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What Is Value Investing?
Value investing is an investment strategy that involves picking stocks that appear to be trading for less than their intrinsic or book value. Value investors actively ferret out stocks they think the stock market is underestimating. They believe the market overreacts to good and bad news, resulting in stock price movements that do not correspond to a company's long-term fundamentals. The overreaction offers an opportunity to profit by purchasing stocks at discounted prices.

Warren Buffett is probably the best-known value investor today, but there are many others, including Benjamin Graham (Buffett's professor and mentor), David Dodd, Charlie Munger (Buffet's business partner), Christopher Browne (another Graham student), and billionaire hedge-fund manager, Seth Karman.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
Value investing is an investment strategy that involves picking stocks that appear to be trading for less than their intrinsic or book value.
Value investors actively ferret out stocks they think the stock market is underestimating.
Value investors use financial analysis, don't follow the herd, and are long-term investors of quality companies.
Value Investing
Investopedia / Sydney Saporito https://stockstrategy.net/
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Understanding Value Investing
The basic concept behind everyday value investing is straightforward: If you know the true value of something, you can save a lot of money when you buy it. Most folks would agree that whether you buy a new TV on sale, or at full price, you’re getting the same TV with the same screen size and picture quality.

Stock prices work in a similar manner, meaning a company’s share price can change even when the company’s valuation has remained the same. This means, strictly speaking, there is no such thing as a true, or intrinsic, value of the stock of a given company. But there are relative values.


Market participants can buy or sell shares without being tethered to an objective price figure. Therefore, stocks, like TVs, go through periods of higher and lower demand leading to price fluctuations. If the company's fundamentals are the same, and its future opportunities are unchanged, then the value of the shares is largely the same even though the price differs.

Value investing developed from a concept by Columbia Business School professors Benjamin Graham and David Dodd in 1934 and was popularized in Graham's 1949 book, "The Intelligent Investor."
Just like savvy shoppers would argue that it makes no sense to pay full price for a TV since TVs go on sale several times a year, savvy value investors believe stocks work the same way. Of course, unlike TVs, stocks won't go on sale at predictable times of the year such as Black Friday, and their sale prices won’t be advertised.

Value investing is the process of doing detective work to find these secret sales on stocks and buying them at a discount compared to how the market values them. In return for buying and holding these value stocks for the long term, investors can be rewarded handsomely.

Intrinsic Value and Value Investing
In the stock market, the equivalent of a stock being cheap or discounted is when its shares are undervalued. Value investors hope to profit from shares they perceive to be deeply discounted.

Investors use various metrics to attempt to find the valuation or intrinsic value of a stock. Intrinsic value is a combination of using financial analysis, such as studying a company's financial performance, revenue, earnings, cash flow, profit, and fundamental factors. It includes the company's brand, business model, target market, and competitive advantage. Some metrics used to value a company's stock include:
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Price-to-book (P/B), which measures the value of a company's assets and compares them to the stock price. If the price is lower than the value of the assets, the stock is undervalued, assuming the company is not in financial hardship.
Price-to-earnings (P/E), which shows the company's track record for earnings to determine if the stock price is not reflecting all of the earnings or is undervalued.
Free cash flow, which is the cash generated from a company's revenue or operations after the costs of expenditures have been subtracted.
Free cash flow is the cash remaining after expenses have been paid, including operating expenses and large purchases called capital expenditures, which is the purchase of assets like equipment or upgrading a manufacturing plant. If a company is generating free cash flow, it'll have money left over to invest in the future of the business, pay off debt, pay dividends or rewards to shareholders, and issue share buybacks.

Of course, there are many other metrics used in the analysis, including analyzing debt, equity, sales, and revenue growth. After reviewing these metrics, the value investor can decide to purchase shares if the comparative value—the stock's current price vis-a-vis its company's intrinsic worth—is attractive enough.

How Financial Advisors Get Paid
The job of a financial advisor is to create a personalized financial plan based on each client's income, long-term goals, and financial situation. It may include a budget and a strategy for saving and long-term investing. Depending on the client, it may include recommendations for life insurance, a college savings plan, a portfolio of investments, and more.

