Tag Archives: Southwest Ideas Conference

Drink from a Fire Hydrant of CEO’s and Company Executives – Friday

We were happy to receive our invitation to a local gathering co-sponsored by the CFA Organization (Chartered Financial Analyst) – an organization that I was president of a few years ago and maintain contacts and membership.

Wednesday and Thursday of this week, in rapid fire form, over 100 CEO’s and C level executives from all over the country, presented their company to groups of folks for a better understanding and possible investment.img_5476

We cherish this event every year, as it gives us a great candid feel for what’s going on in the economy and we get to meet a wide variety managers in different industries…..

So here’s a quick review:

 

The energy companies that we sat in on where mellow, but longer-term positive,  and much discussion about lower debt, and future higher prices, with lots of hedging as topics. Overall the energy executives felt good long-term but we’re less certain in the very shorter term. Cautiously positive, but managing very well.

Listening to a insurance company that deals with high risk properties – high risk because they’re on one of the eastern shores that is the recipient of bad weather, tactics for maximizing revenues, without passing higher expenses on to their customers, due to inelastic customers, were the topic as well as  fingers crossed for no major bad weather.

The first days keynote speaker for lunch was fantastic:img_5467

“How Government Policy Drives Stock Market Returns” was the title of his presentation.

His conclusion, Politics affect Capital Markets but it’s not sustaining,  what truly affects Capital Markets longer term is policy. We could not agree more … when new rules are instituted, that’s when talk becomes action and you have a definitive line in the sand.

Maybe something we should all remember as we enter a Presidential Election in the coming year!

On Thursday a delightful visit with the CEO of a local steel company, her thoughts on policies, tariffs which surprisingly were somewhat muted. Tariffs did not seem to bother her, but a recession would not be welcomed. Cyclical concerns in a very cyclical industry and defense of such cycles were very well presented.

The lunch speaker of the second day was also very interesting and had two main points:

Jerome Powell and China

img_5485

This chart was interesting and may make future discussions, the gist is that when rates have been lowered while an inverted yield curve occurs, it deters the recession… the recession occurs when raising DURING the inversion ….. Hmmmmm ….first time we have heard this, but it peaked our interest….

Regarding China… In a nutshell he felt like China would agree to a multiple part Tariff contract and this was someway a necessity due to China’s current economic situation, and also most politicians stance against China and their tariffs, offering no option for relief.

In conclusion, from a very high-level, everyone was well aware that this economy is not growing extremely fast, but it’s still growing. Many shared our thoughts that we may have a soft recession but a very hard recession is likely not in the cards. Very few touch the political landscape and for the most part we’re generally positive.

Ahhhh…. a HEAVY Friday for you huh ?

Apologies, but we have a short week next week and wanted to get this to you as we know you were hanging on the edge of your chair waiting…. HAHA … kidding of course, recall this is a working Diary for us as well….

Have a Great “Executive Updated” Day!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.
A Dallas Texas based fee only
Financial Planning Total Wealth
Management firm.
jkfinancialinc
street-cents

Fire Hydrant Volume of Company and CEO Meetings – Southwest Ideas Conference – 70 Publicly Traded Companies

Once a year, luckily we are invited to a local event that includes over 70 – yes it has grown to 70 publicly traded company visits and presentations…

Annual Southwest Ideas Conference

Through two close friends, one who organizes the event and the other who owns the company that organizes the event, we are invited, luckily, once again to the Southwest Ideas Conference here in Dallas –Southwest Ideas Investor Conference

This year’s event includes over 70 publicly traded companies of various size, location and industry –

We love this event as it gives us a chance to not only meet C – level executives of these companies up close and personal, but to also hear their outlooks, economic forecasts, insights, and general feelings of what is going on in their various industries….

We look forward to the rapid fire, multi-meeting all day event and look forward to bringing you any interesting updates that we may stumble upon…

Have a Great “Fire Hydrant C Level Visits” Day!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.
A Dallas Texas based fee only
Financial Planning Total Wealth
Management firm.
jkfinancialinc
street-cents

Findings from multiple CEO/CFO interactions … Ahh … that explains it

Last Wednesday at the Southwest Investors Conference, a CFA related event, I was able to interact with dozens off CEO/CFO’s.

