Bristlemouth - A Value Investing Blog
May 11, 2012
This week Steve Johnson and Matt Ryan, from Intelligent Investor Value Fund, join Gaurav to discuss the perils and the pleasures of managing an investment fund.
You can download the podcast here or listen below.
Timeline:
1. Update on the fund
- Introduce Steve and Matt (0:00)
- How has the fund performed recently? Is this in line with expectations? (5:07)
- What role does active fund management play versus indexing? (7:40)
- RNY Property Trust (9:35)
- Photon Group, and what to do when an idea doesn't work out (12:49)
2. Fund manager perspectives
- What is different about running other peoples money rather than research? (18:07)
- Portfolio allocation (23:44)
- Behavioural aspects (27:32 More...
May 1, 2012
Apologies for the lack of postings Bristlemouth readers, things have been hectic in our little world for the past few weeks.
I have found the ideal CEO for Spark Infrastructure, though. A German who retired a few weeks ago after not lifting a finger for the past 14 years is my perfect candidate. The unnamed government official fired off an email to former colleagues on his retirement saying that, since 1998, he had been ‘present, but not really there’.
That’s exactly what we need at Spark. The newly internalised management team (whose stupid idea was it to vote for that proposal?) is most definitely ‘there’ and seem to have their hearts set on empire expansion. First was this little chestnut in the 2011 More...
Comments (9) | Category:Investing | Tags: infrastructure, regulated assets, Spark, Spark Infrastructure
April 11, 2012
No, not Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain. I mean real PIGS. This from the FT:
As China’s construction boom slows, steel mills across the country are scrambling to find ways to bolster profits, and one has hit on an unusual strategy: raising pigs. Faced with a bleak outlook for its core business, Wuhan Iron & Steel, China’s fourth-largest by production, is investing Rbm30bn ($4.7bn) over the next five years in non-steel sectors including pig, fish and organic vegetable farming as well as logistics and chemicals.
Wuhan’s pig farm has quickly become the talk of the industry, but many of China’s powerful steel groups – which account for more than 40 per cent of global steel More...
Comments (5) | Category:Investing | Tags: australia, China, commodities
March 30, 2012
There are a number of successful equipment leasing, or 'rent-try-buy' businesses listed on the ASX. Successful, that is, from a shareholder's perspective. As for the customers; that's a different story.
The whole industry is in the business of offering outrageously expensive financing while convincing their customers they're getting a good deal, so it's probably a little unfair to single out one of them for criticism. That said, this example from hospitality equipment provider Silver Chef (ASX code SIV) is too outrageous to let pass.
Silver Chef provides a 'Rent-Try-Buy' solution pitched at cafe and restaurant owners looking to avoid the upfront cost of kitchen equipment and the like. The lessee pays More...
Comments (10) | Category:Investing | Tags: equipment finance, flexigroup, flexirent, lease, operating, rent, Silver Chef, tax, thinksmart
March 28, 2012
The Takeovers Panel has declared unacceptable circumstances in regards to RCU's rights issue. Amongst other things, the Panel found that:
1. Frost discouraged RCU or RE from implementing a dispersion strategy in relation to the rights issue, other than allowing the rights issue to be renounceable.
2. All reasonable steps to minimise the potential control impact of the rights issue on RCU were not taken.
3. It appears to the Panel that the circumstances are unacceptable having regard to:
a. the effect that the Panel is satisfied the circumstances have had, are having, will have or are likely to have on:
i. More...
Comments (19) | Category:Investing | Tags: Greg Woolley, RCU, Trust Co
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