Financial investment fundamentals and strategies

Finance: Financial Investment

Finance

Today's investment environment is more dynamic than it was a decade ago. This is particularly the case given that today's global economy is much more complex. Further, with information moving faster than it used to, the ripple effects of events happening in any given place are often felt in far away economies. Essentially, some of the challenges investors encountered a decade or so ago are not the same ones they encounter today. One of the key challenges in today's investment environments is sluggish global economic growth. As Connolly (2014) points out, although the trend could be changing (going by recent performance), "the U.S. economic growth rate has been relatively sluggish." Slow rate of economic growth causes significant uncertainty which is not ideal for investment. Next, it is also important to note that the volatility of equity markets has been rather extreme in the recent past. This year, there are many who expect the said volatility to continue (Connolly, 2014). Fixed income yields have also been particularly low within the last one decade. Increasing interest rates and rising inflation are the other key challenges in today's investment environment. Some of the most recent challenges, some of which we didn't see last year include, but they are not limited to; high energy prices, accelerating inflation, continued expansion of the budget deficit, etc.

In today's challenging investment environment, an investor might want to look for more consistent, and perhaps higher, investment returns. However, in so doing, investors ought to be aware of the risks involved with a particular class of investment, the associated fees and costs, the legitimacy of the undertaking, etc. Some of the tools a manager may use in helping an investor achieve their financial goals is diversification. By diversifying, investors could succeed in further increasing their sources of returns in an investment environment such as the one we are in. A manager could also make use of other approaches such as absolute return strategies and sector strategies (Gold, 2011). While sector strategies have got to do with asset classes, absolute return strategies "are designed to provide returns which are not highly correlated with traditional strategies and markets" (Gold, 2011, p. 36).

Question 2

My stock of choice for this analysis is Apple -- stock symbol AAPL. The company concerns itself with the manufacture and sale of a wide range of electronic devices and software.

a) Pros and Cons of the Stock

With regard to the pros, the ratio of this particular company's "price-to-earnings multiple to its five-year growth rate is slightly below the average of all stocks in the StockScouter universe" (MSN, 2014). Further according to MSN (2014), "one or more analysts has modestly increased quarterly earnings estimates for AAPL." This is a positive signal. However, the company's stocks, as MSN further points out, are not being sold heavily by financial institutions. Further, StockScouter's relative price change as well as consistency measure in this case also appears to be low.

b) Strengths and Weaknesses of the Company

The low price-to-earnings multiple in this case might be a weakness as it could be an indication that market confidence in the future of AAPL's share is low. On the other hand, the slightly higher price-to-sales ratio is an indication of a strong company, and perhaps a strong market price.

c) Other Features of the Report that Appear Unique/Interesting

On the fundamental and valuation front, the company's score is rather impressive. This is particularly the case given the company's increased quarterly earning estimates and lower than average price-to-earnings multiple.

d) Stock Purchase Decision