keep all my eggs in one basket and watch that basket closely.”
4) Tirelessly Turn Stones. I love my portfolio right now, but I know there are unique opportunities out there that can improve my results, if I take the time and make the effort.
5. Don’t Rush Into Tips. I’ve purchased or shorted securities recommended by respected investors, but it is important to do your own homework first. Even if these ideas work in the short-run, tips usually fall into loose hands and get punted at the worst times. Perform adequate due diligence to strengthen the roots of your thesis for volatile times.
6. Don’t Get Drunk on Story Stocks. There is never a shortage of great ideas, but many of them carry hefty price tags and have high expectations baked into future earnings growth estimates. Even if great stories exist in abundance, there is a shortage of great managers that can profit from great ideas. Associated high prices can however quickly turn a great story into a sad story – once excessively high expectations are not met, prices eventually will collapse.
7. Build Contingency Plan for Overconfidence. It’s important to have an exit strategy or contingency plan in place if things do not play out as planned. Overconfidence can be the pitfall for many investors, and this is not surprising when factoring in how highly people generally feel about themselves. Most believe they are better than average drivers, parents, and have superior intuition. This same overconfidence may not harm you in the real world, but in the financial markets, overconfidence can result in a woodshed beating. Confidence will not kill your portfolio, but arrogant confidence will.
8. Stick to Knitting. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. I do my best to stay away from my blind spots. As legendary baseball player Ted Williams discussed in his book The Science of Hitting, players are much better off by patiently waiting for the fat pitch in the sweet spot of the strike zone before swinging. Finding your sweet spot and not venturing out of your circle of competence is just as important in the investing world as it is in baseball hitting.
9. Trade Less. Trading is fun and exciting, but paying commissions on top of bid-ask spreads, impact costs, and other fees removes some of the enjoyment. Trading is a necessary evil to make profits, but requires the trader to be right twice – once on the sale, and another time on the purchase. Even if you are right on both sides of the trade, chances are the fees, taxes, commissions, and impact costs will remove most if not all of the profits.
10. Learn from Mistakes. Unfortunately, 2011 will be another year that I will not remain mistake-free. Conveniently forgetting investment mistakes is a great rationalization mechanism, but forever sweeping blunders under the rug without learning from them will not make you a better investor.
If you are able to set aside some of those Bonbons and pay off those credit card balances, then maybe you can join me and take on an investing resolution or two. Don’t worry, like all resolutions, you always have the option of making the resolution without following through!
Wade W. Slome, CFA, CFP®
Plan. Invest. Prosper.
DISCLOSURE: Sidoxia Capital Management (SCM) and some of its clients own certain exchange traded funds, but at the time of publishing SCM had no direct position in any other security referenced in this article. No information accessed through the Investing Caffeine (IC) website constitutes investment, financial, legal, tax or other advice nor is to be relied on in making an investment or other decision. Please read disclosure language on IC “Contact” page.
The Art of Weather Forecasting and Investing
Source: Photobucket
I’ve lived across the country and traveled around the world and have experienced everything from triple-digit desert heat to sub-zero wind chill. The financial markets experience the same variability over time.
Forecasting the weather is a lot like forecasting the stock market. In the short-run, volatility in patterns can be very difficult to predict, but if efforts are energized into analyzing long-term factors, trends can be identified.
For example, I live here in Southern California, and although weather is fairly homogenous, the variability can be significant on a day-to-day basis. I’m much more likely to be accurate in estimating the long-term climate than the forecast seven days from now. I’m not trying to rub salt in the wounds of those people freezing in Antarctica or the upper-Midwest, but forecasting a climate of 72 degrees, sunny, and blue skies is a good fall-back scenario if you are a television weatherman in Southern California.
Charles Ellis, author of the Winning the Loser’s Game – “WTLG” (see Investing Caffeine article #1 and article #2), highlights the weather analogy more convincingly:
“Weather is about the short run; climate is about the long run – and that makes all the difference. In choosing a climate in which to build a home, we would not be deflected by last week’s weather. Similarly, in choosing a long-term investment program, we don’t want to be deflected by temporary market conditions.”
Ellis adds:
“Like the weather, the average long-term experience in investing is never surprising, but the short-term experience is constantly surprising.”
In the financial markets the weather predicting principle applies to long-term economic forecasts as well. Predicting annual GDP growth can often be more accurate than the expected change in Dow Jones Industrial Index points tomorrow or the next day.
Economic Weathermen
As I outlined in Professional Guesses Probably Wrong, economists and strategists use several means of making their guesses.
- One method is to simply not make forecasts at all, but rather use some big words and current news to explain what currently is happening in the economy and financial markets.
- A second approach used by prognosticators is to constantly change forecasts. Consider a person making a weather forecast every minute…his/her forecast would be very accurate, but it would be changing constantly and not provide much more value than what an ordinary person could gather by looking out their own window.
- Thirdly, some use the “spaghetti approach” – throw enough scenarios out there against the wall and something is bound to stick – regardless of accuracy.
