Business Articles, Investing, Investment Vehicles

“Exchange Traded Fund” ETF Basics

Many Business professionals would be shocked to find out that a basic Exchange Traded Fund on the NASDAQ, New York Stock Exchange or on Japans 225 funds that make up the Nekkei Index are all either UIT’s or Open-Ended Funds (Mutual Funds). This article’s purpose is meant to identify and educate more executive business leaders about ETF’s you likely see daily listed on TV or on the many Stock exchanges.

Before we are able to begin listing the different key components that make a Exchange Traded Fund. It’s a good idea if I share some basics to help you understand the ETF’s are complex Financial Vehicles. And for today’s article we will be touching on UIT’s, and Open-Ended Funds. Because that is what the majority of ETF’s are! Unit Investment Trusts and Open-Ended Funds. Interesting stuff right? Lets breakdown the basics of UIT’s and Open-Ended Funds.

Unit Investment Trust “UIT”

What is a Unit Investment Trust? Great question! According to FINRA‘s Website:

“Unit investment trusts, or UITs, fall in the same category as mutual funds and closed-end funds. All three are investment companies, which means they pool money from many investors and invest it based on specific investment goals. The key difference with UITs, however, is once a UIT sets its portfolio, it remains the same for the life of the fund (barring any major corporate events, such as a merger or bankruptcy proceeding) and the term is fixed.”

Investment Company Act of 1940

The key to understanding ETF’s is the fact all ETF’s are Investment companies. If I share more descriptively. A ETF is a Pool of Money that has been legally established as an Investment Company. Now we need to dive slightly deeper into what is “The Investment Company Act of 1940?” The S.E.C. Securities and Exchange Commission. The S.E.C. states on it’s website :

Additionally The Act was signed in to law by President Franklin D. Rosevelt who felt the need for Regulation after the Stock Market Crash of 1929 destroyed so many and especially after the Great Depression left its mark on America’s tattered Finances. The biggest thing I would like to leave you with to know and recognize about the Investment Company Act of 1940 is the fact this Law is a regulatory framework for retail investment products and vehicles. Most importantly the Act leaves Fund Managers and Financiers with three categories of Investment Companies to make offerings. These Company categories are “Unit Investment Trusts” UIT’s, (Mutual Funds) Open-Ended Management Investment Funds and Closed Ended Management Investment Funds. It’s very important to discern the Requirements for Investment Companies are based on their categorization and offerings of Investment products or vehicles.

Open-Ended Management Investment Fund

All a Open-Ended Management Investment Fund really is in most cases is a Mutual Fund! It’s very simple. A collection of Securities or Investments organized into a Pooled Investment Vehicle as a Investment Company. Here are some facts about Mutual Funds. An Open-Ended Fund continuously makes new Shares available to the Public for purchase. These funds are professionally managed and often are able to negotiate and procure Investment vehicles at a discounted price that is not available to Retail Investors. Most Retirement Funds and Retirement Accounts prefer the ease and efficiency of Mutual Funds for Investment Vehicles. Open-Ended Funds can be Growth Oriented, or even Mixed with Alternative investments used as Products inside the Fund. And this is why they make a excellent vehicle for Exchange Traded Funds.

Exchange Traded Funds

By now I think your catching on to the fact Exchange Traded Funds can take many forms or basically be a Investment Company formed into one of three categories Unit Investment Trusts, Open-Ended Funds, Closed Ended-Funds. It is remarkable that when you breakdown the basics of “What a ETF is?” you find that most Exchange Traded Funds are a unmanaged UIT or a Mutual Fund. I do hope you learned some things reading this week’s article. And in conclusion stay tuned! I feel it’s only fair for me to revisit expand on Closed-Ended Investment Management Companies in the near future. But for today? After doing some heavy studying. I felt it was really interesting to write about the fact that 70% of the ETF’s in the OTC and Big Blue Chip Markets? Are UIT’s and Open-Ended Funds are just Mutual Funds. I hope you found this article interesting and educational. This was something I felt could be useful and I felt it would make for a great little article. In conclusion. I would say, stay tuned. Big NEWS next coming week. Thanks for stopping by. Please feel free to contact me. HERE.

Godspeed

Business Articles, Investing

Howard Marks 6 Investing Principles

Recently, I was listening to Oaktree Capital’s Co-Founder Howard Marks, it was clear I needed to pull up my notes and write down these 6 Investing Principles that give Oaktree’s Team an Investing Edge in the Market.

Like most value investors we all know the steps of using Benjamin Graham’s strategy from the Book Intelligent Investor when valuing a Stock or Investment that is trading at a steep discount. Well like Graham, Mr. Howard Marks puts his twist and strategy to work while adhering to a few universal basics that Graham has taught us all as Value Investors. It is said that when Mr. Marks writes an Annual Letter, or his famous Yearly Memo and releases it, Warren Buffett stops what he is doing and reads it.

During an interview recently, Mr. Marks shared “I wrote my yearly memo for nearly twelve years and knew that not many people would read it, but one day after the fifteenth year or so, it basically became an overnight success”. That gives me hope that my little Investment Blog might one day be as interesting as Mr. Howard Mark’s Annual Memos.

These Principles Guide Our Investment Process

Risk Control: Managing risk should be an Investment Management’s Greatest Investment Objective. Without managing risk through extensive diligence and heavy research and planning, our investment thesis may be unproven.

Consistency: When thinking about making Bad Investments to knocking one out of the park like a baseball player, an Investor must be consistent with the performance of their investments. On a scale of 1-10, it’s great to be hitting home runs with Investments that always win, but when things go bad, and they often do with unforeseen risks with Investments, it’s better to be averaging a success rate range in the upper middle of 3-6 max, and not allowing the bad beats of Bad Investments to bring down your Median Average of Consistency. This is very important.

Be selective and look inside the less efficient markets for opportunities: Most markets are highly efficient, but there are places within markets where efficiency is lacking. Those are the spaces where you will be able to apply the Value Investor Graham Basics and WIN! Finding Investments that are “cheap” and look over-leveraged, may be exactly what you have been looking for to apply the skills we have learned over the years. Marks says you will find deals in Emerging Markets where information is not as transparent and available.

Focus on a high degree of Specialization: Mr. Marks says, “Our people at Oaktree do a few things well. We are not Generalists”.

