$EL (-0,74 %)

Hello everyone, I have 35 Estee Lauders$EL (-0,74 %) in the portfolio and recently bought more. Am now 20% in the red? Because of the high level of debt, I am considering selling and switching to L'Oreal $OR (-0,09 %) and switch to L'Oreal. From the chart, Estee looks like it has greater potential, but L'Oreal is much less indebted and has cash if things get rough over the next few months/years. What do you think?

Hermes $RMS (-0,02 %) (very expensive 🤑 )

Ferrari $RACE (-0,81 %)

Lululemon $LULU (+0,13 %)

Just do it $NKE (-0,75 %) (supposedly cheap at the moment, please do not reach into the falling knife)

Booking $BKNG (+0,67 %)

Marriott $MAR (-0,35 %)

Ulta Beaty $ULTA (+0,5 %) and/or L'Oreal $OR (-0,09 %) (much more expensive)

Mercadolibre $MELI (+2,1 %)

Texas Roadhouse $TXRH (-2,67 %)

Chipotle $CMG (-1,56 %)

Fast Retailing $9983 (-2,49 %)
(doesn't fit with the others on the list but I could imagine it as a speculative stock)

"Everything" very expensive, luxury.

I would be interested to know what your favorites are for a long-term investment?

Last week, L'Oreal ($OR (-0,09 %) ) held its analyst conference on its latest annual results. L'Oréal is presented as the world's leading beauty company, outperforming the market with its broad portfolio of 37 global brands.

Nicolas Hieronimus presented L'Oréal as the world leader in beauty with sales of over sales of over 43 billion euros and a profit of 6.4 billion euros. The company sells more than 7 billion products in 150 countries and employs over 90,000 people. Its current market capitalization is 180 billion euros. L'Oréal focuses exclusively on the beauty sector, particularly on value-adding categories.

The largest category in the portfolio is skin care, followed by hair care, make-up and fragrances. L'Oréal is continuously expanding its brand portfolio, for example through the acquisition of Aesop and Dr. G as well as new license agreements with Miu Miu and Jacquemus. Among the 37 brands are 18 American brands, including Maybelline, Ralph Lauren Fragrances and Kiehl's. Several of the company's brands, the so-called "Billionaire Brands", generate sales of over one billion euros.

L'Oréal is divided into four divisions: Consumer Products, Luxury, Professional Products and Dermatological Beauty. Each division addresses consumers in a different way.

The Consumer Products Division has sales of 16 billion euros and an operating margin of 21 %. Its aim is to reach as many people as possible while creating added value5. This division reaches 1.1 billion consumers.

L'Oréal Luxe is the world's leading provider of luxury cosmetics with sales of 15.6 billion euros5. This division has the largest number of brands to meet the specific expectations of luxury. L'Oréal Luxe is the number one in fragrances and has also overtaken Estée Lauder in North America.

The Professional Division has a turnover of 5 billion euros and is the oldest division. It serves 400,000 salons and 3 million independent stylists7 Redken is the number one hair care brand in the USA.

The division Dermatological Beauty division focuses on safe and healthy beauty products and generates sales of 7 billion euros. La Roche-Posay, Vichy and CeraVe are among the most prescribed brands by dermatologists worldwide. La Roche-Posay is the number three and CeraVe the number five skincare brand worldwide. CeraVe was acquired in the USA a few years ago for 140 million euros and is now the number one skincare brand on Amazon.

L'Oréal pays attention to a balanced regional distribution. Europe is the largest market with 32%, followed by North America, North Asia (of which China accounts for 17%) and the emerging markets with 17%.

In 2024, L'Oréal outperformed the market with growth of 5.1 %. The main growth drivers were Fragrances and hair care. The company outperformed the market in three out of four divisions, with the Consumer Products Division falling short of expectations. The market was outperformed in most regions, with the exception of North Asia, where growth was impacted by the situation in China. China's share of sales fell from 23% in 2022 to 17%. The emerging markets contributed 36% to growth and now account for 16% of sales.

Despite the challenges, L'Oréal was able to increase its profitability. The gross margin improved to 74.2 % and operating costs were controlled. Investments in the brand were increased and the operating margin reached 20 %. The dividend is set to rise to 7 euros per share in 2024, which corresponds to an increase of 6.1 %.