- Lastly, the “extend and pretend” method is often implemented. Forecasters make big bold economic predictions that garner lots of attention, but when the expectations don’t come true, the original forecast is either forgotten by investors or the original forecast just becomes extended further into the future.
Coin Flipping
If the weather analogy doesn’t work for you, how about a coin-flipping analogy? The short-term randomness surrounding the consecutive number of heads and tails may make no sense in the short-run, but will mean revert to an average over time. In other words, it is possible for someone to flip 10 consecutive “tails,” but in the long-run, the number of times a coin will land on “tails” will come close to averaging half of all coin tosses. The same dynamic is observed in the investment world. Often, short-term spikes or declines are short lived and return toward a mean average. IN WTLG, Ellis provides some more color on the topic:
“The manager whose favorable investment performance in the recent past appears to be ‘proving’ that he or she is a better manager is often – not always, but all too often – about to produce below-average results…A large part of the apparently superior performance was not due to superior skill that will continue to produce superior results but was instead due to that particular manager’s sector of the market temporarily enjoying above-average rates of return – or luck.”
Regardless of your interests in weather forecasting or coin-flipping, when it comes to investing you will be better served by following the long-term climate trends and probabilities. Otherwise, the performance outlook for your investment portfolio may be cloudy with a chance of thunderstorms.
Wade W. Slome, CFA, CFP®
Plan. Invest. Prosper.
DISCLOSURE: Sidoxia Capital Management (SCM) and some of its clients own certain exchange traded funds, but at the time of publishing SCM had no direct position in any other security referenced in this article. No information accessed through the Investing Caffeine (IC) website constitutes investment, financial, legal, tax or other advice nor is to be relied on in making an investment or other decision. Please read disclosure language on IC “Contact” page.
Winning Coaches Telling Players to Quit
How would you feel if your coach told you not only are you going to lose, but you should quit and join the other team? Effectively, that is what Loomis Sayles bond legend Dan Fuss (read Fuss Making a Fuss), and fellow colleagues Margie Patel (Wells Fargo Advantage Funds), and Anthony Crescenzi (PIMCO) had to say about the chances of bonds winning at the recent Advisors’ Money Show.
This is what Fuss said regarding “statistically cheap” equities:
“I’ve never seen it this good in half a century.”
Patel went on to add:
“By any measure you want to look at, free cash flow, dividend yield, P/E ratio – stocks look relatively cheap for the level of interest rates.” Stock offer a “once-in-a-decade opportunity to buy and make some real capital appreciation.”
Crescenzi included the following comments about stocks:
“Valuations are not risky…P/E ratios have been fine for a decade, in part because of the two shocks that drove investors away from equities and compressed P/E ratios.”
Bonds Dynasty Coming to End
The bond team has been winning for three decades (see Bubblicious Bonds), but its players are getting tired and old. Crescenzi concedes the “30-year journey on rates is near its ending point” and that “we are at the end of the duration tailwind.” Even though it is fairly apparent to some that the golden bond era is coming to a close, there are ways for the bond team to draft new players to manage duration (interest rate/price sensitivity) and protect oneself against inflation (read Drowning TIPS).
Equities on the other hand have had a massive losing streak relative to bonds, especially over the last decade. The equity team had over-priced player positions that exceeded their salary cap and the old market leaders became tired and old. Nothing energizes a new team better than new blood and new talent at a much more attractive price, which leaves room in the salary cap to get the quality players to win. There is always a possibility that bonds will outperform in the short-run despite sky-high prices, and the introduction of any material, detrimental exogenous variable (large country bailout, terrorist attack, etc.) could extend bonds’ outperformance. Regardless, investors will find it difficult to dispute the relative attractiveness of equities relative to prices a decade ago (read Marathon Investing: Genesis of Cheap Stocks).
As I have repeated in the past, bonds and cash are essential in any portfolio, but excessively gorging on a buffet of bonds for breakfast, lunch, and dinner can be hazardous for your long-term financial health. Maximizing the bang for your investment buck means not neglecting volatile equity opportunities due to disproportionate conservatism and scary economic media headlines.
There are bond coaches and teams that believe the winning streak will continue despite the 30-year duration of victories. Fear, especially in this environment, is often used as a tactic to sell bonds. Conflicts of interest may cloud the advice of these bond coaches, but the successful experienced coaches like Dan Fuss, Margie Patel, Anthony Crescenzi are the ones to listen to – even if they tell you to quit their team and join a different one.
Read Full Advisor Perspectives Article
Wade W. Slome, CFA, CFP®
Plan. Invest. Prosper.
DISCLOSURE: Sidoxia Capital Management (SCM) and some of its clients own certain exchange traded funds (including TIP), but at the time of publishing SCM had no direct position in any other security referenced in this article. No information accessed through the Investing Caffeine (IC) website constitutes investment, financial, legal, tax or other advice nor is to be relied on in making an investment or other decision. Please read disclosure language on IC “Contact” page.
