Bull Sessions (6/21/2022)

Hello, Summer. Inspired by Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike, we’re heading down the stretch to Halloween with our Best Small Companies and hoping to replicate that magnificent finish line performance. Commence shopping … and warming up for the annual convention of the National Association of Investors which launches this week.

Mark Robertson, founder of Manifest Investing, and Ken Kavula of the Mid Michigan Model Club hosted the first Bull Sessions webinar of summer on June 21, 2022, themed around screening for better small companies. The speakers discussed recent enhancements to Manifest's screening tools and emphasized that current market conditions present a compelling buying opportunity comparable to the financial crisis period of 2008-2009. With the Value Line Arithmetic Average showing price appreciation annualized at 15% (the second highest in 10 years) and many quality growth stocks trading in the buy zone, Ken shared that in recent investment club meetings, the majority of stocks on their watchlists were showing buy signals on their Stock Selection Guides.

The discussion highlighted the current market environment as historically attractive for selective investors. Ken noted that the Mid Michigan Model Club's portfolio gained nearly 42% in 2021, and both speakers believe investors should consider deploying recent gains into quality companies at reasonable valuations. They specifically discussed emerging investment opportunities in home builders trading at low price-to-earnings ratios and explored promising but early-stage companies like Lev, an electric vehicle manufacturer. Kim Butcher provided an update on Ardelics, a biotech company working on FDA approval for a phosphorus-binding medication, noting that the company secured an ad hoc meeting with the FDA's board of new drugs scheduled for November 2022.

The webinar also covered the ongoing Groundhog investment competition among roundtable participants and previewed upcoming content on screening enhancements, positioning the Manifest platform's tools as significant resources for fundamental analysis-based investing.