Welcome to SharePad as a huge market data base that allows investors to find excellent investment opportunities within the shortest amount of time.
I’ve been using SharePad since the time it was launched in 2015 and was unable to buy shares without it.
SharePad has a broad range of investment tools that are powerful -one of them is an excellent stock screener which narrows hundreds of companies to few to study further.
I’ve been investing since the beginning of the 1990s. I have searched for shares that are likely to win by using, for example, Bloomberg, Capital IQ, Stockopedia and Company REFS…
…and Trust me when I say that SharePad is the best. SharePad in terms of user-friendliness, value for money customization of filters and data security.
Click here for SharePad alternatives.
Why am I insisting on using a screener that is stock like SharePad?
Simple — I would like to identify the most lucrative opportunities on my own and not rely on anyone else.
SharingPad’s extensive information can instantly highlight the many promising shares to explore further shares I’d never have come across.
Another alternative to stock screening is to rely on the suggestions of financial magazines, tip sheets, notes from brokers, and social media.
Take my word for it that you won’t become an expert stock-picker if trust other people to provide investment guidance. The most successful investors do their own research and find their own winnings.
In this review of stock-screening, I will discuss the SharePad advantages and direct you to a variety of sources to help you determine whether stock-screeners or SharePad are the right choice for you.
First, a little stock-screening background.
Companies REFS along with Jim Slater
Screening stocks has advanced since I began buying shares.
My first screener for stocks used to be Company REFS. The company’s service was before the modern internet, and subscribers were provided with massive volumes of data each month. I’ve kept this copy from 1996:
There wasn’t any screening at all. There was a book of tables that listed shares that met certain filters. You needed to look through the book for companies that met other characteristics.
You had to be patient for another month before receiving another volume of information!
REFS was transferred to monthly CDs, making the process of filtering much simpler. Then REFs Online emerged that provided daily updates via a website.
The most appealing aspect in REFS was its amazing PDF layout of data — a design masterpiece that offered an immediate overview of any business. The moons that were black in the upper-right area of shaded areas were extremely useful:
In the past the day, all private investors was using REFS. Jim Slater, who helped develop REFS using one of his Zulu Principle books, informed me that REFS was still in use when I saw the latter in 2009. The experience of having Jim sit on my shoulder while I signed into REFS was an amazing experience!
The biggest drawback to REFS was the lack of flexibility in screening. The columns that were used to filter information like P/E ratio as well as dividend yield, gearing, etc. were fixed, which meant that the design of screens were constrained.
As you’ll see in only a few seconds Many screeners have the same fixed filter drawbacks even today.
REFS was sadly entangled in financial troubles as better-value offerings such as SharePad and Stockopedia came into existence in the late 2010s. REFS was a huge expense, costing PS800 per year.
Mark, the son of Jim Slater. Mark has acquired REFS in the year 2019. Mark told the reporter in the moment:
“My father invented REFS (Really Essential Financial Statistics) in the early 1990s. It was a groundbreaking data source and way ahead of the rest for a long period of. Slater Investments will invest in the database and I’m convinced that it will be an even more useful research tool that can enhance investing.”
Stockopedia and StockRanks
Stockopedia was created in 2012 following its cofounder Ed Croft discovered “deep within academic research ” a largely unexplored method known as”Factor Investing.”
As per Ed, Factor Investing “built on the wisdom of huge momentum and value investors to create an efficient system that anyone can successfully use.”
This “robust system that is repeatable” was transformed into a Stockopedia-based algorithm, which rates every share according to quality as well as value and momentum. Ed Croft has run a “NAPS” portfolio using the Stockopedia “StockRanks” algorithm since 2015.
The entire portfolio of Ed’s write-ups are all behind paywalls However, the introductions to their portfolios are available for free (email registration is required) and offer a brief overview of what’s transpired.
The reason Stockopedia’s StockRanks is quite simple. The Stockopedia computer determines the top-ranked shares, and all you have to do, at the very least as per Ed -is spend an hour a year to purchase the shares in a variety.
Ed’s portfolio demonstrates how the method works. The question that comes to mind is whether you can trust the Stockopedia data enough to adhere to the method…
…and don’t put much analysis into your investment decisions.
I started investing around 20 years ago before StockRanks were published for the first time which is why I have always needed to consider my own thoughts when evaluating shares. I don’t have the confidence to rely solely on the computer’s algorithm.
However, you might not have to deal with my personal experience, and you may want to implement a ‘NAPS’ style portfolio that is not thought-of.
The Stockopedia stock screener lets users to spot shares with attractive StockRanks.
For standard stock screening However, Stockopedia lacks the custom flexibility and data that is provided by SharePad. SharePad.
Stockopedia provides screening of the most common financial ratios.
Be aware that you cannot make your own ratios, for example, income per employee, or profit as proportional to debt within Stockopedia.
The restriction might not seem excessively restrictive if you’re novice to the world of screeners.
However, over time, you’ll realize that custom screening ratios can assist you in finding shares that don’t show into the eyes by other potential investors.
Therefore, you can create an investment benefit by using the screening of your personal ratios and SharePad lets you achieve this.
Let’s look at how SharePad compares with Stockopedia in terms of screening.
I’ll dive right into a complicated filter.
Let’s say we want to look for firms that have not depended heavily on acquisitions to boost growth.
You could accomplish this by searching for companies in which goodwill on the balance sheet (created by acquisitions) is between, say 10% and 0 percent of the value of their assets.
This filter can’t apply through Stockopedia however, it is not possible to do so using SharePad.
Stock screeners can be thought of as ideas generators.
I would like to emphasize this: SharePad (or any screener from stock) is only the beginning step in your research into investing.
Screeners for stock are known as ‘idea generators’. They provide names to explore further, but not names to just buy in a blind purchase.
The stock market database cannot provide you with all the information about a company’s product and long-term outlook. It is up to yourself whether profits, sales and dividends are expected to grow and increase the value of shares upwards.
SharePad will save you time when making lists of great ideas to future research. Actually, you can create an entire library of screens by utilizing your own customized ratios and filters. Eventually, you’ll be able to get rid of the investment publications and tips…
…because you can find more ideas for yourself on SharePad!