Value Investing & Stock Market Investment Software

Stock Market Investment & Value Investing Software

Is the program downloadable?

There is no need to worry about downloading the software. Being web-based you can be certain that upgrades, enhancements and most importantly, valuations are accessible by you, as soon as they are made. There are no discs or cd's to worry about, no conflicts with your other software. Just log onto the web and you’re connected to the world's most valuable stock market investment software.

What sort of information is required to be entered?

StockVal is already populated with up to five years of data for over 400 companies. The number of companies researched increases every day and each one is automatically valued, based on the data entered.

Importantly, the data is not simply taken from a data feed and blindly accepted. We read each annual report and make adjustments. For example we make adjustments to earnings. When a company sells machinery at a loss, the accountants and management may treat the loss as abnormal. As far as we are concerned, the loss was made because the machinery was not depreciated fast enough in previous years and therefore the profits in those years was overstated. So we DON'T treat the loss as abnormal.

When we make changes to data that impacts a valuation, StockVal records the date that the change was made and flags it, so a quick glance in the morning is all that is needed to reveal what's been changed. This is of considerable value during reporting season or when a company has upgraded or downgraded its outlook.

Do I have to accept the StockVal valuations?

Obviously, as fund managers, we have considerable experience in using StockVal, valuing companies, talking to their management, asking the right questions and managing portfolios but if you really want to change data, you can. Enter the results of your own analysis, or the data from a trusted source such as a broker or analyst. You can also enter different scenarios to produce a range of values. When you make your own changes, your individual valuation will move across to your own "Favourites List". The valuation may change but StockVal will still track your favourites ensuring that each day, you can compare your valuations to the ever-changing price.

Adding your own companies.

You can simply add your own company, if it is not already covered by StockVal. Any company, anywhere in the world can be added to StockVal as long as you have the required data. If it is an Australian company, simply add the code and input the data from the annual report. You can also enter your own forecasts or those of a trusted source such as an analyst.

You are also able to submit your work to StockVal for approval and if approved it may then be added to the official StockVal list of companies researched and reviewed. You can also submit your work to StockVal's public forum for other StockVal users to see and comment on.

What sort of historic information is required?

StockVal is already populated with up to five years of historical data or four years of historical and one forecast year for over 400 companies. If you choose to add your own companies to your favourites list for assessment and valuation, you will need the following data:

Click to Enlarge

How does a subscriber get started?

Initially, StockVal subscribers spend time understanding and familiarizing themselves with the company performance and valuation information, provided in the Valuation Screen. Once you become familiar with facts such as The Reject Shop has consistently delivered a greater than 40% Normalised Return on Equity and KH Foods will not return to profitability until 2008, if a successful restructure is achieved, then you can focus on the summary page which allows you to rank companies by their performance and proximity to intrinsic value.

Simply click on Summary and click on the Value/Price Margin header and every company will be ranked by its discount or premium to intrinsic value. Alternatively you can refine your summary to just those companies producing or expected to produce, for example, a normalized return on equity of more than 15%. Subscribers should not go out and buy any company that appears at the top of the Summary Screen. Some will have too much debt, others will have declining return on equity. Understanding what you are buying, will always be as important as when you buy it.

Finally keep in mind that StockVal cannot prevent the broader market's participants from buying and selling and thus influencing short term price. Prices can move from overpriced to very overpriced and stay their for a very long time. Prices can also move below valuation and still move lower after purchase. While StockVal cannot control prices, it has been used with audited success by reputable fund managers.