I help some of the world’s best investors up their game.
And the world’s best investors are always seeking ways to improve their game.
Are you? If so, read on….
I deliver various forms of Forensic Analysis education. My main course, which lasts two half days, has been taken by hundreds of professional investors in the last few years.
My clients don’t just include some of the best hedge funds doing accounting shorts.
Quality investors like Sebastian Lyon of Troy Asset Management want to avoid companies engaged in earnings management.
Growth investors like Baillie Gifford know that being sharper on accounting can help avoid growth failures and frauds.
And big institutions like Schroders, Fidelity and Wellington employ some of the best minds who are intent on improvement.
(Not to mention regulators, sell-side firms, banks, insurers and even the UK body which polices auditors and FTSE350 corporate reporting.)
But what if you are not a big professional investment firm? I can still help you.
As you may be aware, I am organising a seminar in Omaha – see end of this email for more details. It’s the introductory session from a new format (mainly for hedge funds) and in just 2 hours, you will take away a toolbox to protect and enhance your performance.
I go through my top 10 accounting red flags and how I detect them. I may organise a similar seminar in New York this summer alongside an institutional event. If you are interested in attending, please email me at info@behindthebalancesheet.com. Hey, if there is demand, I might even run one in London - let me know (with NYC or LDN in the subject line).
But what will you learn? 10 accounting issues to watch for. These will help you spot companies managing earnings, understand the true quality of reported eps, and better evaluate stocks.
In two hours, you won't become Carson Block, but you will go away with a toolkit that will
enable you to avoid scams and frauds
help you understand the real quality of a company's earnings
allow you to detect companies which are boosting their earnings
help you avoid overpaying for stocks
You will learn the exact same 10 tricks that I use when performing a Forensic Accounting Review for an institutional client. And the beauty is that you can do this in a couple of hours at most for the majority of stocks. And if it's going to take longer, the chances are that something is wrong.
Omaha
Are you going to Omaha? Sign up for my accounting red flags seminar after Markel 2-4pm on Sunday. In two hours, I promise I will make you a better investor. The session is one from a new series of workshops I am doing for some of the top hedge funds in Europe right now. Here is what one client said:
One of our key skills is shorting stocks and identifying accounting issues. Stephen’s ‘behind the balance sheet’ accounting seminars provided a thorough refresher on a number of accounting issues to look for, excellent training to make sure the whole team were comfortable with all the nuances and tricks that corporates use, as well as some more subtle angles that were thought provoking. The course was carefully put together combining theory with historic examples of financial shenanigans. An underappreciated topic in the investment world and Stephen helps to really bring it to life."
Chris Dale, CIO Kintbury capital. $1.5bn Pan European Equity, low net, long-short hedge fund.
The ROI on this is frankly a no-brainer.
Sign up today - places are limited.