Making money from unloved and out-of-favour stocks

Making money from unloved and out-of-favour stocks

It takes a special type of person to be a contrarian investor. Few people are willing to buy companies while others predict doom. It means accepting that you won’t always get it right, and the ability to put aside preconceived ideas about a company and focus only on the fundamentals.

One investor who’s made a career of this approach is Simon Mawhinney, Chief Investment Officer at Allan Gray Australia. It was this contrarian streak that saw him buying banks and retailers in middle of the COVID-crash, a decision that turned out better than anyone could’ve expected at the time.

But it doesn’t always go so smoothly, as was the case with his investment in the now-defunct Arrium, which we discuss in this episode of The Rules of Investing. We also discuss two current investments from the Allan Gray portfolio, and one former market darling that he’s investigating currently.

Show More

Backward
Play
Forward
1x speed
  • 0.5
  • 1
  • 1.5
  • 2
Other episodes
2 killer growth stocks (and why culture is key to successful small caps)

2 killer growth stocks (and why culture is key to successful small caps)

Culture is not something that immediately springs to mind when assessing a company and its prospects for the future.
More often than not, we investors are scouring profit and loss statements, comparing financial ratios and (if we have the time and sk...

461 downloads Rules of Investing Nov 17, 2023
36m
Trailer: Qiao Ma, Munro Partners

Trailer: Qiao Ma, Munro Partners

Qiao Ma has had an extensive career in funds management including stops in New York working for hedge fund Jericho Capital and more recently Cooper Investors in Melbourne.
 
Earlier this year, Qiao joined Munro Partners, where it was recen...

335 downloads Rules of Investing Nov 16, 2023
2m
We are in the midst of a social, economic, financial and political crisis

We are in the midst of a social, economic, financial and political crisis

From geopolitics to fiscal policy, commodities to equities, this week's featured guest on The Rules of Investing has some high-conviction views on a whole range of subjects. 
For more than 40 years, Donald Amstad traded his way through the highs and ...

294 downloads Rules of Investing Nov 10, 2023
31m
Invest in what you know, avoid what you don’t: Lessons from a Hall of Fame fund manager

Invest in what you know, avoid what you don’t: Lessons from a Hall of Fame fund manager

Despite all of his success, Morry Waked has remained relatively under the radar. He’s not one to boast of his achievements, and he’s very rarely fronted the media.
At Livewire, we dedicate ourselves to finding the best fund managers in Australia - an...

289 downloads Rules of Investing Oct 27, 2023
29m
Emma Fisher: Why it pays to be bullish (and the most outstanding idea on the ASX today)

Emma Fisher: Why it pays to be bullish (and the most outstanding idea on the ASX today)

The times when a company is dominating headlines (for all the wrong reasons) are the best time to buy. 
Take Medibank Private (ASX: MPL), for example, which you may remember, was embroiled in a data breach in October 2022. 
On the news, the stock's s...

483 downloads Rules of Investing Oct 05, 2023
48m
Matthew Kidman: Get ready to run with the bulls

Matthew Kidman: Get ready to run with the bulls

Matthew Kidman is a well-known entity to readers of Livewire, as host of Success and More Interesting Stuff, Buy Hold Sell, and most recently, Livewire Live.
Finally, we got him in the hot seat to run us through his own journey into funds management,...

486 downloads Rules of Investing Sep 28, 2023
1h 9m
Hedge fund managers never name their shorts. This one does…

Hedge fund managers never name their shorts. This one does…

Short sellers have had a tough time of it over the past decade. The era of free money lifted all boats, including companies that would perhaps otherwise be candidates for short selling. 
Today's market is radically different. Central banks have lifte...

306 downloads Rules of Investing Sep 22, 2023
46m
Bob Desmond names his ”forever” stock

Bob Desmond names his ”forever” stock

We're constantly told that diversification is the only free lunch in finance. Yet most of the world's top investors choose not to eat it. 
Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, John Maynard Keynes, Lou Simpson, George Soros. All run concentrated portfolios...

312 downloads Rules of Investing Sep 15, 2023
44m
Trailer: Bob Desmond, Claremont Global

Trailer: Bob Desmond, Claremont Global

We're constantly told that diversification is the only free lunch in finance. Yet most of the world's top investors choose not to eat it. Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, John Maynard Keynes, Lou Simpson, George Soros. All run concentrated portfolios....

311 downloads Rules of Investing Sep 13, 2023
2m
Suggested Stories

Who would have guessed laws required companies to request...

DisinterestedSep 25, 2022
0 mins read

The question of whether abortion should be legal has been...

DanielJun 26, 2022
4 mins read

Four-time major winner Brooks Koepka has also left the PG...

sportislife15Jun 26, 2022
0 mins read

The subsidisation of unreliable “renewable” power is why ...

DisinterestedJun 19, 2022
0 mins read

LIV Golf is off to a good start, whatever the PGA Tour an...

sportislife15Jun 11, 2022
4 mins read

All governments eventually lose power, but the Liberal Pa...

DanielMay 29, 2022
4 mins read