Forum Topics SEQ SEQ What does this business want t

Pinned straw:

Added 8 months ago

I don't know that this creates opportunity. SEQ was a large holding of mine and I have done exceptionally well out of it yet I have to say I am totally disappointed in it as well. I like GC and in fact I would call him a friend - I am no longer sure he calls me one. I have mostly sold out a few lying around but not material at all. Our experience was great and yet bad. Each has to make their own decisions, but over the period of our investment we felt that GC was over optimistic and that each year the presentation looked different. In one aspect GC was right and we were wrong and that was Morrisons - we could not see how this fitted into a (well what is SEQ - A wealth management business, a financial planning business or a technology business or a legal compliance business) Certainly in our opinion it wasn't a financial reporting business and we hated FNN and then GC went and bought Share Cafe etc.

I suppose this became the overwhelming feeling we had - That GC would put anything into it as there was no real planned business model. I don't think we blamed him it seems to be a mantra of most financial planning and advisor businesses at this moment. After the Royal Commission and the exit of banks and the older planners retiring the industry doesn't seem to know how it will unfold. I really thought that GC had the vision. So at first it was advisor numbers. Then it was compliance companies , including a training company and a family office etc. Right now I have no idea what to measure.

The other noise we suffered was a substantial shareholder arriving on a cheap entry after Sargon imploded and then the slow bleed of that stock into the market.

The best and biggest thing to happen here was for someone to come and offer what in my opinion is a huge price for Morrisons and after asking around I get the understanding that it is as much the technology and systems that Morrisons have as the brokerage firm. GC sold 80% of this for double my entire valuation of it. It is at a low because Brokers are doing it a lot tougher at the moment. so valuations should be lower.

My view is that as I understood it we were supposed to get or buy more advisor firms to become 800 planners we did not do that. There was and still is a logical move for CAF, DVR and WTL to look at how they can merge or even CUP. My view is that there are too many CEO's and not enough shareholders driving this right now so no-one seems to see that size does count.

So you are now left with GC and co and a lot of money. Do they spend it wisely. Based upon past performance we decided not to take that risk. Without the Morrisons deal there would have been a lot of blood on the street...

Add to that that the Share Cafe deal has not worked as I see it



jayjayjayjay
8 months ago

Well said @JoeWolf

i do agree GC has changed his approach way to often. His plans seem to change every year. Which makes it hard to measure.

its only a small holding of mine IRL and so far has been an ok investment but willing to hang around and see what he can do with the $$$ from the Morrison sale. If the acquisitions stink I’ll like the share cafe one did which I never understood the reasoning behind I’ll be happily out hopefully with a nice little profit. The fact he somehow sold morrisons for that amount whilst maintaining 20% of the business gives me more belief in him.

in reality the business is a pretty crappy roll up business that appears to be good value. These can often prove to be a lousy investment.

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PortfolioPlus
8 months ago

We would all appear to be on the same page regards GC - nice guy - convincingly tells a good story - can paint a clear path forward - BUT, the story fails to unravel the way it should or is related.

I am pleased he is using cash in buying back. The average buy back is now around 53c. But use that cash to soak up the softness following ex div.

He obviously loves the tortoise and hare fable and now that he has ‘hardened the shell’ let’s see this tortoise begin to canter. Don’t spend time gift wrapping the garbage (Share Cafe and FNN) concentrate on the main game. And yes, I do agree, and one of the reasons I bought more, action is likely in the bid to get bigger and benefit from scale. We will see.

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