For 2025, L'Oréal expects the beauty market to grow by 4 % to 5.5 % and plans to outperform this market again. The company is focusing on a "beauty stimulus plan" with additional product launches and innovations. One important instrument is BETiq, an AI-supported tool for optimizing media allocation.

L'Oréal continues to invest in research and development (R&D) and spent 1.4 billion euros last year. The company is increasingly focusing on partnerships with start-ups and universities and is using AI to support research.

Further investments are being made in the harmonization of IT systems and operational resilience.

L'Oréal wants to conquer new territories, including the USA, emerging markets and new consumer groups. The company sees great growth potential in the USA due to demographic change and the multiracial population. The emerging markets also offer opportunities as more and more people can afford L'Oréal products.

Particular attention is being paid to new consumer groups, including Generation Z, men and the 60-plus generation. Men already account for a quarter of global beauty consumption and the older generation represents a significant proportion of demand in developed markets.

Important questions were also addressed in the subsequent Q&A session:

When asked about the most exciting developments in the beauty market, Nicolas Hieronimus replied that he was particularly excited about the growth of the middle class in emerging markets. He also mentioned the opportunities presented by men and the older generation, as well as the new possibilities offered by technology, particularly in the field of research.

David Greenberg commented on the US market and emphasized the importance of the omnichannel approach. He pointed out that L'Oréal was one of the first to adapt to the change in consumption. Despite the competition, he was optimistic as L'Oréal has a strong innovation pipeline and a broad brand portfolio.

Robert Ottenstein from Evercore ISI asked about China and travel retail in North Asia. He wanted to know which changes are cyclical and which are structural. Nicolas Hieronimus replied that the lack of confidence among Chinese consumers is currently a cyclical problem. Structurally, however, the increasing local competition had to be taken into account.

To summarize, L'Oréal had a successful year in 2024 and is well positioned to grow in the future. The company is focusing on scientific innovation, AI and tapping into new markets and consumer groups

$ELF (-3,97 %)

$ELF (-3,97 %)

The world's population is getting older and older, an irreversible demographic change with considerable economic consequences.

This article is intended to provide investment ideas and impetus. The stocks mentioned do not, of course, constitute investment advice, but merely serve as examples of potential beneficiaries of demographic change. Historical developments are no guarantee of future returns.

The main source is the short analysis "How to invest as the global population ages" by Goldman Sachs [1], which, however, does not name any specific stocks.

I have also added additional sources and charts.

__________

🌍 Demographic change: growth and ageing of the world's population

The world's population will grow to almost 10 billion people by 2050. But it is not just the number of people that is increasing, their age structure is also changing dramatically. [2]

Increase in the older population:

• The proportion of people aged 60 and over is rising from 8% (1950) to 21.5% (2050).
• In 2050, 2.1 billion people will belong to the over-60 age group.

Happy New Year everyone! We are starting the new year with adjustments to the Sina ETF. (The performance here below somehow no longer corresponds to the actual performance, but so be it...) After this post you'll have peace and quiet from my ETF again :D

I sold some stocks and invested the dividends I received last year. That left me with 19 euros in cash, so it's still a 40-share ETF ;)

If this were my only portfolio, I would probably have held more cash and not reinvested directly, as the entry point doesn't always seem optimal. But I also proceeded without regard to entry points.

For the question of how high the profits or losses were, please refer to the portfolio.

Out are:

$STLAM (-2,08 %) (loss)

$AFX (+0,51 %) (loss)

$MC (+0,9 %) (loss)

$OR (-0,09 %) (loss)

$7203 (-0,04 %) (loss)

$D05 (-0,95 %) (Profit)

$RHM (+0,52 %) (Profit)

$ENR (+1,85 %) (Profit; also dropped from my "real" portfolio)

Partial sale:

$WMT (+1,28 %) at 50%

Increased by:

$AAPL (+3,19 %)

$MSFT (+0,31 %)

$ASML (+1,01 %) Since the position was down over 20%, but I am convinced in the long term

$GOOGL (+1,63 %)

New additions:

$BKNG (+0,67 %)

$JPM (+2,85 %)

$NU (+0,98 %)

$COST (-0,59 %)

$AFL (+0,5 %)

$INTC (-4,27 %)

$CRM (-1,36 %)

$NOVO B (+4,03 %)

The French stock market offers a large number of interesting stocks that are also very popular with investors.