Investment decisions are not driven by Macro Forecasts: Don’t allow the wind blowing over the markets to catch your sails and take you off course to faraway lands. We are Fundamental Analysts; we use the Bottom-Up Strategy.

We are not Market Timers: Mr. Marks emphasizes, “If it’s cheap today, we buy it! We don’t need to wait six months and see if it will be cheaper. That makes no sense”. I tend to agree with Mr. Marks. When you’re looking for investments, your thesis is proven correct or it’s not. Apply the Rules and Skills we have been taught.

Did you catch my last Article on Commercial Real Estate HERE.

Additional notes from Mr. Marks that are relevant to Investment Management and Investing for Success:

“You can’t predict, but you can prepare”.
“Having a large number of Good Investments is our Mantra”.
“Find good companies with correctable Bad Balance Sheets”.
“Distressed Debt holds opportunities”.
“Find good companies that have fallen on hard times”.
“Look for companies with good management, with Too Much Debt”.
“How do we fix this?”
“Our Credit committee during the bankruptcy process can fix and raise the value. We receive profits from our efforts”.
“We reject onerous Debts”.
“We are not turnaround artists”.
“All we focus on is Senior Secured Debt Obligations”.

In the end, our team avoids Losers and Bad Companies!

In Conclusion

In conclusion to this week’s post on Investing Philosophy, if you adhere to and adopt the unique and proven principles in this post for your own purposes, you will likely be happy with the results. I do hope you learned something from Mr. Howard Mark’s Investing Principles.

Feel free to share today’s article. With that, I thank you for stopping by and reading. And I hope you will come back and visit my Investment Blog soon.

Godspeed.

Business Articles, Value Investing

Current Yield of Brown & Brown Stock?

Computation of Current Yield for $BRO

When forming the computation for the Current Yield of any Stock or Bond it’s necessary to understand what Current Yield Means and “Why we use this measurement of Yield?” “According to the Financial times: Current Yield does measure and examines the current price of a bond or stock, rather than looking at its face value. Current yield represents the return an investor would expect to earn, if the owner purchased the bond and held it for a year. However, current yield is not the actual return an investor receives if he holds a bond until maturity.”

Black Rifle Coffee Company $BRCC : NO DIVIDEND

I wanted to do an actual Current Yield computation of one of my investments to demonstrate the importance of minding your investments. While searching I came across something that truly raised my eyebrows! I am astonished that my SOF Veteran Brothers over at $BRCC Black Rifle Coffee Company has an annual Net Revenue in December 2023 175.4 Million. That is 30% higher YOY than last January. I will be watching closely as time moves on this year. If I see additional movement in the earnings later? This may be placed on my Defensive list. I am also astonished BRCC has so little Shares outstanding on it’s Balance Sheet! Only Sixty One Million Nine Hundred Sixty Four and One Hundred Fifty Seven shares outstanding. BRCC does not pay a cash or stock dividend. So this was in observation only.

The Computation of “Current Yield”

The Stock I am choosing for today Current Yield Computation is Brown and Brown Insurance. Amazingly B&B has seen 30 years of increased Dividends! That’s incredible. Making it certainly a stock that does pay a healthy Dividend. According to Brown & Browns 10K the Company’s Outstanding Shares equal Two Hundred Seventy Nine Hundred Million, Nine Hundred Thousand Shares Outstanding. (279,900,000.)The Current market price of the Stock is: Seventy Six dollars eighty eight cents. $BRO $76.88. Wikipedia say’s “Brown & Brown, Inc. is an insurance brokerage firm, specializing in risk management. Headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida, Brown & Brown has 450+ locations worldwide”. And currently has an annual revenue of 3.051 Billion. They pay an Quarterly Cash Dividend of $13.00per 100 shares.

So let’s find the Current Yield of Brown and Brown? With all the information provided we need to get back to our basics and decipher “What exactly Current Yield measures?” Current Yield measures the Annual Dividend divided by the Current Market Price and equals the Yield of the Investment. Our computation should look like: We take the $13.00 and divide by 100 equal .13 per share. Then take Annual Dividend $0.13×4= Annually dividend of $.52c. Then we divide our .52 by Current Stock Price of $76.88 which equals after all the math is done? = .676 or a( .7% Current Yield). This is our Current Yield explained for Brown and Brown.

I do hope you learned something in todays post? It was fun to write, and breakdown all the different elements to the computation of Stock Brown and Browns Current Yield. I needed a little practice for CY for my Investment Advisor curriculum. And thought writing an article would help me in ths area. I appreciate you stopping by to read this small Fundamental Analysis of $BRO.

Godspeed

Business Articles, Investment Vehicles

Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS)

What is (TIPS) Bonds/Fixed Income and How do Investment Advisors, Investment Banker, Stock Broker Professionals Calculate TIPS Payments?

Very interesting Topic has come up on my Study Plan this week inside the Fixed Income topic and Investment Vehicles. This post will go on to explain and demonstrate exactly “How” and “What” Treasury Inflation Protected Securities are used for as Investment Vehicles and the math that we use to calculate the Payments.

To make this simple according to the United States Treasury “(TIPS): are marketable Treasury securities whose principal amount is adjusted for inflation. They were first auctioned in January 1997 after the market expressed a strong interest in the inflation-indexed asset class. In 2009, 20-year TIPS were discontinued in favor of 30-year TIPS. Treasury now offers 5-year, 10-year, and 30-year TIPS.”

TIPS are used in Investment Portfolio’s for the purpose of staying ahead or keeping pace with inflation happening on the Consumer Price Index. The following article is “How Investment Professionals calculate and do the math for TIPS for your Portfolio. But first let’s watch more for The Money Guy Show explaining TIPS and How they are bought and used by Retail Investor and Investment Management.

TIPS are not just another Investment vehicle we use in Portfolio Management or as Investment Fund Managers. We must be highly selective on what make since at the time when we are building Investment Portfolios. Like other Treasury securities, TIPS are exempt from state and local tax. But! The TIPS interest and income on the principle are still taxed at the Federal Level for that year. Please have your Investment Counsel or Investment Advisor give you more information related to the Taxation of your own Investments. This post should not be used as Investment Advice and is strictly a informative guide to math of TIPS.

How to Calculate Treasury Inflation Protected Securities

It’s true when calculating TIPS that there is a part of this method that does involve compounding of the Coupon Rate and the Principle Semiannually. This is how we Make the Math Make Since. You need to know first, That we use the Nominal Yield as the Coupon and we also use the Principle value for our computation/calculations.

