Small Cap Growth P/Es Relative to Value
Despite all the economic uncertainties, dizzying headlines, and volatilities, the stock market has held up surprisingly well. The overall market, as measured by S&P 500, is 7.1% above its previous record high (Sept, 2018). In a strong market, value investors tend to see fewer opportunities due to higher valuations. However, we haven’t observed a dwindling […]
High Valuations and High Compensation in the Russell 2000
The top 10 Russell 2000 companies had a combined market capitalization of $66.1 billion, produce pre-stock compensation after tax profit of $815.8 million of which they paid out $357.5 mil in stock compensation (44%). The median stock compensation of the top 10 was 32.0% and trade at a price-to-earnings multiple of 144x. This is a […]
Unemployment Rate at Rare Level
Excerpt from our newsletter: A headline worth pointing out from the 2nd quarter was the official unemployment rate hitting 3.8%, the lowest level in 18 years. It is interesting to note that the last time unemployment hit 3.8% was in April 2000 and lasted only one month. One would have to go all the way […]
First Wilshire Hosts Client Meeting
First Wilshire recently had the privilege of hosting a client appreciation brunch for our Los Angeles area clients at a historical Pasadena venue. The portfolio managers and analysts discussed the reasons small cap value stocks have historically outperformed growth and large cap stocks, First Wilshire’s hands-on research process, and the outlook going forward. We enjoyed this […]
First Wilshire Welcomes Nicole Green
Nicole Green has joined First Wilshire as our new Vice President of Administration. Prior to joining First Wilshire, Nicole was a Principal at a large publicly traded investment management company where she was Head of the Investment Operations and Trade Operations teams. Prior to that Nicole worked at the law firms Morrison and Foerster LLP […]
Small Value vs Large Growth – Rolling 10 year Returns
The following chart shows the rolling 10 year returns of small cap value versus large cap growth. Red columns mark periods where the prior 10 years favored large cap growth. The chart shows that small caps have tended to outperform far more frequently. This year was shaping up to be the first time ever that […]
The Future of Retail: Amazon vs. the Rest
Disruption, confusion and severe stock price drops always offers the opportunity to uncover mispriced stocks. This led us to screen through all the U.S. retail companies, visit select companies and stores, while debating the future of retail. The disruption of retail begins with a look at Amazon. So far in 2017, Amazon’s stock market value […]
First Wilshire Celebrates 40 Years
First Wilshire is not prone to celebrating success and milestones, and in fact we are rather superstitious about it, but we’re proud to note that 2017 marks First Wilshire’s 40 year anniversary serving our clients. We’ve been “Detecting Value Since 1977,” and surviving this many years is an accomplishment in itself, but doing so with […]