Popular?

Well, yes,

Who wouldn't like LVMH, Sanofi, Air Liquid, Airbus, Safran, L'Oreal,

Essilor-Luxottica, Hermes, Danone, Pernod-Ricard and perhaps even more in your portfolio.

in the portfolio.

However, there are some hurdles and risks here.

On the one hand, we have to deal with the selection of stocks and the valuation and try to buy the stocks that we believe will rise in value at a favorable time.

Secondly, buying French shares is subject to French financial transaction tax (FTT) and 30% withholding tax on dividend distributions.

My optimization suggestion:

Instead of dealing with a large number of French shares and ending up doing everything wrong, I choose an ETF.

This has the following advantages, among others:

1 The individual share risk is spread.

2 Tax advantage for withholding tax, thanks to the double taxation agreement (see below)

3 Automatic rebalancing - the worst stocks are removed at regular intervals and new promising stocks are added to the ETF.

4 Low trading fees

Biggest disadvantage:

1 Most likely you will only achieve the average market return.

I have therefore opted for the Xtrackers CAC 40 LU0322250985 and will no longer buy French equities. Alternatively, the accumulating iShares MSCI France IE00BP3QZJ36 would also have been a good choice in my opinion.

Hello everyone. I started my journey on the stock market in April and I definitely don't regret the decision.

(According to GQ since 2022, but I only tested the stock market and Bitcoin with play money of €125, but sold it again straight away and the stock market was then next to nothing).

I'm now in my mid-21s and still live at home. My strategy is to build the basis with the $SPYI (+0,29 %) ACWI IMI, and with the $CSNDX (+0,18 %) NASDAQ 100 and stocks (maximum 10) that are high quality and buy to hold and should yield good dividends in maybe 20 years (small side income). With $BTC (+2,82 %) or altcoins I am currently testing myself and trying to understand it better.

The $CSPX (+0,06 %) S&P 500 with €500 per month

This is for a possible house construction in 7-10 years. (I am aware of the risk)

On the other hand, I put €50 in the $IWDA (+0,23 %) MSCI World for my parents in 10 years when they retire and €100 in the $VWRL (+0,4 %) FTSE-all world as a fixed pension. (An additional €200 per month via insurance-linked provisions such as Rürup and private pensions)

The Nvidia position is only so highly weighted because I got in at 104 euros with my nest egg (2.5k). It was a risky move, but as I don't need any big reserves apart from my car, I thought, why not?

Future goal: continue to expand the base with ACWI IMI and NASDAQ, and also add a few individual stocks that are perhaps not so heavily weighted in the existing ETFs. $MC (+0,9 %) LVMH $OR (-0,09 %) L'Oreal or $MCD (-0,57 %) McDonalds, for example

The only thing I'm still wondering about in my first year on the stock market and don't know...tax.

I was thinking of selling the Nvidia nest egg position to take advantage of the tax-free allowance and have the money safely back in my account. The problem is that Nvidia is currently falling sharply. How do you do this or what is your advice? Or would you rather sell some of the ETFs? Thank you very much!

The gray November showed what it can do. Rain, clouds, cold and wet. It was just the perfect weather for me to go hiking and ice bathing. Especially in the second half of the month, the temperatures headed towards freezing point. I was finally able to hike and ice bathe in temperatures that were perfect for toughening up. So while I was trudging through Saxon Switzerland in the first decent snow from sunrise to sunset and bathing in ice water at 1°C for two proud minutes, on the other side of the pond the newly elected president unleashed the "Trump wave", which lifted all our deposits and wallets. Time for a look back.

I present the following points for the past month of November 2024:

➡️ SHARES

➡️ ETFS

➡️ DISTRIBUTIONS

➡️ CASHBACK

➡️ AFTER-PURCHASES

➡️ P2P CREDITS

➡️ CRYPTO

➡️ WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT

➡️ OUTLOOK

➡️ Shares

$AVGO (+2,52 %) , cooled off in terms of performance in the past month. Of course, its +169% is impressive, but the positions behind it are not sleeping. $NFLX (-0,66 %) is close behind with +151%. This also applies to the volume invested. It's hard to believe that the streaming giant is doing so well. I didn't think the company would see such rosy times again. All due respect! Together with Netflix, it is also $WMT (+1,28 %) in terms of volume and is already at +89% in terms of performance. I would hardly have expected such a boring business model to deliver such a stable performance. At the lower end $DHR (+2,26 %) Dick is still in the red. For me, this is still the result of the unbundling. $NKE (-0,75 %) and $TGT (-2,57 %) have problems with their business figures and $OR (-0,09 %) certainly also. I would be happy to add to this, if only I had significantly large sums to spare.