Advisors may steer their clients toward specific investments, such as certain mutual funds. If they are also registered traders, they may execute trades in the financial markets by proxy for their clients. In such cases, they may receive compensation by the sponsor.


Registered financial advisors may follow either of two standards:

The fiduciary standard requires them to act in the best interests of the client in recommending investments. They are compensated only by their clients.
The suitability standard requires them to recommend investments that are suitable to the client's situation. They may receive payment from companies for recommending their products.
Stephen Rischall, CFP®, CRPC https://stockstrategy.net/
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1080 Financial Group, Los Angeles, CA

If your financial advisor is a broker, the answer is yes. Brokers are paid commissions based on the products they sell and are oftentimes incentivized to sell certain products over others. When you purchase a mutual fund with a sales load, part of that additional expense is used by the mutual fund company to pay a commission to the advisor. Additionally, most mutual funds charge a 12b-1 fee as part of their expense ratio collected each year. Part of that fee goes toward paying the broker a trailer commission, so long as the client remains invested in the fund.

In contrast, if your financial advisor is a fee-only, fiduciary advisor, then they do not receive commissions or compensation from outside parties.

How Financial Advisors Earn Trailer Fees
Mutual funds pay financial advisors ongoing trailer fees, ranging from 0.25% to 1% per year of the amount invested. The fees are intended to motivate financial advisors to recommend that their clients invest in their mutual funds.

As long as the client remains invested in the fund, the fund pays the financial advisor the percentage fee.

How Financial Advisors Earn Load Fees
Mutual funds charge their investors front-load fees when they buy into the fund and back-load fees when they leave it. Every time an investor buys or sells shares of the fund, they are charged one of these fees.

A financial advisor receives a small share of both of these fees. It is termed a contingent deferred sales charge by the mutual fund company.

How Do Financial Advisors Get Paid?
A financial advisor may get paid in one of several ways. If it is not immediately clear, the client should ask.

A fee-only fiduciary advisor is paid only by the client.
A "fee-based" financial advisor may be paid by both the companies that sponsor investments the advisor recommends and by the client.
A commission-based advisor is paid only by the companies that sponsor investments the advisor recommends. The service is free to the client.
What Percentage Do Financial Advisors Charge?
If a financial advisor charges a flat annual fee, the average cost is 1% to 3% per year of the assets in the account. That generally covers most advisory services, investment research, and trading.

The client may choose to be billed hourly fees.

Which choice is better depends on the amount of service you expect from an advisor. If you want frequent contact with an advisor and frequent changes to your investments, the flat fee might be best. If you want help drawing up a long-term financial plan but expect to leave your investments alone for the long haul, the hourly fee may cost you less. https://stockstrategy.net/
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Is It Worth It to Pay a Financial Advisor?
How confident are you in your ability to handle your finances independently? If you're not all that confident, a session with a financial advisor can get you on a long-term spending and savings plan that is feasible and makes sense for you and your family, given your current income and future goals.

The advisor will want to know if you have sufficient life insurance to protect your family; whether you're saving enough towards retirement; whether you're a homeowner or want to be, and much more.

This may turn into a long-term relationship with a financial advisor, or not. Your plan should change with your circumstances over time.

8 Best Funds for Regular Dividend Income
By SHOBHIT SETH Updated August 03, 2023
Reviewed by CHIP STAPLETON
Fact checked by TIMOTHY LI
Reinvestment is known to increase long-term returns. When you reinvest your money, the interim income you generate is put back into the investment. But some investors opt to receive periodic payments from their investments, depending on their specific needs. Periodic coupon or interest payments from bonds, which are debt instruments, and regular dividends, which are cash payments from stocks and mutual funds, can offer investors a steady stream of income. In this article, we explore eight of the best dividend mutual funds that regularly pay dividends regularly.

