Episode 9: Integrated Research, Xref and Mailbag

Many hard problems are best solved when they are addressed backwards. Munger called this inversion, and it’s a potent idea for both life and investing. It’s pretty obvious when you think about it: if you want to be happy avoid things that make you miserable. Similarly, if you want to improve your investment returns, don’t focus on finding the next […]

A recent article in the AFR proclaimed “Small caps are ripe for a comeback“, citing the relative underperformance of this space in recent years, and the potential for easier credit conditions later in 2024. It’d certainly be welcomed by those of us that play in this space. As discussed below, the Strawman Index has kept pace with the broader market […]

But is the market over-reacting?

I was recently fossicking through the archives and tripped over a piece I wrote back in 2018. It was a time when everyone was convinced the market was about to fall off a cliff; the indices had nearly doubled since the GFC lows and tech valuations were being described as “nose-bleed” by the pundits. With the market again at record […]

The Australian share market has lost close to 30% in just three weeks. That’s something we’ve seen only a handful of times in all of history. It’s far from an irrational move either, when you consider just how quickly the coronavirus pandemic has escalated. Consider this: Entire countries have gone into lock down Infections are continuing to grow at an exponential rate […]

Are shares good value?

Spreadsheets are a great tool, but they tend to offer a level of certainty that’s often not justified. We’re taught to believe that more data and more intricate calculations lead to better decisions, but that’s a myth rather convincingly debunked by researchers Green and Armstrong. In their paper, “Simple versus complex forecasting: The evidence,” they showed that when it comes […]

After steadily climbing the Strawman company rankings, New York based LiveTiles (ASX:LVT) has just qualified for entry into the Strawman index. If history is any guide, that’s a very bullish signal… Comprised of the most popular recommendations from our community of investors, the Strawman Index has delivered market beating returns since inception: What does LiveTiles do? LiveTiles is a software […]