Research Library

Active managers are judged relative to index and ETF benchmarks. Who judges the indexes?

Lionsgate Entertainment Corp. recently completed the largest acquisition in its history, purchasing the John Malone-controlled Starz media company last December. This transaction is a logical one for both companies, and hardly surprising given the continued involvement of John Malone, one of the most astute investors of his generation. There are many more layers to this investment, … Continued

The impact of indexation is not limited to the equity market. It is at least as pronounced in the bond market. The largest fixed income ETFs trade such large amounts every day that it is easy to imagine many scenarios that could trigger an illiquidity event. The inclusion rules of the various indexes appear likely … Continued

The high yield bond market no longer exists – the high yield index pays 5.4%, before allowance for defaults – but there is a way to find high yield bonds and there is a way to create them. Featured companies: Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF), AK Steel Corp. (AKS), Pacific Drilling SA (PACD), and SandRidge … Continued

Reviews the scale of recent exchange-traded fund flows in comparison to the size of the Federal Research quantitative easing program, discusses energy royalty trusts, addresses ETFs tracking the S&P 500 Index, and examines the decline in rig count. Featured companies: Armstrong World Industries (AWI), The Babcock & Wilcox Company (BWC), Barnes & Noble Inc. (BKS), … Continued

In this report, we ask whether the Russell 2000 Index has performed in the manner that investors expect, both with relative to large cap indexes and relative to a small cap universe.

Discusses the spin-off anomaly, and the differences in characteristics between spin-offs in the past and those recently come to market. Highlights the local newspaper business as an area with spin-offs that have characteristics similar to those seen in the past. Featured companies: Time Inc. (TIME), Tribune Publishing Co. (TPUB), News Corp. – Class A (NWSA), … Continued

Reviews a recent article by Nobel laureate Robert C. Merton about the importance of focusing on income needs rather than volatility or asset levels in retirement planning, compares the valuation characteristics of exchange-traded funds tracking emerging markets indexes to those tracking major domestic indexes, and discusses historical profit margins at utilities and brand name companies. … Continued

Considers the recent performance and relative valuations of the S&P 500 Index and the Russell 2000 Index and the cash flows into and out of the investment products that track them and discusses land companies as a hedge against inflation. Featured companies: World Fuel Services Corp. (INT), Tredegar Corp. (TG), American Homes 4 Rent (AMH), … Continued

Discusses the impact of decoupling on the utilities industry, developments in solar energy and the potential results for electric utilities, as well as factor investing in the context of the utilities and solar industries. Featured companies: Nuance Communications, Inc., Toll Brothers Inc., SEACOR Holdings Inc., and Ryland Group Inc., as well as an update on … Continued

Our investment process is focused on identifying companies with the potential to create shareholder value over an extended investment horizon. One of the most compelling predictive attributes for outperformance is owner-operator management, where a principal or owner (frequently a founder) is directly involved in the management of a company AND has a significant portion of … Continued

Discusses the continued search for yield by investors, some of whom are turning to emerging markets investments as a result and reviews closed-end funds as a potential source of yield. Featured companies: Ally Financial Inc., LMP Corporate Loan Fund Inc. (TLI), Brookfield Real Estate Services Inc. (BRE), and Texas Competitive Electric.

Considers predictive variables in the context of Real Estate Companies, discusses real estate owners with investment management businesses, and reviews the contraction of mortgage debt levels as well as the premium at which municipal bonds trade as compared to Treasuries. Featured companies: Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. (SWHC), Biglari Holdings, Inc. (BH), Denny’s Corp. (DENN), … Continued