How Do Mutual Funds Pay Dividends?
Mutual funds often contain a basket of securities including equities or stocks, which may pay dividends. Dividends are paid to shareholders at different times. For instance, mutual funds that follow a dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP) reinvest the received dividend amount back into the stocks. Other funds follow the dividend payment plan by continuing to aggregate dividend income over a monthly, quarterly, or sometimes six-month period, then making a periodic dividend payment to account holders.

A fund pays income after expenses. If a fund gets a regular yield from the dividend-paying constituent stocks, those expenses can be covered fully or partially by dividend income. Depending on local laws, dividend income may be tax-free, which can add to an investor’s overall return.
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Investors should also note that companies are not obliged to make dividend payments on their stocks, meaning that dividends are not guaranteed. Investors looking for dividend income may find dividend-paying mutual funds a better bet than individual stocks, as the latter aggregates the available dividend income from multiple stocks. A mutual fund also helps with diversifying risk from depreciating stock prices since the invested money is spread among dozens of companies.

Here are the best mutual funds that pay high-dividend yields.

A useful benchmark for gauging the dividend-paying performance of a fund is to compare the mutual fund yield with the yield of the benchmark S&P 500 index. The 30-day SEC yield is a standard measurement in the industry mandated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to help investors compare funds before investing.
1. Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index Admiral Shares (VHYAX)
Vanguard's High Dividend Yield Index Admiral Shares is an index fund that attempts to replicate the performance of the FTSE High Dividend Yield Index. This index contains stocks of companies that usually pay higher-than-expected or greater-than-average dividends. Being an index fund, VHYAX replicates the benchmark stock constituents in the same proportion. This fund has maintained a consistent history of paying quarterly dividends since its inception on Feb. 7, 2019.12

Being an index fund, the VHYAX has one of the lowest expense ratios—0.08%, as of Feb. 27, 2023—and its SEC yield was 3.06%, as of July 31, 2023. The fund has a $3,000 minimum investment requirement. It may be a perfect low-cost fund for anyone looking for higher-than-average dividend income.2

For investors looking for a lower minimum investment requirement, Vanguard offers this fund as an exchange-traded fund (ETF), which has many similar characteristics. The ETF version is called the Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM).3
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2. Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Admiral Shares (VDADX)
The VDADX is an index fund, which attempts to replicate the performance of the benchmark Nasdaq US Dividend Achievers Select Index. This unique index consists of stocks that have been increasing their dividend payouts over time. Being an index fund, the VDADX replicates the benchmark stock constituents in the same proportion. This fund is also a consistent payer of quarterly dividends since its inception date of Dec. 19, 2013.45

VDADX also has one of the lowest expense ratios. Like VHYAX, it only charges 0.08% as an expense ratio with an SEC yield of 1.76%, as of July 31, 2023. The fund has a $3,000 minimum investment requirement.5

Ramadan; Month of Great Victories
By: Abdullah Abdeen


Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. During this month, Muslims abstain not only from eating, drinking and intimate relationship from dawn to sunset, but also from anything that displeases Allah (Glory be to Him). The obligation of fasting in Islam came after the obligation of prayer, as the former became obligatory in the second year after Hijrah. While the month of Ramadan is regarded as the month of observing fasting, reciting the Glorious Qur’an, giving charity and many acts of worship, we must also keep in mind that it is a month of honor and pride for all Muslims as they managed to snatch great victories from the jaws of defeat.

The first battle that took place during the month of Ramadan was the battle of Badr, referred to as Yaum al-Furqan (day when the true was distinguished from the false) in the Qur'an as Allah says, “…if you truly believe In Allah and in what We sent down on Our servant on the day when the true was distinguished from the false, the day on which the two armies met in battle. Allah has power over all things”.[1] This battle took place on the 17th of Ramadan, 2 A.H. It is worth mentioning here that the number of Muslim fighters during this battle was about three hundred while the number of the unbelievers was about one thousand. However, Muslims were sure that Allah would support them with such great victory as Allah says,
“We will, without doubt, help our messengers and those who believe, (both) in this world's life and on the Day when the Witnesses will stand forth”
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Due to this great victory, Allah revealed a verse recited in the Glorious Quran till the day of judgment so that this battle remains deep engraved in the hearts of Muslims around the globe and throughout centuries, where Allah says, “Allah had helped you at Badr, when you were a contemptible little force; then fear Allah; thus may you show your gratitude”.[3]