➡️ ETFs

I'll spare myself the typical "everyone has to have this" blah-blah-blah this time and my $VWRL (+0,4 %) is the heavyweight of my entire securities portfolio at 13.41%. You know what I mean. The only thing I have to say is that financial education in Germany is still inadequate and something needs to be done about it. Now one party is stating in its platform that capital gains should be taxed as a secondary type of income like a main type of income. Such a demand is simply the result of a lack of financial education and - excuse my language - stupidity. For me, this party is absolutely unelectable. But that goes beyond the scope. Politics does not belong in my program, but perhaps there will be a separate post here about why I am ultimately an absolute fan of the capital gains tax - simple flat tax. Hopefully, more and more young people will join the capital markets and use their votes to ensure that left-wing non-performance-related blah-blah-blah will soon be a thing of the past. Because we must not leave Germany behind.

➡️ Dividends

I received 19 distributions on 8 payout days in November. I am grateful for this additional income stream. My minimum target has been met again. Even in this low-distribution month. I can therefore now safely increase the size of the reinvestment of the distributions. From next month, €105 will be reinvested instead of the planned €80. I have already explained how my reinvestment strategy works in a separate article. The snowball rolling down the slope is getting bigger and bigger.

➡️ Cashback

In November there was a small payout from the health insurance bonus program. Otherwise the month was poor in terms of cashback. But that will come again in December.

➡️ Subsequent purchases

Two small additional purchases were made to boost the cash flow in my old portfolios On November 7 and 8, small sums went into the $GGRP (-0,49 %) and $SPYD (-0,2 %) .

➡️ P2P loans

I want to continue to cut back and get rid of the two remaining platforms. Only Mintos and Peerberry are left. There has been no interest for a long time.

This asset class will soon be history for me

➡️ Crypto

Wow! What a month. The red Trump wave has really boosted my crypto portfolio. Can you still remember the days when $BTC (+2,82 %) were bobbing around at under 70K? The price level was totally unusual. I'm wide awake now and haven't just been on the sidelines for a long time. I regularly check the prices and a few indicators. The first limit orders were already triggered at $xrp in November. At USD 1.10, this token was kicked out of my portfolio. Of course I could have done more, but I went home with a good profit. As I write now, the next limit orders will be triggered soon. I described how my strategy works, what assumptions I make and where I see the exits in great detail in two posts earlier this month. As of now, no subsequent dividend stock or dividend ETF has been bought from the proceeds, from whose dividends the additional purchases will be made in the new bear market. But I am sure that this will happen this year.

➡️ What is really important

Thanks to the automation of long-term wealth accumulation, there is enough time to focus on the important things in life. Because the end of it is sure to come.

With a healthy lifestyle, I want to delay the end as much as possible. And yet I'm currently thinking about who I want to leave my estate to at some point. It certainly won't be the state, it's already cashing in well on taxes. Regular readers can now imagine who might be in my favor. I'll have to deal with the subject of wills at some point. In any case, I want to sort it out somehow when I'm young, even if it's subject to change.

At the end of the month, I spent time with the kids again, whose father I would have liked to have been myself. The older one has now reached an age where she's slowly beginning to realize that she's not growing up in such good financial circumstances. After I made a firm commitment to her during our trip to Berlin to support her with her dreams and her future, I also took action. It is important to me to introduce the child to financial education step by step. My principle is not to encourage and challenge at the same time. Let's see how well I succeed, I'm certainly very optimistic.

➡️ Outlook

Why I have dollar signs in my eyes when I see my utility bill and where I'm donating some of my earnings in December, as well as the further course of my implemented crypto strategy, will be revealed in December. In any case, the month is full of excitement, as 2 more cryptocurrencies will soon be released from my wallet.

Links:

Social media links can be found in my profile, also feel free to check out the Instagram version of my review.