48. Understanding Investment Risk with Deiya Pernas

The Fiscal Feminist

With so many stocks to choose from, how can you find the best investments for your portfolio? In this episode, Deiya Pernas shares an inside look at the work he does as an equity researcher and co-founder of Pernas Research. He weighs in on a variety of investment topics including risk mitigation, current economic conditions, and whether or not you should invest in companies you use. Deiya also shares an example of an investment type he’s especially interested in right now: consumer discretionary companies. Whether you’re new to investing or you have a large portfolio already, this episode is full of useful insight!

Episode Recap:

• Today we’re talking with equity research expert Deiya Pernas (0:52)
• How did you end up working at Morgan Stanley? (3:56)
• There’s a need for unbiased equity research (9:41)
• Characteristics to look for when evaluating stocks (17:22)
• Should you invest in a company just because it’s something you like and use? (20:44)
• Where to find information about an investment (24:05)
• How do economic conditions affect your analysis? (30:29)
• A practical example of investing in the consumer discretionary space (33:44)
• What are the risks to watch out for and how can we mitigate them? (43:36)
• Top tips for getting started with investing (47:28)
• How did you prepare to make a career pivot? (49:31)

Resources:

• Find every episode of the Fiscal Feminist podcast
• “The Fiscal Feminist” book
• Subscribe to the Pernas Research newsletter

Quotes:

“There’s not some magic spreadsheet out there or some magic research provider that has all these answers. At the end of the day, it’s hard work and asking the right questions, and having the discipline to follow up and answer all your questions in entirety. And after you do that you start to form a conviction of how good this company really is.”

“When you’re investing in individual stocks — especially if, let’s so you’re a listener and you’ve dabbled maybe a little bit or a medium amount — number one, you have to understand risk and you have to be prepared to deal with risk. That’s why first and foremost I air on the side of caution when you’re investing in an individual name. And this also goes for the stuff we invest in, too. As much work as we do to try to gauge the risks to a certain company’s cash flows or business model, there is no company that we ever put a buyers recommendation on that is going to be immune for a large market sell.”