Let’s say for instance we have (TIPS) that pay’s 6% annually and then Inflation Rate is 4% for the next 3 years? Here is what happens Mathematically and how we see this Investment Vehicle work and keep pace with Inflation.

Let’s say you bought the 6% TIPS BOND and the Inflation Rate is 4% for the next three years.

You first need to understand the Coupon/Nominal Yield of 6% will be paid in two installments of 3% semiannually. And the 4% will be compounded and paid on the Principle of the Bond.

BOND is $1000 at par.

6months pass by… We are paid as the Bond Holder $1020.00,(2%+1000=1020.00) the first semi annual Dividend we are paid is $30.60.

6months later? We are paid another 40.20. Which now added brings our Bond Principle to ($1040.40). Our Second semi annual Dividend paid to us is $31.21

Year 1 Complete.

Year 2 after 6 months We are paid on the Principle and now Principle increases to (1,061.21). The math to get to this number is (1,040.40×102%=1,061.21) Our first Dividend for this year is paid to us $31.84. How we arrive at this dividend number? We take 1,061.21×3%=31.84

Six Months later our Principle is paid again (1,061.21×102%=$1,082.44) Our final semi annual year 2 Dividend is paid out. (1,082.44×3%= $32.47)

Year 3, six months pass and our Principle is paid (1,082.44×102%=1,104.09) Our first year 3 Dividend is paid out (1,104.09×3%=$33.12)

Six Months later our final year three semi annual Principal is paid (1,104.09×102%=1,126.17) Our final year 3 Dividend is paid out (1,126.17×3%=$33.78).

The Math is clear and so is the method we use to calculate (TIPS) Treasury Inflation Protected Securities. It’s easy, clean math. If you had trouble calculating the math here? Please feel free to email me and I would be happy to walk you through the math in a Video. You may be wondering why I wrote and posted this? Well truth is? I love this stuff and do it for fun. I know I am slightly bizarre. But in all fairness Mr. Bill Gross who is a fellow Navy Veteran and Bond Bad Ass who built the Bond Company PIMCO is also a life long student of Fixed Income and Investing Wisdom. Please do feel free to watch this video Documentary of Mr. Gross. It’s certainly is worth the watch!

However the proof is in the numbers. And rolling up your sleeves and learning new things is the backbone of what makes a Great Investor and Investment Professional. I hope you enjoyed todays post and learned something. Thank You for stopping by.

Godspeed

Business Articles, Investing, Value Investing

2023 Annual Letter & Investment Performance

The following post is my personal Investment Portfolio’s 2023 Performance and How I achieved a 19.9% Real Rate of Return. This in depth investment post will also include incredibly in depth personal thoughts, and thought processes from my Education as a Value Investor from this year. It’s likely to surely strike a chord with many out there who are in the Investment Management, Family Offices to the Entrepreneurial space. Thank you for spending a few minutes reading my annual Investment Notes. Let’s begin.

It’s been a good year, I learned a lot more about being a Investment Portfolio Manager and what it takes to build your skills as a Value Investor and as Howard Marks would share “What is the most important thing?”. With all the distractions in this world working against us and our Investment performance? I still managed to pull off a great victory. Achieving a stable 19.9% Real rate of return for my personal Investment Portfolio. As I posted to the Value Investors I am connected with? I shared, “I will take it!”

This post will be about my personal Investment Portfolio and I will take you trade by trade “The Good and The Bad” and show you how I ended up with a stable 19.9% Real Return at the end of the year.

Charlie Munger May G-D Rest His Soul, was right! “There are only a three ways a smart person can go broke: Liquor, Ladies, and leverage.”
-Charlie Munger (Jan 1st 1924 – Nov 28,2023)

In January 2023 I wanted to begin Earning and training a Series 65 Investment Advisor/Investment Fund Manager Course. This career move will pay massive dividends in my life. And already is beginning to as I write this. There are about two dozen Investment Professionals on Wall-Street watching me closely. Along the way I have developed attracted a little community of Commercial Real Estate Brokers as well. I am positive they will be awesome to know as well. But back to studying as a Investment Advisor Rep. It’s true there have honestly been times I have experienced complete and embarrassing failures. Like failing practice tests. And then times I have overcome obstacles and demonstrated incredible resilience. If I am being honest? Sometimes because progress is slow? I feel absolutely Retarded! LOL It feels like my brain is not absorbing the content I am reading. It’s incredibly frustrating. But you put the book down. And the next day at the same time? You begin studying again. It’s only a matter of weeks before I am able to officially say I conquered this latest stepping stone.

Militant discipline, I use? Is precise and plainly works. When you feel your unable to continue? You stop for a break. Then get back after it. And then you feel better. Because you begin to internalize the information and content your supposed to absorb. I do admit I have had to learn to forgive myself. A. Because I have had a Massive Head injury while serving in the Military. And B. Because my Metabolism Illness/Disability plays havoc on my Body and emotions at times. And this does cause my brain to have concentration issues on some days. But as one of my Veteran Brothers from the Army Ranger Special Operations community always tells me after a failed evolution? “Lets just Keep Rangering On Doc!” And thats the key to learning in life! Wether your learning as a Value Investor. Or as a Competent and Dangerous Investment Portfolio Fund Manger. This Discipline just makes you a Bad Ass in general. You just keep marching forward regardless of your repeated failures.

A Foundation of Conservative Investments

There have been many ups and downs during the 2023. Most people were afraid of full on Recession and others were very Greedy riding the never ending train of the Bull market. But when I began in January 2023 and opened a new Brokerage Account to build a new Experimental Value Portfolio, I was reading Seth Klarman’s famous book “Margin of Safety” just one more time. Because admittedly there is so much in his book that I learn something new as I go deeper into his Books Lessons. And I feel that can be said in life in general. We all start off from a place of sheer ignorance to finding which direction makes since. I must share I am not much of a Speculative Investor. I like to keep my foundation very Conservative when investing. So that is why the First Stock I bought in my portfolio was a Deep Value Real Estate Company “Howard Hughes”.

Buying Howard Hughes?

