The Last Straw

Last Man Standing

The Real Winners Emerge When The Boom Goes Bust You may not even be aware, but there is a market shakedown underway. Craft breweries, salvation of alternative types who eschew the 9 to 5 life, are going under. In an alcohol-obsessed country there is a company growing its share of the beer market whilst also being stupid-lucky enough to uncover […]

Cash Flow Conundrums

Negative cash flows usually set off alarm bells for investors, and for good reason. At the end of the day cash is the lifeblood of a business. Still, a closer look at things may just reveal a company that is sensibly investing in its future growth. If you can go beyond the surface-level numbers, and build some confidence in the capital allocation decisions of […]

Poor Charlie’s Almanack: Summary

Charlie Munger, rest his soul, was one of the greatest investors that ever lived. Much of his timeless wisdom was captured in the 2005 book Poor Charlie’s Almanack by Peter D. Kaufman, which Strawman member Solvetheriddle summarised for our members. Do yourself a favour, and read the book. But if you want the tl;dr version, read on! These are a […]

The Big Ideas

Wall Street columnist Jason Zweig once remarked that his job is to essentially write the same thing 50 to 100 times a year, but in a manner that keeps it fresh for his readers. The reason, as Zweig points out, is that while markets are in a constant state of flux, the big ideas seldom change. “..while people need good advice, […]

Bitcoin: Tips For The ‘Crypto-Curious’

At Strawman we’re all about small-cap investing. “Crypto”, in the main, isn’t much of a focus for most of our members. Magic internet tokens are almost antithetical to any notion of sound, time-honoured investment principles. And it’s hard to think of an industry that has a worse history of blow-ups, Ponzis and grift. But with Bitcoin now back at all time highs […]

Are Small-Caps Back?

The market always offers up something of a mixed bag each results season but, on balance, at least among the most popular stocks on Strawman, what we’ve seen so far has been rather encouraging. Not so much in terms of the immediate market reaction — though we’ve certainly seen some big moves — but in terms of what these numbers say […]

Strawman Premium

Strawman is a private online investment club for those that are serious about taking control of their financial future. As part of our inner circle, Strawman Premium members enjoy exclusive access to: The portfolios, trades, research & valuations of all Premium members. The trades and composition of the Strawman Index. Live & interactive online monthly meetings, featuring company deep dives, […]

Computer Says No: a (mis)adventure In Property

Do you like highly illiquid assets that involve significant trade frictions and costs? Do you like dealing with an army of mostly useless, self-serving middlemen? Do you like assets that require extreme leverage and offer pitiful yields? Welcome to Australian property. I’m currently in the process of trying to secure a house, and I need to get a few things off […]

Sentiment Vs Earnings

Over the long run, the main driver of share price is earnings per share (EPS). If, for example, EPS has grown at 10% annually over a decade, you can be reasonably confident that the share price will show a similar appreciation. Consider REA Group (ASX:REA), whose per share earnings compounded at an average annual rate of 27% between 2004 and 2023 (yes, it’s […]