Three Part Advisors Southwest Ideas ConferenceSouthwest Ideas Investor Conference

Getting an invitation to this annual event is always a treat. While the week before Thanksgiving is busy, this event is time well utilized.

With over 70 public company CEO/CFO a theme did resonate:

  • There was a great recession, 07-09 that hit every company in every industry
  • This recovery has been slower than normal and in most cases we are back to only about 05-06 levels
  • The future is positive, but guarded and tentative
  • Careful growth and decision making over reckless “pedal to metal” acceleration
  • With such delicate growth, outside influences could throw us back into a slowdown easily

My ahh, haa moment of clarity came after about the sixth visit of company executives.

  1. Executives came to the edge and looked over in 07-09, as such they refortified their companies
  2. Growth has been so slow that caution remains
  3. Executives are ready for a slowdown, should it come again (this is huge and comforting)

Reflecting after this wonderful event, these company executives totally explain the lower hiring, slow wage growth, and timid expectations we are seeing in macro economic reports.

This is not a bad thing, safe over sorry ..

Have a good day !

John Kvale
www.jkfinancialinc.com
www.street-cents.com
8222 Douglas Ave # 590
Dallas, TX 75225 

Fabulous Visit with 70 Public Company Executives – Southwest Ideas Conference

The week before Thanksgiving marks an annual conference which keeps growing every year.

Today and tomorrow I get the opportunity to visit directly and listen to as many as 70 different CEO’s and CFO’s of publicly traded companies.

Three Part Advisors Southwest Ideas Conference

While physically impossible to attend every option, this yearly conference has multiple benefits which we greatly appreciate:Southwest Ideas Investor Conference

  • Meet tons of CEO’s and CFO’s of different companies and industries
  • Share ideas with fellow professionals
  • Get a feel for the overall economy as seen through the eyes of a wide swatch of executives
  • Learn the specifics of unique individual companies

After two eight-hour stretches, my head is usually full of fantastic thoughts and super new companies.

A theme usually resonates.

Have a Great Day!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP
www.jkfinancialinc.com
www.street-cents.com
8222 Douglas Ave # 590
Dallas, TX 75225 

Analyst meeting summary….sloppy markets…Buy Low Sell High!

Yesterday provided a more grim feeling as my day included multiple cement companies, several mortgage reit companies, and a lunch panel that was a bit overbearing.

Slipping into strategic location to begin the day yesterday, the conclusion after a total of three cement companies is they are in repair mode, still struggling a bit, and very happy to be in Texas. Those who reside in Texas, feel lucky as we have had a shallow housing bust, are coming back faster than the rest of the country, and are tossing up multi-family units as fast as possible, according to the respective executives. Overall a positive, with a better, but not great, future in front of us.

Lunch provided a four person panel of which two I had met before. Overall, but for one panelist I highly respect, they were too cavalier about the markets and the implications for my taste. The one highly respected panelist (possible self-imposed bias here) said we are in a neutral capital market mode with important implications if politicians go rouge. We agree…now is not the time to let your guards down or slip those rose-colored glasses on, in our opinion.

The afternoon provided a less than positive finish to our two-day fire hydrant visit, but was more of what we had expected when our meetings commenced several days ago.  After sitting through several mortgage REIT company presentations, the collateral effects of the FOMC’s juice is loose actions were seen. In full disclosure, we have never been able to COMPLETELY get our arms around these companies, as such, we do not invest in them.

Heading into the weekend we are happily fully aware of the sloppy markets. We find it so interesting that many of those professionals who were “All In” 7% higher ago in the capital markets, are now running for cover…..Come on guys….We would argue very little has changed from several weeks ago.  We would even argue with earnings season behind us, and those rolling up their sleeves and getting their hands dirty (Donald “The Brain”) having listened to company executives, earnings reports, and conferences, have greater confidence in next year’s growth.