After doing a Deep Dive, and considering the Management and reading the Annual Report or 13k? This is a great company that is being discounted in the Market because of the fact it is a Real Estate Development company. All my research told me it’s going to be a great investment. Little did I know in later in February? Famous Investor Joel Greenblatt made the same call. And posted inside the Value Investors Club website, which I am a member of, that he too has taken a large position in this undervalued Company. After learning this? I knew I was on to something. I guess it does help that Bill Ackman is the Chairman of the Board. This was another deciding factor. 100%

Insight Enterprises

I have been a long time Investor in the Company Insight Enterprises. So it would seem nautural that I would add this incredible little IT company to my Portfolio’s foundation. The companies management are genuinely “Truly Fantastic!” and I revere the Brothers who started as Entrepreneurs and built this incredible Company. Fact. The continued value of this company speaks for itself. And I am pretty sure just like Berkshire Hathaway it will be foundation for many Investment Portfolios to IT Professionals Retirement Accounts. It’s just that damn good. The end.

Pershing Square Hedge Fund

Im pretty sure everyone knows by now “How much I admire Bill Ackman as a good man and community leader.” I was going through a very dark time when I watched Bill’s Father’s “Larry” Career Leadership Award Ceremony and listened to Bill and Larry talk about life as a Entrepreneur and more importantly. Larry’s entrepreneurial Journey as a Mortgage Broker in New York City. It really brought some direction to my Emotional turbulence as a Entrepreneur during that time. I was really going through just terrible things from my illness. Made me question my sanity and my direction as a Entrepreneur. But! Larry and Bill straightened me right out. And for the fact Bill has personally been very generous with me? Pershing Square was a Buy! I really did not care about the value. I just knew I had to Support Bill. I am glad I did. Bills Fund is a Value Investing Powerhouse this year. If I may leave you with one thought? Invest in the People you genuinely Adore as Mentors and Community Leaders. The good faith will always come back to do nothing but good things. Live by the Golden Rule.

Blackstone Group

Next on my list of Investments that I have been invested in for a few years is Blackstone Group. It’s abundantly clear Mr. Schwarzman and President Jon Gray and the Team are building a phenomenal Business. Even during the Interest Rates and Inflation Crisis early this year? It was clear Blackstone’s Portfolio was more than capable of handling the bumps in the road. I should add, Jon, and Mr. Joe Dowling has personally been very generous with me personally. So Blackstone? Was a no brainer. It must be in my new Portfolio. So I invested. I owe all these Guys on this Investment list Success. And I am gonna give it to them.

Palantir | Artificial Intelligence for the Future

Did you know when I was deep inside Politics I flew across the country and brought certain Community Leaders who are Running for US Congress to a small office in Washington D.C. that was Peter Theil’s Club for Growth PAC? It was a-lot of fun. And I thank the Club for Growth team for being very generous with me.I never spent much time with Mr. Peter Theil except one time at a conference about Tech and AI. And that was before I began my role as Club For Growths guy out in the field. LOL The only reason I bought Palantir for this Investment Portfolio is becuase I can see the good it it doing with AI. It’s a incredibly undervalued Company in the Tech/AI space. And Dr. Alex Karp and team are doing incredible work. I am certain the way this team is collecting contracts from Allied Governments this small investment will pay off very well during the next decade. It’s that simple. During the 3rd Fiscal Quarter Palantir earning were so good? The market rewarded the Company for it’s growth. If I can mention someone else I truly like is Joe Lonsdale. His views are no nonsense and are very close to my own. The fact that Joe, Peter, and Dr. Alex Karp teamed up for Palantir? Makes this company a winner.

Inverse ETF’s and X3 Leverage.

It’s only fair for me to share that on occasion I did experiment with certain speculative ETF’s that were x2 and x3 inverse levered on certain days. For the most part. I had mixed results. And although my results were more Positive than negative. More in depth? Meaning I did sustain 6 days of loss minimal loss during 2 months using this method of speculation. I won’t be using any of these ETF’s with inverse leverage moving forward. But I am grateful for the experience. Buffett was right. No need to use leverage.

During December we saw 15% growth in the Market

During December when the Market was off to the races and rising near Christmas, I felt it prudent to rebalance. My actions were more Defensive than speculative. The rising prices in the market just did not seem sustainable and felt a little overvalued. So I did implement some harvesting of Profits and Rebalanced this Conservative portfolio. I am glad I did. I am happy to report I did not lose anything by this action. And remained true to Gharam’s and Buffet’s rules of “Never lose money!”

Conclusion to 2023

The list of Value Investors who I feel have influenced me the most is growing yearly. But it’s a small group. All have taught me to share in a Annual Letter. So here I am. I would like to Thank, Warren Buffett, Li Liu, Tim C., Bill Ackman, Howard Marks, Guy Spier, Mohnish Pabrai, William Green, Rick Reider, Stanley Druckenmiller, Jon Templeton, Jim Rogers, Bill Gross, Lauren Templeton, and many more. Thank you for the lesson and teaching me a fantastic frame work of how to express myself and share a professional investment philosophy, to sharing the many business decisions I have made throughout the year.

Howard Marks has taught me much through his Annual Letters and Memo’s and interviews online. But there is one Quote that I feel sums up a direction for all of us while Investing during turbulent markets. And if you listen closely he is often heard sharing this quote again and again. During the 2008 financial crisis. When the world was burning. And everyone had thought that all is lost. Mr. Marks said a little qoute that is fitting for all of us during those times we feel uncertain in our investments. And that quote is?

“Keep Calm and Invest On!”.

If you are still reading. I think I know what your saying?.. “This guys writing sucks!” LoL Admittedly Yes. I am not the best writer. I apologize in advance if this is hideous and embarrassing writing. I am not the best at many things in life. I could probably use a professional writer to screen my posts and first annual letter. But since I am just a upstart? I am forced to just keep marching forward without a professional team to help me. So I do feel that does account for something.

I feel the same thing will apply to this years new Investment Portfolio. I am giving it my best! And in conclusion I would like to leave you with 2 thoughts. During 2023 there were many ups and downs. The market was hysterical at times. And was greedy at times. But I kept my focus and kept learning while doing deep dives on many companies. In the end my new personal Investment Portfolio did clear a healthy 19.9% Real Return after inflation. And if I include my other Portfolio? The Return rises for both Brokerage Accounts at just under 24.5% for the Year. That is a fact. If you would like to see the report images? I can email them to you directly.

