Cryptocurrencies are digital assets or “tokens” – akin to the idea of money – specifically designed to take advantage of the architecture of the Internet. Unlike traditional currency they have value not because of the guarantee of a financial institution or government. Instead, they have value for three reasons: their ability to be accurately “confirmed” […]
Tag: Investing
Crowdfunding is a growing trend that allows individuals, non-profits and start-ups to fund projects by raising money from the crowd using an online platform. Last week I attended a crowdfunding discussion at the Oxford Launchpad with Jonathan May, CEO of Hubbub, and representatives from the development offices of various Oxford colleges. Asking for donations from alumni is one […]
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How to Thrive in Hard Times
Invest for the future, reduce your debts, and insure your income TODAY’S economy is vastly different compared with our parents’ generation, and even those of us in ‘stable’ jobs should be prepared for increasingly rapid technological change and a continued downturn. The competitive landscape can change at any time and in ways that you may […]
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Don’t Be Seduced
By sweet sounding lies RISK taking is important. Entrepreneurs are in the business of taking risks in the pursuit of profit and are the engine room of the capitalist market economy. Risk taking makes sense where the likely consequences of action have been well considered and are deemed acceptable. The quote above though states that “we only regret the […]
MODELOFF is a fun, innovative and professional competition for students and young professionals to develop and test their financial modeling skills against their friends, colleagues and top modelers from around the world. With $25,000 cash from S&P Capital IQ for the overall ModelOff Champion and more than $65,000 of prizes in total from Microsoft and […]
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5 Principles for Value Investing
WARREN Buffett is the world’s most successful value investor. Very few people have ever managed to achieve his level of investment success. The interesting thing about that fact is that there are only a few simple principles that you need to know if you want to be a successful value investor. Stick to your Circle […]
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Warren Buffett
WARREN Buffett is an American investor born in 1930 in Omaha, Nebraska. Buffett is often referred to as the “Oracle of Omaha” and is the world’s most successful stock market investor. Buffett is the largest shareholder and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He has an estimated net worth of around $US45 billion. In 2010, Forbes ranked […]
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The Rule of 70
WORLD GDP is growing at 4% per year, how long will it take for world GDP to double? Your company’s revenue is growing at 10% per month, how long will it take for your company’s revenue to double? There is a simple rule of thumb that you can use to figure out roughly how long […]
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GE-McKinsey 9-Box Matrix
The GE-McKinsey 9-Box Matrix offers any decentralised corporation with multiple business units a systematic approach to help it decide where to invest its cash IN SEPTEMBER 2008, the McKinsey Quarterly published an interactive audio presentation on the GE-McKinsey 9-Box Matrix. An outline of this framework is provided below. 1. Background The 9-Box Matrix follows in […]
ONE of the take away lessons from the CFA curriculum is that the conventional method of valuing an investment is to determine the present value of expected future cashflows. One way of doing this would be to use the constant growth dividend discount model, which estimates the value of a stock by assuming that dividends […]
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Warren Buffett on hard work
WARREN Buffett‘s 2006 letter to shareholders makes for very interesting reading. One of the sentiments that Buffett expresses in the very first page of his letter is one of gratitude to the managers who have run his companies over the last 42 (now 44) years. Buffett indicates that he and Charlie Munger, Berkshire’s vice chairman, […]
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Understanding financial statements 101
UNDERSTANDING financial statements is very important if you are looking to invest, become a consultant, work as a CEO or in upper management, or want to start and run your own business. Understanding financial statements will allow you to assess a company’s current financial strength, and determine its profitability and creditworthiness. This article provides an […]
What is an asset? THE question, “What is an asset?” seems like an absurdly simple question. But if you understand the answer to that simple question, and act on it, you have started down the path that leads to riches. Few people become rich, so clearly then, few people understand the answer to this question. […]
BACK IN 1998, Warren Buffett gave an inspirational talk to a group of MBA students at the University of Florida, College of Business. In the speech, Buffett gives his perspective on investing, in which he outlines the need to understand the underlying economics of the businesses that you invest in, and the need to stick […]