After the battle of Badr, the Muslim army was able to liberate Mecca on 20th of Ramadan 8 A.H. This liberation, known also as (the greatest conquest), marked the end of the wars between the followers of the Prophet and the tribe of Quraysh. This battle was a turning point in Muslim history as Muslim started to control over the Arabian Peninsula as a whole. When Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) went to Mecca, he performed circumambulation around the K‘aba (tawaaf) and started breaking down the pagans' idols rehearsing Allah's saying, “And say: "Truth has (now) arrived, and falsehood perished: for falsehood is (by its nature) bound to perish".[4]

On 28th of Ramadan 92 A.H., the Muslim army led by Tariq ibn Ziyad and Mussa Ibn Nusair was able to conquer al-Andalus (Parts of the Iberian Peninsula ruled by Muslims), in the west, and another Muslim army reached China, in the east. The Islam remained in al-Andalus for more than eight centuries and this land was one of the most important crossing points between Islamic and European civilizations. The Islamic civilization in al-Andalus came to an end with the fall of the Emirate of Granada.

Afterwards, on the 9th of Ramadan 212 A.H., Muslims, led by Asad ibn al-Furat, who was also a jurist and theologian, conquered the Island of Sicily, which is regarded as the biggest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Muslims became only five miles away from Italy. Muslims ceaselessly continued their journey of preaching and spreading the message of Islam across the globe.
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On Ramadan 223 A.H., the Abbasid campaign was led personally by the Caliph al-Mu‘tasim, when a Muslim woman appealed for help from him saying, “O Mu‘tasim, [Save me!]”. Therefore, he targeted Amorium, a Byzantine city in western Asia Minor, because it was one of Byzantium's largest and most important cities. Amorium was strongly fortified but a traitor revealed a weak spot in the wall, where the Abbasids concentrated their attack, effecting a breach and soldiers surrendered.

As for modern era, we find that the greatest war that occurred in Ramadan was the 6th of October War, 1973, which corresponds to the 10th of Ramadan 1393 A.H., where the Egyptian army forces crossed the Bar Lev Line and destroyed the Israeli defense points east of the Canal. After long negotiations, Egypt restored not only its entire land from the Israeli occupation, but its military prestige that it had lost after the defeat on the 5th of June 1967 as well. Therefore, there is no wonder if we said that fasting and the month of Ramadan are a source of inspiration, enthusiasm, and motivation to the Muslim soldiers, as this month witnessed many decisive battles that contributed greatly to Muslim achievements. We can also surely say that it is a month for hard work, great effort and endurance, not a month for laziness and sleeping.

