The investing methods
Each method below is our own interpretation of a published approach, turned into tests that can be checked with public data. They are labelled "inspired by" because the people they are named after haven't reviewed or endorsed them.
Buffett-inspired quality & value
Looks for durable, high-return businesses with little debt, steady earnings growth, strong pricing power and real cash generation, bought at a sensible price relative to the cash the owner could take out.
- ROE above 15% for 10 straight years
- Debt-to-equity below 0.5
- Consistent EPS growth
- Gross margin above 40%
- Positive free cash flow (5 years)
- Price at or below owner-earnings value
Minervini Trend Template-inspired
A purely price-based checklist for stocks in a confirmed long-term uptrend: price stacked above rising moving averages, well off its lows, near its highs, and outperforming the market.
- Price above the 150-day and 200-day averages
- 150-day average above 200-day average
- 200-day average rising for at least a month
- 50-day average above the 150-day and 200-day
- Price above the 50-day average
- At least 30% above the 52-week low
- Within 25% of the 52-week high
- Relative strength rank 70 or higher
Piotroski F-score-inspired
Nine yes/no accounting tests comparing the latest fiscal year with the one before: is the company profitable, is its balance sheet getting safer, and is it running more efficiently?
- Positive return on assets
- Positive operating cash flow
- Return on assets improved
- Cash flow exceeds net income
- Long-term debt ratio fell
- Current ratio improved
- No new shares issued
- Gross margin improved
- Asset turnover improved