Core Insights - Stock picking has proven to be highly profitable amid significant market volatility this year, with individual stocks outperforming the S&P 500, which has remained relatively flat [1] - Increased dispersion in stock performance is anticipated, which will benefit investors who actively trade [1] Group 1: Market Performance - The current market environment has rewarded stock pickers significantly, indicating a divergence in stock performance compared to the overall market index [1] - The S&P 500 has shown a flat performance, highlighting the potential for selective investment strategies to yield better returns [1] Group 2: Analyst Background - Gary Alexander possesses extensive experience in technology sectors, having worked on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley, which informs his insights into current industry trends [1] - His role as an adviser to seed-round startups provides him with a unique perspective on emerging themes within the technology industry [1]

Core Insights - The S&P 500 is nearing its previous highs, leading to increased difficulty in stock selection due to elevated valuations [1] - MMMT Wealth, founded by Oliver, focuses on investment strategies and stock analysis, primarily through insights gathered from investor calls, presentations, and financial news [1] - Oliver has 5 years of investing experience and 4 years as a CPA, emphasizing the importance of thorough research in identifying high-quality businesses [1] Company Overview - MMMT Wealth was established in 2023, with a mission to provide insights on investment strategies and stock evaluations [1] - The firm operates mainly in the financial services sector, including private equity, hedge funds, and asset management [1] Investment Philosophy - The investment approach is centered on a 3-5 year time horizon, focusing on the potential life-changing impact of even a few well-chosen investments [1] - Oliver's passion for investing drives the commitment to extensive research and analysis of the best businesses globally [1]

Core Insights - The article highlights the investment strategies of Paul Franke, a seasoned investor with 39 years of trading experience, emphasizing his contrarian stock selection style and the development of a system called "Victory Formation" for identifying stocks based on supply/demand imbalances [1] Group 1: Investment Strategies - Paul Franke suggests using a diversified approach by owning at least 50 well-positioned stocks to achieve regular stock market outperformance [1] - The "Bottom Fishing Club" articles focus on deep value candidates or stocks that are experiencing a significant reversal in technical momentum [1] - The "Volume Breakout Report" articles discuss positive trend changes supported by strong price and volume trading action [1] Group 2: Performance and Recognition - Franke was consistently ranked among the top investment advisors nationally during the 1990s and was recognized for his stock market and commodity macro views [1] - He achieved a top ranking in the Motley Fool® CAPS stock picking contest during parts of 2008 and 2009, out of over 60,000 portfolios [1] - As of June 2025, he was ranked in the Top 4% of bloggers by TipRanks® for 12-month stock picking performance based on suggestions made over the last decade [1]

Market Volatility & Investment Strategy - The market has shown resilience with a V-shaped recovery, and investors should embrace volatility as it favors long-term value buyers [1] - Despite major market averages being in the black for the year, many individual stocks, especially in the Russell 2000, are still down significantly, presenting value opportunities [4] - Stock picking is expected to outperform buying indexes, offering better sleep-at-night valuations and generous dividend yields [11] Undervalued Sectors & Stocks - The energy sector, particularly Sevitas Resources, is attractive due to being hit hard, offering a big dividend yield and low PE ratio while remaining profitable [5][6] - Pharmaceutical companies like Merc are viewed as high quality, trading at a PE around 11 with a 4% dividend yield, lower than its historical valuation [6] - Whirlpool, the appliance maker, offers a yield over 7% with a PE in the 9-10 range, anticipating support from lower interest rates later in the year [8] - Target, the discount retailer, has a low valuation relative to its history and a dividend yield pushing 5% [8][9] - UPS, the package shipping company, aligns with the theme of low valuations and generous dividend yields [9] Economic Outlook & Fed Policy - Good news rate cuts are anticipated throughout the year, although immediate cuts are unlikely due to tariff uncertainties and high inflation expectations [12][13] - Historically, stocks have performed well regardless of Fed tightening or easing, rising or falling interest rates, or high or low inflation [14] - Value stocks have historically lost only a couple percent on average during recessions, with spectacular returns of 30-40% coming out of recessions [15][16] Portfolio Valuation - The portfolio's forward earnings trade at 14 times, compared to the S&P 500's 23 times forward earnings [10] - The portfolio's overall dividend yield is 250 basis points (25%) versus 130 basis points (13%) for the S&P 500 [10]

