Episode 8: Macro outlook, Microcap investing & Scorecard review

Is it time to cut and run?

When I first started to attend company briefings, I usually came away feeling more than a little stupid. It always felt like I was accidently sat at the adults table; nodding along like an idiot and desperately hoping no one expected me to speak. While others asked probing questions on all manner of esoteric accounting adjustments and industry specifics, I […]

Over the past few months I’ve had the privilege of giving a series of talks at the Financial Services Institute of Australasia — or FINSIA, for short. Targeted at private investors at the start of their journey, the series aimed to give attendees a solid grounding in the core aspects of share market investing. Free from jargon, and leaning heavily […]

Modern economics is littered with ideas that are, frankly, wrong. Not obviously so, which is partly why they are so hard to kill. That, and the fact they tend to be politically comforting, at least in terms of their intended outcomes. That those outcomes would indeed be nice if achieved, and often come from the best of intentions, is not […]

I bought my first shares in November 1985, the 40th anniversary is here!!—here’s what I learnt since, sometimes the hard way! Through the various cycles, events and characters, the journey and outcomes have been an intriguing, rewarding and interesting way to spend time. Below, I have attempted to avoid, firstly, pointing out stocks you should have bought, as there are […]

We at Strawman know that bigger isn’t always better. There are plenty of reasons for that, but one of the more enduring comes from William H. Whyte’s classic The Organization Man from 1956. His central point was that large institutions tend to nudge everyone toward the middle. The bigger the machine, the more it wants predictable cogs. Comfort goes up, […]

The company delivers on its promise of positive operating profit

With shares up around 48 times in the past four years, is there still any upside to be had?