“Buy low and sell high”

On a Friday personal note, my seven-year old turns eight tomorrow, and in a my how time flies way, I can remember when she came home from the hospital like it was yesterday…..Happy Birthday Sophia!

Have a Great Weekend and thanks for reading the extra notes this week!

JK

214-706-4300
http://www.jkfinancialinc.com
8222 Douglas Ave Suite 590
Dallas, TX 75225

Fire hydrant analyst meeting update….10 meetings under our belt with more to come

Yesterday the analyst fire hydrant meeting was opened and the meetings began in quick fashion, running throughout the full day. After a total of 10 meetings and a terrific lunch presentation by Dr. Harvey Rosenblum of the Dallas Fed, whom I ended up sharing lunch with prior to his presentation (analysis of his speech soon) I came away with a few interesting observations.

But first, one quick thought:

Sharing out thoughts in this venue mandates we clarify what we learned, hopefully provides you with a good picture of our findings, and also works as a diary for future reference.  Thanks in advance for following.

So here we go..

Interestingly while the capital markets careened lower, I jotted down several CEO’s quoting their business backlogs (future orders) were as good as they had been since 2006 (one year prior to the 2007 peak) business was not great, but good, and improving especially looking into next year. With over one half of my day spent with companies from the technology sector, most of which are smaller, I came to the conclusion that at least the tech sector seems to be ready for lift off.  While many of these companies are in the food chain of larger companies, they were by far the most positive in guidance, enthusiasm, and expectations.

An oil and gas company being opportunistic and buying beaten down hard natural gas rights along with several industrial production companies had a slightly less, but still positive outlook, which rounded out my afternoon.

The lone somber discussion was a VERY large global cement company that had experienced a close call by making a huge ($15 billion) all debt acquisition at the top of the market in 2007 only to see sales shrink by over 50% globally, and over 80% in some markets. They survived, and happily stated that the US seems to be on a slow uptrend with residential housing starts rising over the last five quarters adding to their bottom line in the near future. They were extremely negative on Spain for the foreseeable future.

Interestingly there we no talks of fiscal cliffs, political rumblings or negativity, but many commented of slight delays, while for the most part again backlogs were very good and rising. Overall a very positive tone as a whole. More to come, as I will let you know what I know, when I know it !

Have a Great Day!

JK

PS I have an evening meeting with my stately study group to discuss the post-election analysis.

PSS Capital markets are now down about 7.5% from their Bernanke juice is loose high….we feel much more positive now as valuations are more in line with fundamentals, even as it appears the FOMC may be ready for more juice…..a topic for another time!

214-706-4300
http://www.jkfinancialinc.com
8222 Douglas Ave # 590
Dallas, TX 75225

An intimate review with multiple CEO’s, one of our favorite yearly events

Happy Veterans day! Bond markets are closed today and as such equity trading will be light, federal wiring and banks are closed as well.

This week marks one our favorite times of the year. No…not because Thanksgiving is coming next week (ranks high) but later this week one of our favorite “drink from a fire hydrant” events occurs. All day Wednesday and Thursday the annual Southwest Ideas Conference occurs.  During this event we have the opportunity to visit one on one and in a group presentation format with over 50 publicly traded company management teams.

Our goal for this event is two-fold, meet the teams and learn about new companies as well as get a feel for their candid outlook on the economy and more importantly, what they are doing as a result of their expectations.  Rarely do we have conflicting opinions, but it does occur which makes our information digestion even more interesting.

Included in the event on Wednesday is a keynote speech by Harvey Rosenblum, director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. We have heard Mr. Rosenblum before and look forward to his updated thoughts.

We look forward to bringing you updates from our two-day event this week.

Have a Great Monday!

JK

PS Congrats to the Aggies for knocking off # 1 Alabama

PSS I completed the marathon, but not in the time I had wanted…if at first you don’t succeed…..thanks Colonel J for hanging with me

214-706-4300
http://www.jkfinancialinc.com
8222 Douglas Ave # 590
Dallas, TX 75225