Core Insights - Paul Franke is a seasoned investor with 39 years of trading experience, recognized for his stock picking and macro views, having been ranked among the top investment advisors nationally during the 1990s [1] - Franke developed a stock selection system called "Victory Formation," which focuses on supply/demand imbalances indicated by specific stock price and volume movements [1] - The "Bottom Fishing Club" articles highlight deep value stocks or those showing significant upward technical momentum reversals, while "Volume Breakout Report" articles discuss positive trend changes supported by strong trading action [1] Investment Strategy - Franke recommends a diversified approach, suggesting investors hold at least 50 well-positioned stocks to achieve consistent outperformance in the stock market [1] - A stop-loss level of 10% to 20% on individual stock choices is advised to manage risk effectively [1]

Company Overview - Building Benjamins is a free stock picking and market commentary investment newsletter published by Tradition Investment Management, LLC, a registered investment adviser [1] - The founder, Benjamin Halliburton, has a notable background in investment management, having founded Tradition Capital Management in 2000 and received multiple accolades for his performance [1] Founder Background - Benjamin Halliburton began his investment career at Merrill Lynch in 1986 and has been continuously involved in investing since then [1] - He earned an MBA with a focus on finance from Duke's Fuqua School of Business in 1990 and was recognized as a Fuqua Scholar [1] - Halliburton holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and was the top-performing portfolio manager at Brundage, Story and Rose, where his strategy outperformed the S&P 500 during the 1990s bull market [1] Performance Recognition - Halliburton was named "PSN Manager of the Decade" for All-Cap in the 2000s and for Dividend Value in the 2010s, highlighting his successful investment strategies [1] - He was recognized as the youngest partner at his firm and received high praise from senior managing partners for his investment acumen [1]

Core Viewpoint - Investors often prefer stocks with a low price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, believing that a lower P/E indicates higher stock value and potential for growth [1] Group 1: P/E Ratio Insights - Stocks with a rising P/E ratio can also yield strong returns, indicating that investors are willing to pay more for expected future earnings growth [2][3] - A rising P/E ratio suggests investor confidence in a company's fundamentals and anticipated positive performance [4] - Historical data shows that stocks can experience P/E ratio increases of over 100% from their breakout points, highlighting the potential for significant gains if stocks are selected early in their breakout cycle [5] Group 2: Stock Screening Criteria - The screening parameters for identifying stocks with increasing P/E include: - Current year EPS growth estimate should be greater than or equal to last year's actual growth [7] - Price changes over four weeks should exceed those over 12 weeks, and similarly for 12 weeks compared to 24 weeks, indicating consistent price increases [7][8] - Price change for 12 weeks should be at least 20% higher than for 24 weeks, but not exceed 100%, suggesting an impending uptrend [8] Group 3: Selected Stocks - The screening process narrowed down over 7,700 stocks to 83, with notable mentions including: - Comfort Systems USA (Zacks Rank 1) with an average four-quarter earnings surprise of 17.57% [9][10] - MasTec (Zacks Rank 2) with an average four-quarter earnings surprise of 26.03% [10] - Virgin Galactic (Zacks Rank 2) with an average four-quarter earnings surprise of 21.99% [11] - AeroVironment (Zacks Rank 2) with an average four-quarter earnings surprise of 18.40% [11] - Blackbaud (Zacks Rank 1) with an average four-quarter earnings surprise of 1.20% [12]

Core Insights - The article highlights the investment strategies and achievements of Paul Franke, a seasoned investor with 38 years of trading experience, emphasizing his contrarian stock selection style and algorithmic analysis for identifying investment opportunities [1] Group 1: Investment Strategies - Paul Franke developed a system called "Victory Formation," which focuses on supply/demand imbalances indicated by specific stock price and volume movements [1] - The "Bottom Fishing Club" articles target deep-value stocks or those showing significant positive technical momentum reversals [1] - The "Volume Breakout Report" articles analyze positive trend changes supported by strong price and volume trading activity [1] Group 2: Performance and Recognition - Franke was consistently ranked among the top investment advisors nationally during the 1990s and achieved the 1 position in the Motley Fool® CAPS stock picking contest in 2008 and 2009 out of over 60,000 portfolios [1] - As of September 2024, he was ranked in the Top 3% of bloggers by TipRanks® for 12-month stock picking performance over the last decade [1] Group 3: Risk Management - Franke advises investors to implement stop-loss levels of 10% or 20% on individual stock choices and to maintain a diversified portfolio of at least 50 well-positioned stocks to enhance regular stock market outperformance [1]