Are you doing better than Marcus Padley over the last 6 months?

[MovingAverage]

i am WATCHING ( not buying ) QIP currently the share price is above my target ( ditto for SHJ )

previously i held XIP ( taken over by IPH ) and yes i made a profit on that in the past i held IMG ( and their hybrid note ) ( IMF has since 'rebranded ' ) and left with modest profits there

i also held SGH where the outcome was nothing close to break-even ( in a bad way )

these companies involve themselves in legal cases , and sometimes these cases go for years ( decades ) so you must take forecasts with a bag of salt .

now sure the IP looks like a commercial tax ( or insurance policy ) ,regular yearly income from the client but it is those few litigations that can be a gorilla with a wrench ( tying up time and resources )

DYOR ( very carefully in this area )

now if we are talking about fund managers/analysts and their support for different investment areas , maybe a deep dive into the research is still necessary , before you part with your cash

i would suggest IF you buy into this sector you watch it closely AND be ready to jump if necessary ( SGH for one proved they had no ability to do due diligence , nor auditing capability )

I view IMF differently from all the listed law firms. While IMF plays in the legal space its biz model is very different. IMF is not a provider of professional legal services—like the IPHs etc. IMF bank rolls big ticket litigation (mainly class actions) and in return takes a slice of the damages payouts. IMF doesn’t run the litigation but it does pay the lawyers fees.

 

[divs4ever]

indeed and that is why i bought that first ( when buying 'law sector stocks ' )

and initially the results were lumpy but satisfactory , but then they started betting ( bankrolling ) litigations internationally

now it is hard enough picking winners in Australian ( and New Zealand ) legal outcomes , but when you start swimming in the BIG shark-pool that is some seriously in-depth research needed .. at what stage do they just rely on the borrower's assessment of the litigation ( because their own research team is busy elsewhere )

factor two ( in my decision to exit ) was it was getting very difficult to sensibly invest your funds , ( outside the cases you intend to bankroll ) , which means eventually you have to borrow to reinvest or keep tapping those loyal shareholders , putting a great deal of pressure on selecting the correct case to bankroll

factor three ( in my decision to exit ) i noticed some cases were getting to be extremely complex and long-winded , now their juicy commissions look good at a quick glance but what if the outcome is 7 or even 10 years ago , you have an increasing chance of the litigation target declaring bankruptcy ( reducing any possible payout )

factor four ( in my decision to exit ) once i noticed cases tended to be long-winded i asked myself what will be the inflation rate in .. say 7 years , those litigation successes might be eroded by rising costs AND a reduced purchasing power of the capital returned

cheers

PS i exited IMF in a profit ( so i am not bitter .. just being cautious with my investment cash )

if you class IMF as an 'insurance stock ' ( insuring legal cases ) it was/is my best stock in the insurance sector ( i still hold QBE and SUN )

but the two i continue to hold are volatile enough for me to average down ( and create an increased reward buffer for the risk i am taking )

 

[aus_trader]

A quick summary of asx legal and law related stocks that I've come across while researching them and eventually honing down to SHJ for spec portfolio...

Pure Legal firms:
SGH
SHJ (Disclosure: Held in spec portfolio)
AFL

Intellectual Property (IP) firms: ( as also mentioned by @MovingAverage )
IPH
QIP
Both of them fought it out for a 3rd IP stock that existed on asx called Xenith IP (XIP) which eventually got taken over by IPH, so no longer listed.

Litigation Funding firm: ( as also mentioned by @divs4ever )
OBL (Was IMF Bentham before name change)

Finally, these are not really law stocks, but they have some involvement in law financing or taxation law:
LAW
KPG ( My gosh, it's share price has had a massive run ! )

 

[divs4ever]

as a holder of KPG , which i class as an accounting ( franchise ) business ( i also hold CUP )

my average share price for KPG is just under 89c ( initially buying in November 2018 and averaging down until May 2019 ... $1.10 down to 73c )

yes an extraordinary but puzzling run

at first i thought it was a result of the div. policy change , it switched from 3 monthly divs ( when i bought in ) to monthly divs ( which i thought would be unsustainable , but here we are .. wrong so far )

yes KPG , has slowly absorbed some smaller rivals in this time , but yes i am still puzzled by the rally in the last 2 years

 

[MovingAverage]

A quick summary of asx legal and law related stocks that I've come across while researching them and eventually honing down to SHJ for spec portfolio...

Pure Legal firms:
SGH
SHJ (Disclosure: Held in spec portfolio)
AFL

Intellectual Property (IP) firms: ( as also mentioned by @MovingAverage )
IPH
QIP
Both of them fought it out for a 3rd IP stock that existed on asx called Xenith IP (XIP) which eventually got taken over by IPH, so no longer listed.

Litigation Funding firm: ( as also mentioned by @divs4ever )
OBL (Was IMF Bentham before name change)

Finally, these are not really law stocks, but they have some involvement in law financing or taxation law:
LAW
KPG ( My gosh, it's share price has had a massive run ! )

Good summary. Thanks