If I can leave you with my last thought for this years Annual Letter? I would like to share a Post by Guy Spier. Guy shares. 2024: Begin. Just Begin. Put your pen to paper. Fire up that laptop. Put on the running shoes. Say that thing. Call that person. Write that note. Open that book. Just begin. The rest will be history. Thank you.

Godspeed.
JS

Business Articles, Corporate Finance, Finance Articles, Investing, Securities

Corporate Secured & Unsecured Debt Securities

Lending Money to Corporations using Corporate Secured and Unsecured Debt Securities could be a risky opportunity for Institutional Lenders and for the Banks and Private Credit Investors. If your not up to date on the legal hierarchy or priority of claims for repayment? Allow me to share that Priority list below. Familiarity with a Corporate Balance Sheet will likely make this list easy for you.

Liquidation/bankruptcy fees and charges – this does not include court fees.
Debts due to preferential creditors – those entitled to certain payments in priority over other unsecured creditors – including wages owed in the four months before the date of the insolvency order, as well as all holiday pay and contributions to occupational pension schemes.
In company cases, any creditor holding a floating charge over an asset, such as a debenture. This is where a class of goods or assets – eg the debtor’s stock – are named as security for a debt.
All unsecured creditors.
Any interest payable on debts.
The shareholders in company cases.

The hierarchy of Credit starts with Secured Creditors then Unsecured Creditors. However for this Post I would like to focus on deliberately on Secured and Unsecured Debt for Institutional Investing. This small list is meant to be used in order and will help Retail Investors, Students, and Business Executives who need to brush up on this topic of interest. As a value investor we are laser focused at looking on a Companies Balance Sheet and focus directly and early on a Companies Solvency. If the company is Debt heavy? This usually indicates we need to consider the use of the Debt in order to make a informed decision on “How we arrive at a Companies Valuation”. If the Company we are investigating has no Debt on the Books? This is a good sign. And tells us as Value Investors “This maybe a very profitable Business to investigate further.”

Secured Debt

Corporate Debt Securities are like any other Loan, and are backed by various types of assets of the issuing Corporation. This list is a Seniority list. Meaning they are Secured Debt options in order.

Mortgage Bonds

Just as a Individual would go to the Bank to ask for a Loan backed by the Home and Land as Collateral for the Mortgage, a corporation will borrow money backed by Real Estate and Physical Assets that belong to the Corporation. If the Corporation fails and is unable to repay the Long Term Debt Obligation “Mortgage Bondholders”. The Assets pledged are liquidated by Court Order when the Corporation is insolvent and goes through the Chapter 7 Bankruptcy process. For further explanation? This video should help.

Equipment Trust Certificates

Interestingly Railroads and Airline companies, finance the acquisitions of their Rolling Stock, Train Rail Cars, Airplanes, by issuing an Equipment Trust Certificate. The Company provides a Down payment of usually 20% Twenty Percent of the cost of the rolling stock, and finances the balance over the course of time. For example, 20 years time. Because equipment has wear and tear from daily use in the operations of the Business, the Railroad will pay off a portion of the loan on an annual basis. Interestingly at no time, theoretically, is the value of the assets (rolling stock, rail-cars,Jet Aircraft) worth less than the amount of the principal remaining on the loan. When the company finishes paying off the loan it receives a clear title for the equipment pledged from the Trustee. If a company does fail to make the payments for the loan? The lender can then repossess the collateral and sells it for his benefit. It’s the same concept of financing a new Car.

Did you catch my post here on: Pooled Investments What you need to know?

Collateral Trust Bonds

Sometimes a Corporation doesn’t have real estate, Equipment, or assets to pledge as collateral for a Mortgage or Loan. Instead the Board of Directors or Management can pledge Company Securities like Stock or other Negotiable Securities from a Parent Corporation into a Trust as a form of secured collateral. This is useful because the Securities are readily liquidated in case of default. Obviously the better quality of Securities deposited as collateral the better the Rating of the Bond. Sometimes these are also referred to as Collateral Trust Certificates.

Unsecured Debt Securities

Debentures

A Debenture is a Debt Obligation of a Corporation backed by only the Corporations word and general creditworthiness. Debentures are written promises of the corporation to pay the principal loan amount back its due date with interest on a regular basis.Debentures surprisingly are not secured by any pledge of property. They are considered safe when the Lender has trust or a credit relationship with the Corporation. This is sort of like a Revolving line of Credit for Commercial Banks and their clients who are the Corporations. Example: Similar to Consumers who use a Bank Credit Card and have great credit worthiness.

Guaranteed Bonds

A Guaranteed Bond is a Bond that is guaranteed as to payment of interest, or both principal and interest, by a corporate entity other than the issuer. The guarantee is only as good and valued if the company providing the guarantee has a strong business. Guaranteed Bonds were popular in the Railroad industry in which Major Railroad Companies sought to ease the trackage rights from a short line Rail lines, and would guarantee the smaller Rail Lines companies debt. A more recent example would be Exxon Mobile Corporation guaranteeing a subordinate companies debt issue.

Senior Debt

This is used to describe the seniority of a Debt Issue. Or the relative priority of repayment claim of a Debt that has been issued. Every preferred stock has a Senior claim to Common Stock. Every Debt security has a senior claim to preferred stock. Secured Bonds have a senior claim to unsecured debt.The term senior securities means bonds and preferred stock, because they have a claim senior to common stock. If you would like to see the Seniority of Debt and Equity? Please refer to the Chart Above below the opening paragraph.

Subordinated Debt

Subordinated Debt is just that! “Belonging to a lower class or rank.” Please refer to above list of Ranked Repayment Obligations.

Credit Ratings

It would be unprofessional of me not to include Ratings and Credit Ratings Agencies in this Post. When evaluationg a Bonds Ratings? You should refer to the Bond Ratings are defined by the Creditworthiness of a Companies Debt. These are issued by Standard & Poors and Moody’s and Jefferies Investment Bank. All these are fantastic Companies who hand Credit Worthiness of Debt Issues and Companies Debt History.

For Credit Ratings This Image Below Will show my Notes on Bond Ratings.

High-Yield Bonds

Since I would have a difficult time explaining in detail High-Yeild Bonds. Investopedia has shared and described High-Yield Bonds as?

