EgonKuhn

Bought a small initial position in DSY.PA (Dassault Systèmes SE).

In the end, it's often the same pattern with Chinese stocks. Whenever an industry generates decent profits, some kind of showdown is staged, new regulations are invented or tightened, or something else. A bit like Hotel California: attracting capital to invest (here specifically in toll roads), and then, when it's time to reap the rewards, suddenly they say, "Well, that wasn't what we intended."

Finally sold my 0548.hk position after five years of pain.

As I recall, the consensus among small private investors at the end of the 1990s was that they could safely buy into virtually any IPO that had anything to do with technology, even if it was just to reap the profit from the meager allocation the following day. Based on what I'm currently observing, I'd say we're still a long way from that.

13 USD in october 1998 was only a short blip on the CSCO road. So maybe still quite some room for the *true* AI boom if we are still feeling the 1998 vibe

Whatever the cause. I looked left and right from the insurance brokers for "picks and shovel plays" and found VRSK and GWRE as interesting candidates to look further.

Bought another small initial position in VRSK as the analytics/tech provider in the insurance sector.

Bought a small initial position in AJG as part of my insurance broker basket.

Have a great time in good old Europe @dealraker

Thanks. I read about these first purchases since 2018. And I share your position regarding European competitors.

FBIN looks interesting. Would you mind starting a thread and briefly introducing it? They seem to have made quite a few changes to the company over the past decade without really being rewarded by the markets. Have you discovered a specific reason for this reluctance? Is there a specific reason for choosing EMN in the (specialty) chemicals sector? The entire sector seems to have been pretty much bombed out these days. What scares me a little here are the deliberately created overcapacities in China that are being ruthlessly pushed into the market. Is EMN perhaps not so badly affected here?

Thank you very much @longterminvestor! Always great to read your insight about everything insurance

Thanks for your perspective! Makes this industry even a more interesting case.

If I may ask a follow-up question @longterminvestor: what I found a bit surprising in the VIC pitch was the aspect that AON was presented as a case where the use of AI tools is expected to significantly expand margins. Has AON been particularly notable in the past for its intensive and successful application of new technologies – similar to, for example, PGR among P&C insurers? Given the competition between insurance brokers (here especially between AON and MMC), is it even plausible to assume a sustained increase in margins due to the use of technology?

More trimming of FTK.DE

I bought MMC solely for diversification, as they primarily serve a different customer segment. Since I'm still very new to the industry, I found this helpful in getting to know it better.

Thank you very much for your description of how Wells Fargo typically works with regard to its ratings and your investment process. I have to admit, I really appreciate @Spekulatius ability to not only identify the core of the issue but also describe it succinctly. But I equally value your or @Parsad's ability to recognize patterns with decades of experience and then simply apply them consistently. That may look simple to an outsider or even to yourself, but ultimately, it isn't.

I can only find a reference to a "underweight" rating with raised target to 36 USD from Wells Fargo on July 10th. Is there something current with a more positive view from them since then @dealraker?

@John Hjorth CFM ist probably this: Everything You Need to Know About the Chartered Financial Manager (CFM) Designation

Thanks for sharing both articles @John Hjorth and nice greetings to Denmark from one of these stubborn grumpy Germans in the South I like the disciplined approach of L'Oréal. According to the article most of Armani's EBITDA comes from their royalties, so the remaining part of the business doesn't seem to be so great in the first place. I suspect Giorgio Armani would have been better advised to finalize the succession plan for his company while he was still alive. That could get a bit ugly, given the current weak phase of the industry.

Bought a small initial position in FI to add it in my payment basket (3769.T, ADYEN.AS, AXP, FIS, PYPL)

Bought a small initial position in FDS.

Finally sold my INTC position losing one third of my money after I bought it in October 2020 and have "enjoyed" the rollercoaster ride ever since.

Thanks for banging the drum here! I follow your posts and this topic for years now always waiting for an entry point. Once you must put the foot in the door and for me it's time.

Maybe some parts of the story even align - a bit softer markets, a bit less volume, some AI scare - to feed a self-reinforcing bearish view on the whole broker sector. With some really good prices in effect. For me it's enough to hold my foot a little in the water.