Thanks g41, i'm glad you got something of use out of my dribble....

Thanks g41, i'm glad you got something of use out of my dribble. Like most i suspect, the majority of my posts on HC don't say much of use, but occasionally i'll have what i think is a semblance of a bright or somewhat original view on a stock and i'll post on it. IMF is one example - i understand why it's trading where it is today given the scars of the past few years and given the lumpiness in cash flows, but it's not hard to imagine a very rosy scenario 2-3 years hence from here.

On your point re: dividends, you're completely right on both fronts - the unique Australian imputation system encourages companies to spit out their earnings to dividend-hungry shareholders. My issue with IMF is more that they spit out dividends at all - from where i sit, if they're telling me they can either send a dollar's earnings to me in the form of a dividend, or keep that dollar and invest in a case with a 2x gross return and 2.5 year resolution time, i don't want the dividend in my hand because i know that i can never dream of getting those sorts of returns on my own (well, very occasionally i might get lucky, but i'd be thrilled with myself if i can double my money every 6-7 years, whereas IMF try to double it every 3 years). It's not an IMF specific thing, either - i have the same issue with all companies that pay dividends instead of pouring every dollar into very highly NPV positive return investment opportunities, but with IMF my quibble is probably more acute because their cash flow is unpredictable.