|
Session Descriptions
Saturday Afternoon
August 18, 2007
Saturday, 2:35 PM – 3:45 PM
Pacific III
Advanced SSG Topics: Judgment Aids
Bob Adams
Topic: Judgment, Intermediate
Judgment decisions can be uncomfortable, but this session will raise your comfort level. Judgment decisions can be augmented with quick but helpful hints about a company and its financial condition. We’ll discuss more effective use of P/E ratios, low price selection, determining the future growth rate, and what to do when the company is solid but the price is too high.
Pacific IV
Don’t Gamble: Invest in the Best Growth Companies
Phillip J. Keating, CFA
Topic: Judgment, Screening, Intermediate
What kinds of companies would you want at the core of your portfolio if you couldn't sell for five years or more? This session uses the latest investment research of Jeremy Siegel and others to develop several stock screens to identify the most promising candidates for long-term investors to consider. Common outstanding characteristics of great companies are identified and illustrated. Several case studies and examples are used to illustrate the concept of “built to last” companies with high “franchise value.”
Emerald I
Evaluate Management: Dissecting Pre-Tax Profit
Gretchen Hurt
Topic: Judgment, Intermediate/Advanced
Learn to determine whether decreasing pre-tax profit margins indicate a buying opportunity or a sell signal. We will take a close look at Section 2A of the SSG to learn how to analyze the causes of diminishing pre-tax profit margins and consider how the causes impact judgment decisions.
Emerald II
Introduction to Portfolio Manager
Matt Willms
Topic: Software, Basic
Designed by professional money managers, and used by investors worldwide since 1985, the Portfolio Manager’s purpose is to help you better understand and manage your investment portfolios. For a seasoned investor or a novice, Portfolio Manager is a comprehensive, easy to learn and use portfolio management software tool. We’ll review introductory features to help better manage your investment portfolios: creating portfolios, entering investment transactions, and reviewing reporting and graphing tools.
Emerald III
How to Recognize and Avoid Fraud
John McCreery
Topic: General
Learn about investment scams so you can avoid them without losing time and money. From advance fee fraud, to ponzi schemes to affinity fraud, if you study the patterns, you can spot them before they have an effect
on you.
Balboa II
Don’t Do That! Avoiding the Worst Practices in Club Accounting
Daniel Abraham
Topic: Computer/Internet, Software, Basic
You've taken a Club Accounting class or you've been trained by the previous treasurer, and you know what to do. But do you know what NOT to do? From ICLUBcentral’s Technical Support files, here are the most common mistakes and how to avoid them. Whether you are a new treasurer or know all the tricks, this session is a great introduction or refresher on keeping your club's books tuned up.
Saturday, 3:55 PM – 4:45 PM
Pacific III
Follow Your Stocks: A Monthly Analysis Tool
Bob Adams
Topic: Portfolio, Basic/Intermediate
This session uses a simple computer spreadsheet tool that helps follow the progress of each stock in your portfolio. The tool provides four "buy more" indicators, and five "take profits or sell" indicators, and all the data is transferred directly from the SSG--no computations, just copy the data. Each month, enter the price and be kept up to date. The form has been updated and now provides additional information to help follow a stock
Pacific IV
Small Company Discovery (repeats Sunday, 4:30)
Mark Robertson
Topic: Portfolio, Other 20%, Intermediate
Why are small companies important to our portfolios? Is it really possible to select smaller companies without greater risk? This session makes the case for shopping for small companies and the positive impact that small companies can have on our portfolios.
Emerald I
Demystifying Judgment (repeats Sunday, 4:30)
Ellis Traub
Topic: Judgment, Basic/Intermediate
In this session you will learn that, by reducing it to its simplest terms, the decision-making process involved in the Stock Selection Guide is merely a matter of common sense, well within anyone’s ability to do it confidently.
Emerald II
Select the Best: What You Must Know When Buying a Bank Stock
Herb Barnett
Topic: Industry, Other 20%, Intermediate/Advanced
If you've ever tried to prepare a Stock Selection Guide on a bank stock, you know the metrics that apply to "normal" companies don't apply to banks. This session explores the numbers that do apply to banks,
what they mean, and how to make informed decisions about investing in bank stocks.
Emerald III
Industry Studies: The Fundamentals
Dana Garoutte
Topic: Industry, Other 20%, Basic/Intermediate
Investors enhance their ability to evaluate companies when they understand the characteristics of the company’s industry. Learn how to diversify a portfolio by industry and find the top-of-the-industry companies. The session highlights selecting an industry to study and how to research the industry.
Balboa II
Don’t Gamble Away Your 401(k)
Jerry Pillans
Topic: Mutual Funds, Personal Finance, Basic
Are you making the right investment decisions with your 401(k)? Learn how to use information and tools to make the best decisions for your 401(k) plan.
Saturday, 4:55 PM – 5:45 PM
Pacific III
In and Out of Fashion: Understanding the Retail Clothing Industry
Douglas Gerlach
Topic: Industry, Other 20%, Intermediate/Advanced
Hemlines rise and fall as frequently as stock prices. Learn how to understand the retail clothing industry, from the importance of tracking same store sales to how fickle fashion trends can affect growth.
Pacific IV
Origins of Manifest Investing: Role of Quality
Mark Robertson
Topic: Computer/Internet, Judgment, Other 20%, Software, Basic/Intermediate
Quality matters. NAIC founder George Nicholson told us so. How does paying attention to quality guard us during bear markets? How is Benjamin Graham’s “coefficient of quality” related to P/E ratios? Can the challenge of investing be reduced to defining quality and projected returns?
Emerald I
Introduction to Cash Flow Analysis
Bart Womack
Topic: Other 20%, General, Intermediate
This session explores the contribution of cash flow analysis to proper stock selection. Many analysts believe cash flow is a better measure of stock value and potential than earnings per share. You will learn how to perform broad interpretations of the statement of cash flow and use those interpretations in conjunction with the Balance Sheet and Income Statement in stock selection
Emerald II
Good Company! But Is It a Good Investment? What
the Stock Selection Guide Tells Us
Herb Barnett
Topic: Judgment, Basic, Intermediate
This session is for everyone who wants a better understanding of what the Stock Selection Guide indicates about a company and its investment possibilities. Even if you don’t prepare your own SSG with confidence, this will help you understand the studies that others present. For those who know the basics of preparing an SSG, you can brush up on your evaluation and analysis skills, and become more comfortable with your interpretation of stock studies.
Emerald III
Introduction to Diversification and Asset Allocation
Matt Willms
Topic: Portfolio, Basic
Diversification and asset allocation decisions are some of the most important decisions that can be made when constructing a portfolio. This session will review Portfolio Manager’s diversification and allocation tools and the importance diversification and allocation play in long-term investing success. We’ll also review how an investor must consider both taxable accounts and non-taxable accounts to get a true measure of the overall portfolio allocation in order to identify rebalancing adjustments consistent with long-term goals.
Balboa II
The Flavors of Take Stock
Seymour Zeenkov
Topic: Software, General Audience
Take Stock has gained acceptance by new, experienced, and SSG-resistant investors. There are currently two styles of this easy-to-use stock selection software program in use. Both versions will be explored in this session.
|