Civilizational Aspect of the Islamic Shari’ah

When the Almighty Allah created Adam, He made one of the duties assigned to him “the development of the earth.” This is clear from the statement of Allah to His Angels as the Qur’an reports, “[Remember] when your Lord said to the angels, ‘I am going to place a Khalifah (vicegerent) successive authority on earth” (Qur’an, 2: 30) Ibn ‘Ashour comments, “The word Khalifah in its figurative meaning refers to someone who shoulders a responsibility entrusted to him by a higher authority. So the meaning is, ‘We are creating an authority to act according to our Command.”[1]
Though we agree that the key purpose of creating man is to worship Allah as it is clear from Allah’s saying, “I created jinn and mankind only to worship Me,” (Qur’an, 51: 56), it cannot be neglected that the creation of Adam had another key purpose. The Almighty Allah said, “Worship Allah. You have no god other than Him. It was He Who brought you into being from the earth and assigned you to develop it.” (Qur’an, 11: 61) Thus, humans are created to achieve prosperity for this land, and this was why Allah taught Adam the names of everything.
In light of this idea, it is logical that the Qur’an criticizes the corruption caused in land by man as Allah says, “Corruption has appeared throughout the land and sea by [reason of] what the hands of people have earned.” (Qur’an, 30: 41) Al-Qurtubi comments, “Scholars differed in identifying the meanings of “corruption”. It is said that corruption refers to drought, scarcity of plants, and lack of blessing. It is also said that corruption refers to economic difficulties. Some said that corruption means sins, plundering and doing injustice.”
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However it might be more logical to widen the indication of the word corruption to cover all of its sorts, not the corruption referring only to sins and disobedience to Allah in its traditional religious meaning. Al-Miliji, comments, “The meaning of corruption in the Qur’anic usage is not confined to its common usage for disobedience according to Shari‘ah perspective, which includes drinking alcohol, adultery, stealing, bad behaviors, etc. In fact, the meaning presented in the Qur’an is much wider.”[2] Ibn Ashour states, “Corruption means the evil circumstances. Using the definite article Al (the) may indicate that it is a generic noun to cover all forms of corruption in land and sea.”[3]
Thus, it can be logically concluded that Islam aims at achieving the wellbeing of humanity or, in another words, to achieve civilization. This is the Islamic vision of the universe that seeks to worship Allah alone, promote morality and achieve ‘umran (development/prosperity) in the earth. This duty that Islam commands Muslims to carry out can only be achieved through presenting Islam in its complete and comprehensive meaning. It was the mission that Companions shouldered and could convey until the early Muslim generations were able to create civilization within a short period of time.
Thus, achieving human wellbeing is an objective of the Islamic Shari‘ah, and as long as this is an objective of the Shari‘ah, it must be presented and made clear in the Da‘wah discourse. This is the Jihad of our modern time. It is clear from the statements of the Prophet (PBUH) that Jihad can be undertaken through actions or statements as stated in the Hadith that reads, “Practice Jihad against the disbelievers with your hands, your properties and your tongues.”[4] Jihad with hands i.e. war has its conditions and circumstances.[5] However, the main means of conveying Islam is through speech as Allah said, “Call to the path of your Lord with wisdom and good admonition.” (Qur’an, 16: 125)
With this in mind, Muslims need to realize and understand the civilizational aspects of the religious teachings and rulings of Islam. Such wide approach in reading the texts of Islam guarantees presenting Islam in its comprehensive form and helps Muslims, and non-Muslims, to realize the civilizational dimension of Islam. The following are just examples of this attitude.
Preservation of the Environment
Ibn Majah and Ahmad reported that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) passed by Sa‘d when the latter was performing ablution. He (PBUH) said, “What is this extravagance?” Sa‘d replied, “Can there be any extravagance in ablution?” the Messenger of Allah said: “Yes, even if you are on the bank of a flowing river.”[6] This Hadith is usually quoted to prove the prohibition of consuming extra water in making ablution. However, it must be understood from this Hadith that a Muslim should not be extravagant in using water for any purpose. This meaning also can be broadened to be applied to preserving all natural resources of the environment. Al-Najjar comments, “Water in this context is just an example for environmental resources in general. The consumption of these resources must be rationalized whether these resources are abundant or not and whether they are renewable or not.”[7]
Encouraging Development
The Muslim world suffers a state of backwardness, and it is necessary for the religious discourse to showcase how the Shari‘ah encourages and calls for development to prove that Islam came not only for calling people to perform spiritual acts of worship. Rather, true Islam achieves balance between the affairs of this world and the Hereafter. Many Ahadith may be used to encourage this value of development, while –apparently speaking- they could be used only for deducing fiqhi rulings.
Jabir ibn ‘Abd Allah narrated that the Prophet (PBUH) said, “Whoever revives a barren land, then it is for him.”[8] This Hadith has its fiqhi dimension, but it can also be understood as a call for encouraging development. This meaning is also supported by the Hadith narrated by Anas that the Prophet (PBUH) said, “If the Final Hour comes while you have a palm-cutting in your hands and it is possible to plant it before the Hour begins, you should plant it.”[9] Though the Hadith speaks about the end of this world life, it encourages Muslims to do whatever possible for them at this moment to develop the earth. Thus, development is meant for itself, not only for serving a coming generation.