Rams Butting Heads: Rosenberg vs. Paulsen
Source: Photobucket
After a massive decline in financial markets during 2008, followed by a significant rebound in during 2009, should it be a surprise to anyone that economists hold directly opposing views? Financial markets are Darwinian in many respects, and Bloomberg was not bashful about stirring up a battle between David Rosenberg (Chief Economist & Strategist at Gluskin Sheff) and James Paulsen (Chief Investment Strategist at Wells Capital Management). The two economists, like the equivalent of two rams, lowered their horns and butted heads regarding their viewpoints on the economy. Rams butt heads (two words) together as a way to create a social order and hierarchy, so depending on your views, you can determine for yourself whom is the survival of the fittest. Regardless of your opinion, the exchange is an entertaining clash:
Paulsen’s Case (see also Unemployment Hypochondria): Paulsen makes the case that although the recovery has not been a gangbuster, nonetheless, the rebound has been the strongest in 25 years if you look at real GDP growth in the first year after a recession ends. He blames demographic atrophy in labor force growth (i.e., less job growth from Baby Boomers and fewer women joining the workforce relative to the mid-1980s) for the less than stellar absolute number.
Rosenberg’s Case: Rosenberg explains that the last two recoveries bear no resemblance to the recent recovery. The recent recession was one of the worst of all-time, therefore we should have experienced a sharper V-shaped recovery. All the major economic statistics are at dismal levels, and nowhere near the levels experienced in late 2007. He goes on to add that the stimulus, monetary policy, and bailouts have not produced the bang for our buck. Rosenberg says he will put on his bull hat once we enter a credit creation cycle that allows the economy to grow on an organic, sustained basis without artificial stimuli.
Like other pre-crisis bears who have floated to the top of the media mountain, Rosenberg has had difficulty adjusting his doom and gloom playbook as markets have rebounded approximately +80% from March 2009. Rosenberg maintained his pessimistic outlook as he transitioned from Merrill Lynch to Gluskin Sheff and has been wrong ever since. How wrong? Let’s take a look at Rosenberg’s first letter at his new employer, Gluskin Sheff (dated May 19th 2009):
Statement #1: “It stands to reason that this was just another counter-trend rally.” Reality: Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 8,475 then, and 11,114 today.
Statement #2: “It now looks as though the major averages are about to embark on the fabled retesting phase towards the March lows.” Reality: Dow never got close to 6,470 and stands at 11,114 today.
Statement #3: “It is unlikely that we have crossed the Rubicon into new bull market terrain and that the fundamental lows have been put in.” Reality: Dow just needs to fall -42% and Rosenberg will be right.
Statement #4: “[Unemployment] looks like we will likely get back to that old peak of 10.8% in coming quarters.” Reality: We peaked at 10.1% in October a year ago, and stand at 9.6% today.
Statement #5: “Deflation risks continue to trump inflation risks, at least over the near- and intermediate-term.” Reality: Commodity prices are dramatically escalating (CRB commodity index skyrocketing) across many categories, including the four-Cs (copper, corn, cotton, and crude oil).
I don’t pretend to be whistling past the graveyard, because we indeed have serious structural problems (deficits, debt, unsustainable entitlements, high unemployment, etc., etc., etc.), but when was there never something to worry about? See 1963 article? Like the endless “double dip” economists before him (see also Double-Dip Guesses). As the evidence shows, Rosenberg’s anything-but-rosy outlook is a tad extreme and has been dead wrong…at least for the last 1 and ½ years or almost 3,000 Dow Points. Just a few months ago, Rosenberg raised the odds of a double-dip recession from 45% to 67%.
Perhaps the sugar high stimulus will wear off, the steroid side-effects will kick in, and the Fed’s printing presses will break down and cause an economic fire? Until then, corporate profits continue to swell, cash is piling higher, valuations have been chopped in half from a decade ago (see Marathon Investing), and money stuffed under the mattress earning 0.5% will eventually leak back into the market.
I do however agree with Rosenberg in a few respects, and that revolves around his belief that banking industry will not be the leading group out of this cyclical recovery, and housing headwinds will remain in place for a extended period of time. Moreover, I agree with many of the bears when it comes to government involvement. Artificially propping up sectors like housing makes no sense. Why delay the inevitable by flushing taxpayer money down the toilet. Did you see the government running cash for clunker servers and storage in 2000 when the tech bubble burst? Does incentivizing capacity expansion with free money in an industry with boatloads of excess capacity already really make sense? Although media commentators and gloomy economists like Rosenberg paint everything as black and white, most reasonable people understand there are many shades of gray.
Gray that is…like the color of two rams butting heads.
Wade W. Slome, CFA, CFP®
Plan. Invest. Prosper.
DISCLOSURE: Sidoxia Capital Management (SCM) and some of its clients own certain exchange traded funds, but at the time of publishing SCM had no direct position in any other security referenced in this article. No information accessed through the Investing Caffeine (IC) website constitutes investment, financial, legal, tax or other advice nor is to be relied on in making an investment or other decision. Please read disclosure language on IC “Contact” page.
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