High-yield bonds (also called junk bonds) are bonds that pay higher interest rates because they have lower credit ratings than investment-grade bonds. High-yield bonds are more likely to default, so they pay a higher yield than investment-grade bonds to compensate investors.1

Issuers of high-yield debt tend to be startup companies or capital-intensive firms with high debt ratios. However, some high-yield bonds are fallen angels, which are bonds that lost their good credit ratings.

In conclusion I hope you learned a few things about Corporate Secured and Unsecured Debt Securities. In the end Bond Investing can fail. So it’s vital to know the basics of Bonds and Credit. This Wall Street Journal Animated Video should help you understand this fact.

These are basics we use as Investing and Finance professionals. Feel free to share and if you learned something? Fantastic! “

This post is for Educational purposes only. And should not be construed, implied, or taken as Investment Advice.”

Godspeed! Thank You.

Business Articles, Index Investing, Investing, Value Investing

Index Investing is More Art Than Science

I am about to share some Value Investing information that will make your jaw drop. If your anything like myself and the gang of us on Twitter who are Value Investors? You are a Junkie for information so you can put your research to work for the purpose of outperforming your latest Investment Portfolio’s compounding unrealized gains. Today’s Post is special for Investment Professionals.

You know that S&P 500 Growth Index your about to invest in? It’s likely there is a better index option with higher returns. FACT! By the way THIS IS NOT A SALES PITCH. NOR INVESTMENT ADVICE.

Hear me out! Thank you. I would like to introduce a well known Investment Advisor who has focused his career on Institutional Investing in the North East, and for the last 10 years has lived and practiced in Tucson Arizona, I listen to his fantastic Podcast while I work at night driving around town listening to his Podcast, “Money for the rest of us“.

Mr. Stein has a gift explaining complex and sophisticated Financial Products, and Investing Topics that make it very easy to compute. Furthermore one of the Episodes he recorded recently was fundamentally explosive for me as a fellow Investor. He went on to explain that not all Index Investing is created equal. Now I do see this will begin to shift opinions with what I am about to share. But before I begin addressing the Questions you may have about this Morally Hazardous Claim. First I have to share why we came to this conclusion.

Data Mining Index Markets on to a Software Application

Mr. Stein and his small Investment Team and a few Software Developers and Architects of Digital Computer Programs recently released a secret project that details charts and tons of Data of Index’s across the globe in different Markets. They measured different ETF’s, Value Index’s, Growth Index’s, Growth ETF’s, ETN’s, Japan Index’s, UK Index’s, US S&P Index’s and tons more.

What did they find?

They found that not all Index Investing is the same. A very valid argument for Investment Advisers and Money Managers can be made that with this new DATA? The old practice of Value Investing is very much alive and out performing it’s counter part of Growth Funds. This post is general findings I heard on the podcast. However I suspect if you listen to the exact episode I listened to you will find it fascinating all the data and inflection points to that Index Investing is a Art not a Science. The following points of interest and listed topics will keep you on topic as you listen to Mr. J. David Stein share some incredible Data about “how to make your Index Research interesting? And how you should begin looking at data with his latest Software Application for Investing. This is what you will learn?

Index Providers divide the stock universe into large and small, growth and value.

The Difference Between the price to earnings ratio and earnings yield and which is better?

How earnings volatility can impact annual earnings growth and what to use to estimate future earnings?

How value stocks often grow earnings faster than growth stocks

How value has outperformed growth in the last three years?

Click the Photo below for Access to the Episode about Asset Camp and the Points and Topics shared above.

If your like me and would like to see these Data and Research Points? I would recommend sign up for the Data Suite Software for Investment Advisors and Sophisticated Professional Investors Asset Camp

Listen to the Episode with J. David Stein

https://moneyfortherestofus.com/443-surprising-stock-index-insights/

Thank you for reading, I am very happy to share this. You will learn a few amazing topics that make Value Investing hard to beat as a Investor.

Godspeed
JS

Business Articles, Finance Articles, Investing, Law, Securities

National Securities Markets Improvement Act

Wether your a Financier, a curious investor or a even new Stock Broker/Dealer Agent, If your not up to speed on the NSMIA of 1996? This short post will give you a brief overview of what the National Securities Markets Improvement Act is and what it is used for.

Here is a question? What is the National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996 (NSMIA)? The National Securities Markets Improvement Act is a law passed in 1996 that sought to simplify securities regulation in the U.S. by apportioning more regulatory power to the federal government.

NSMIA is a List of Securities that are Federally Listed on the NSMIA Website.

NSMIA Securities are Federally Covered Securities.

The National Securities Markets Improvement Act (NSMIA) amended the Investment Company Act of 1940 and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and went into effect on Jan. 1, 1997. Its main consequence was to increase the authority of federal regulators at the expense of their state-level counterparts, a change that was expected to increase the efficiency of the financial services industry.

What Changed after NSMIA was Introduced?

NSMIA caused a material impact on the responsibilities of federal and state regulators. Ultimately, it reduced the overlap between federal and state power. State security laws no longer oversaw the following topics:

1. Capital

2. Margin

3. Bonding

4. Custody requirements

N.S.M.I.A

The National Securities Market Improvement Act (NSMIA) was introduced to more efficiently allocate capital in financial markets.
NSMIA amended the Investment Company Act of 1940 to promote more efficient management of mutual funds, protect investors, and provide more effective regulation.
Nationally traded securities, securities of registered investment companies, sales to qualified purchasers, and securities issued in certain exempt offers are exempt from state regulation.

There are a-lot of Securities that are listed on the N.S.M.I.A website. To catch up on the latest case by case basis? Here is the List HERE.

I do hope you learned something here, If you did not catch my Invesment Fund Article Here, Id highly recommend you go read it. It’s all about Investment Funds.

What are covered securities under NSMIA?

Today, most stocks traded in the U.S. are considered covered securities. In addition to the offers and sales of certain exempt securities, the NSMIA defines “covered” securities as securities that: Are listed on national securities exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq.

Thanks for Stopping by,
Godspeed

Business Articles, Finance Articles, Financial Products, Investing, Law, Securities

Thought’s On Crypto Regulation & Binance Lawsuit

Anthony Scarramucci CEO of Skybridge Capital Shares Opinion Segment In My Youtube Video Provided.

People do ask for my opinion on Crypto and its shaky history of legitimacy.There are many questions that need to be asked. Is it useful? Does it have a place in the Financial Service Industry or Markets? Can we leverage it for good? And can we keep the Scam Artists, Conmen, and Charlatan’s from promoting their shady dealings with this unregulated Currency?

