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Follow the Moons...
One aspect of REFS that
really sets it apart is its unique visual approach to stockmarket value.
When the service was devised, great attention was paid to how the wealth
of statistical information should best be displayed in each company page.
After much discussion, these were designed so that, with a little practice
and experience, an investor could tell at a glance whether a share was
likely to be of interest. In particular, the share price graph and the
key statistics were designed to give an immediate fix on a the relative
attractions of a share.
The graph
The first feature to look at on the graph is the earnings line,
which is made up of an unbroken section showing historic performance and
a dotted section indicating the consensus of brokers earnings forecasts
for the next two years. The market price of the shares is shown
by the shaded price plot. The dotted price plot indicates the performance
of the share relative to the market.
The key statistics
This is the most powerful part of the page. In an instant we can look at
a share's key statistics and say whether it is an attractive growth share,
an appealing value situation or a disaster waiting to happen.
The feature that allows you to do this so quickly is the calibrated 'moon'
next to each key statistic. This gives you an immediate fix on whether,
for any given measure, a share is attractive compared with its peers in
either the market as a whole or more narrowly in the share's sector. In
REFS, black is beautiful and a totally shaded moon indicates the best share
on that measure in either the sector or market while a completely white
moon indicates the worst. Most shares, of course fall somewhere between
these two extremes.
A second important aspect of the key statistics panel is the way in which
growth and value measures are separated.
What
not to buy
A key point to stress about the visual aspect of REFS is that the key
statistics can show you just as clearly which shares you should not be
buying.
Another important point to make is that you should not consider any of
the visual aspects in isolation - it is quite possible that one element
will make a stock look extremely attractive - but knowing how to use REFS
makes it very easy to tell very quickly if there is a risk of major financial
problems ahead.
REFS
on line
REFS allows you to make frequent searches of the whole universe of shares
for attractive opportunities.
Now, for the first time, private investors can have continuous access
to the Hemmington Scott database as it is updated every working day. For
the first time, you can really invest on a level playing field with the
professionals.
But be warned, you are likely to get hooked.
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