Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

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ALERT: Raising Cash in the Newsletter Portfolios
Our research has been absolutely fantastic for a long time, but 2020 may have been our best year yet. With the S&P 500 trading within our fair value estimate range of 3,530-3,920 (and the markets rolling over while showing signs of abnormal behavior), we're raising the cash position in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio to 10%-20%. For more conservative investors, the high end of this range may even be larger, especially considering the vast "gains" from the March 2020 bottom and the increased systemic risks arising from price-agnostic trading (read Value Trap). The individual holdings will be reduced in proportion to arrive at the new targeted cash weighting in the respective simulated newsletter portfolios. The High Yield Dividend Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter are scheduled for release February 1. We'll have more to say soon.

Is a Stock Market Crash Coming? -- Coronavirus Update and P/E Ratios
Image Source: World Health Organization, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Situation Report -- 32. We don’t think this is the environment to put new capital to work, and we remain highly cautious of what COVID-19 means for global economic growth not just in the first quarter of 2020 but for the rest of this year (maybe longer). Right now, the US markets are not really factoring in anything related to COVID-19, and perhaps may be adjusting to China’s stimulus in artificially propping up the markets as if the outbreak is somehow a “positive thing.” With the S&P 500 trading at 19.0 forward earnings estimates--estimates that are likely too high given the evidence we are seeing with respect to a slowdown due to COVID-19--and corporate debt levels more elevated than ever before (note, a high net debt level should depress the P/E in enterprise valuation--US corporate debt has advanced 50% over the past decade, to $10 trillion), it is our contention that the current market reflects a “situation-equivalent” forward P/E (i.e. rightsizing for new net debt relative to the dot-com peak and adjusting for lower forward earnings expectations compared with current forecasts) perhaps greater than 24.4, which was recorded at the peak of the dot-com bubble. Though interest rates are lower than they were at the time of the dot-com crash, suggesting a modest reasonable bump to normalized forward P/E ratios of ~15 times to reflect “fair valuations,” we could seriously be in for fundamental-driven crash soon, as both the earnings multiple and earnings estimates contract aggressively. Hypothetically, a contraction to a 16x forward multiple on earnings estimates just 10% lower than currently forecast implies an S&P 500 of 2,566, or a swoon of about 20%-30% from current levels--and that would just get us down to 16x still-respectable forward numbers. How quantitative-driven price-agnostic trading may impact this scenario is not known either, and all of this could be setting up for a wild ride in the coming weeks and months. Fasten your seatbelts. We’ll have a few newsletter portfolio alerts coming Monday.

ICYMI: Valuentum’s Improved Stock and ETF Web Pages
Valuentum has rolled out improved stock and ETF web pages on its website www.valuentum.com. Now, subscribers can access key proprietary information on the stock and ETF web pages in addition to the customary stock and ETF reports.

Our Ideas Are Performing Awesome So Far in 2018!!! 6 of the Top 7 of the Dow!
We’ve done a fantastic job identifying some of the top performers in the Dow Jones Industrial Average during 2018 (6 of the top 7!), but to be fair, a couple haven’t panned out that well either. In any case, we couldn’t be more pleased with the simulated newsletter portfolio ideas.

How to Think About Corporate Tax Reform
Image Source: DonkeyHotey. Donald Trump and team are working hard to “Make America Great Again,” and lowering tax rates on corporations is a key initiative. Nobody knows for sure whether such efforts will come to fruition, but knowing how to use our research and understanding the fair value estimate range puts you ahead of the crowd, if it hasn’t already.

Video: An Overview of Our 16-page Stock Research Reports
President of Equity Research, Brian Nelson, walks through how financial advisors and individual investors can get the most out of Valuentum's 16-page equity report.

Understanding the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Designation
Let's examine why the Economist (magazine) calls the CFA the gold standard in the investment industry.

Correction: Understanding the MLP Valuation Conversation
One slide speaks to the difference between what the industry is trying to sell to investors and what we are talking about. Admittedly, it is a jam-packed slide.

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending May 8
Let's take a look at companies raising/lowering their dividends this week.