My latest video on the topics above will give you better understanding “How the Securities and Exchange Commission used a little known Law that describes a “Investment Contract – THE HOWEY TEST” to bring a Lawsuit against Binance Crypto Exchange.”

Did you catch my latest Article on “Asset Backed Securities”? HERE.

Enjoy, and Please Do Share if you find useful.

Godspeed
JS

Business Articles, Estate Planning, Law

The Ultimate Guide To “TRUSTS”

If your concerned with after life or just need to keep assets in a safe place for a time being? This list should be your go to guide for TRUSTS to choose from. Trusts usually are ensuring, Safety of Assets, continuity of Funds, Property, and Investments. This List of “TRUSTS” will help you decide with your Investment Advisor and Estate Planning Attorney which to choose.

Revocable Living Trust -This is a trust that allows you to make changes to it, while you are living.
Grantor Trust -A Grantor is an individual who creates the trust, and this type of trust allows them to place money, assets, or whatever it may be into a trust in order to streamline things.
Irrevocable Trust -Once you’ve placed money into the trust, it stays there. You can’t change your mind about this one. There are many types of revocable and irrevocable trusts, and we are going to go over them as we continue.
Testamentary Trust -Most often, a testamentary trust is created by the will and specifically outlines what assets are going to be utilized upon the death of the grantor. If you’re not careful, this could create some problems, tax-wise, for your business. So be sure to have your attorney take a close look at your last will and testament when setting up a testamentary trust.
Minor’s Trust -As the name implies, this is a trust that provides money to a child that is under the age of eighteen. It is usually created before you pass away, but it could be a part of the testamentary process as well. A minor’s trust will require the appointment of a trustee to manage the funds until the minor child comes of age.
Spendthrift Trust -A spendthrift trust is a great option for leaving money to someone who may not be the best at dealing with their finances. The spendthrift trust gives an independent trustee the full authority to make decisions as to how the funds may be spent. I recently told you about a client that has a child with some addiction issues. This would be a great trust for someone in such a situation.
Blind Trust -I first heard about blind trusts in an episode of Law & Order. Basically, it allows the trustee or anyone with the power of attorney to handle the assets without the beneficiary’s knowledge. The most common reason for this is to stave off contention between beneficiaries.
Discretionary Trust -Discretionary trusts don’t have a constant, or fixed, allocation of assets. The beneficiaries and the payments can be adjusted throughout the length of the trust by the trustee, based upon the criteria outlined within the trust document.
Intentional Defective Grantor Trust -This one is a bit more advanced. An Intentional defective grantor trust freezes some of the grantor’s assets for tax purposes. Essentially, the grantor intentionally creates a problem within the trust document that guarantees they must pay income tax on the income, decreasing the value of their estate. So you would use the estate asset to pay the taxes on the trust that is outside of your estate. Thus, allowing the trust assets to continue to grow without the erosion of taxes.
Credit Shelter Trust -The credit shelter trust allows married people to avoid estate taxes by allowing the assets specified in the trust to be transferred to the beneficiary. Usually, this is the grantor’s children. This allows the spouses to maximize their estate exemption. These are commonly listed in the last will and testament and used in conjunction with trust number eleven.
Marital Trust -Instead of shifting the proceeds of the trust to your children, as in the credit shelter trust, a marital trust moves them to your spouse. When the first spouse passes away, they leave the assets to the second spouse and, through the marital trust, they aren’t included in the second spouse’s estate.
Qualified Terminable Interest Property Trust -Qualified terminable interest property trusts or QTIP trusts provide for the surviving spouse but allow the grantor to remain in control after the death of the surviving spouse. These are useful in second marriages or to prevent predatory marriages.
Qualified Personal Residence Trust -If you need to remove your home from your estate, a qualified personal residence trust is a great way to do so. You would transfer your house to a QPRT trust in order to remove it from your estate and it can be considered a gift. Under the terms of the trust, you would allow the beneficiary to live in the house for a certain number of years, rent-free.
Generation-Skipping Trust -Let’s say you want to leave all of your assets to your grandchildren because you have already provided your own children with a means for success. A generation-skipping trust does exactly what it sounds like. It allows you to skip a generation in order to provide for the next one.

Before I move on with the list, did you catch my Article on “Pooled Investments and what you need to know? HERE!“

Charitable Trusts

Charitable Trusts -Now we will explore the charitable trusts. As their category implies, these trusts offer a variety of charitable benefits. Additionally, these are a great vehicle for mitigating tax liabilities. Don’t worry, there’s nothing wrong with benefiting from your giving.
Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust -The first is called the charitable remainder annuity trust or CRAT. With a CRAT you place your assets into the trust, which then pays back a fixed amount each year. Once you die, the remainder goes to charity.
Charitable Lead Annuity Trust -The charitable lead annuity trust is very similar to the CRAT, however, it works inversely. Instead of receiving a fixed annual payment and then giving the remainder to charity, a CLAT pays the annual benefit to the charity and then leaves the remainder to a beneficiary of your choosing, once you’ve passed.
Charitable Remainder Unitrust -A Charitable Remainder Unitrust, also known as CRUTs, is an irrevocable trust that is created under the authority of the internal revenue service. It pays a fixed percentage of the assets to your beneficiary — or to yourself — and then transfers the assets to a charity after your death.
Charitable Lead Unitrust -Charitable Lead Unitrusts or CLUTs allow a donor to give a varying amount each year, for a fixed amount of time. When the term of the trust is met, the remaining assets are given back to the donor or to the beneficiary.
Shark-Fin CLAT -The most aggressive type of CLAT allows small payments to be made into the trust for the first few years. However, a very large payment must be made in the last year, or two. By increasing payments over time, the assets in the trust have more time to grow.

Complex Trusts

Unlike simple trusts, complex trusts are a type of trusts that must retain some of their income rather than distributing all of it to their beneficiaries, distribute some or all of the principal to the beneficiaries, or distribute funds to a charitable organization. The name may be a little misleading, however. Complex trusts aren’t necessarily more complicated than simple trusts. They simply allow the trustee greater discretion.

Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust -This is one that I personally have. Basically, I’ve set the trust to buy life insurance and when I pass away, the trust shifts the proceeds to my wife and kids.
Crummey Trust -Some will argue that the Crummey trust isn’t a trust, but rather, a provision. Technically it is a trust, however. It’s based on the 1968 Crummey case and essentially allows you to take advantage of the gift tax exclusion when you transfer cash or assets to another person. With a Crummey trust, you retain the right to place limitations on when the recipient can access the funds.
Buildup Equity Retirement Trust -Buildup equity retirement trusts, allow a spouse to give a gift to their spouse, using the annual gift instead of the unlimited marital deduction. In doing this, the assets are exempt from both the gift and the estate taxes.

Grantor Type Trusts

These trusts have a few key takeaways. For starters, the individual who creates the trust is the owner of the assets and property for income and estate tax purposes. However, grantor trust rules can apply to a variety of trusts and are a useful tool for minimizing taxes.

Grantor Retained Unitrust -GRUTs are irrevocable trusts that allow the grantor to place assets into the trust and receive a variable amount of income during the term of the trust. Let’s say it’s a twenty-year trust, the grantor can receive a fixed or a varied income for the length of that twenty-year term, or the life of the grantor.
Grantor Retained Income Trust -Being a Southern boy, I am particularly fond of a good batch of grits but that’s not the type of GRITs I am referring to when I talk about GRITs: grantor retained income trusts. This is the same basic concept as a GRUT but in this case, the grantor places an asset in the trust and retains the right to receive income from those assets for a period of time.
Grantor Retained Annuity Trust -These allow the grantor to make a large contribution, as a means to avoid gift taxes, and then set up an annuity through the GRAT. This creates an annuity payment for a fixed period of the term. Afterward, the remaining assets go to the beneficiary as a gift.
Dynasty Trust -This one is where your attorney will earn his money, as some states do not allow these types of trust. Dynasty trusts are irrevocable and give the grantor the right — as long as it is within the law — to set stringent rules on how the money is to be distributed and how it is to be used by the beneficiary. Because it is irrevocable, a dynasty trust can’t be altered by the grantor or their beneficiaries. These are typically used by wealthy grantors to ensure that they are leaving their financial legacy to generations rather than individuals.

Asset Protection Trusts

This class of trust is often used to shield an individual’s assets from creditors. These are the strongest protection you can find from creditors, lawsuits, or any judgments against your estate. However, you should always consult a qualified financial advisor to see if this type of trust is right for you.

Domestic Asset Protection Trust -This is a simple way to protect your assets from creditors. That is, literally, the simplest term available to describe a DAPT.
Offshore Asset Protection Trust -While it might sound like something the incredibly wealthy super-villain in a movie would have, in order to shield their holdings from the scrupulous eyes of the hero, in reality, they’re pretty common. Essentially, you create a trust in a non-domestic jurisdiction to protect your assets from seizures, judgments, or creditors.
Totten Trust -We discussed these in the last article, but basically, it is a form of trust in which the grantor places money into a bank account or security. Upon the grantor’s death, the assets in the account pass to a beneficiary.
Illinois Land Trust -Illinois land trusts are for non-profit entities for the purpose of conservation. If you had a piece of wooded land or a farm and wanted to have it maintained for the benefit of someone else, you would create a land trust.
Gun Trust -A trust that isn’t so well known is the gun trust. It allows its creator to acquire a class-3 weapons holder — you must have a license — in order to transfer a gun into the trust. This is especially useful for collectors and enthusiasts that may have several (Legally obtained) automatic firearms, suppressors, and things of that nature. There are a lot of laws that surround gun trusts though, so it’s best to speak to your attorney when setting one up.
IRA Trust -Individual Retirement Account Trusts are often set up by the courts. You are essentially setting up a retirement account for the beneficiary, usually your kids, and placing it into a trust.

Special Needs and Elderly Care Trusts

As you might expect, this group of trusts is designed with the long-term care of individuals with special needs in mind.

Special needs planning is unique from typical estate planning when you have beneficiaries with unique challenges and perhaps who also participate in means-based government programs, such as developmental disability (DD) services, Medicaid, or Social Security Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Special needs planning allows you to:
Provide a legacy for your special needs loved ones,
Designate someone to manage the trust for their benefit,
Handle any unexpected inheritance or personal injury lawsuit funds,
Protect them from creditors and predators, and
Protect their eligibility for benefits.

First-Party Special Needs Trust -These trusts can be set up by an individual with special needs, in order to maximize their social security or Medicaid benefits.
Medicaid Trust
Medicaid Trusts are income-only trusts that help seniors avoid tax issues and probate problems when they are living in a nursing home and pass away. It’s a way to protect assets, but there are some clawback issues. You will need to speak with your experienced estate-planning attorney.
Qualified Income Trust -Also known as the Miller trust, the QIT protects the assets of an individual that has applied or is applying to Medicaid. If the individual has too much money to qualify for Medicaid, they could place their assets into a qualified income trust in order to meet the financial requirements. Personally, I have ethical issues with this type of trust, but feel free to form your own opinion.
V.A. Eligible Trust -The V.A. Eligible trust is similar in concept to the Miller trust. Once again, you are placing money outside of what the government can track, in order to make way for the Veteran’s Association to help you with in-home care or nursing home care.
Spousal Testamentary Special Needs Trust -Spousal testamentary special needs trusts combine two different trusts to help the surviving spouse be counted eligible for Medicaid.
Pooled Trust -Finally, we’ve come to the end of our long list with the pooled trust. It is designed to allow people with disabilities to become financially eligible for public assistance benefits like Medicaid home care.

Using Trusts for Tax Mitigation

The goal of most of the trusts that we’ve covered is to minimize the amount of income tax you will be responsible for. Now, that’s not to say that this should be used as a means of dishonesty, but rather that there are allowances and exemptions — if you know where to look — that will allow you to protect your assets and sustain them for the people you love the most. It is important to speak to your attorney when planning and creating your trusts, in order to make sure that you utilize all of the tools available to you, while also keeping within the guidelines of the law.

In Conclusion

The following list of Trusts was meant to give you a better understanding of the TRUSTS that you can use for you family, personal or group needs. It provides all types of options for safety of Assets, Securities, Medical Care, and Financial Planning and Developing a long legacy. I hope you found value with this list, and hope you work with your Attorney, Tax Accountants, Investment Advisors, and other Financial Professionals to make this list work for you.

Godspeed.
JS