It is never too late to bone up on good investment advice, especially if you thought that John McGrath's recent property play was as safe as houses.
So we are much obliged to our friends at livewiremarkets who dug up an interview with Investors Mutual boss Anton Tagliaferro from December when he talked about the perils of initial public offerings and trying to sort the cabbages from the golden turnips.
"Every IPO is risky, by the way," said Tagliaferro.
"You've just got to be aware of who the seller is, what's their motivation for selling ... what's the history of the firm pre IPO."
And this is the point where Anton minted a new gold standard for investing.
"It's very hard to turn a cabbage into a golden turnip as we saw with Myer ... these things they just don't happen. Maybe in fairytales you can turn a cabbage into a golden turnip."
Anton then turned his attention to the impending float of McGrath and how the company failed to meet IM's strict criteria on competitive advantage and recurring earnings.
"I'd love to have been a fly on the wall in that prospectus meeting, trying to estimate the earnings when your business is once a week from auctions."
He was quick, though, to congratulate the vendors, like McGrath.
"I'm very happy for the owners who sold it to the willing new shareholders, they've done well."
And he no doubt would have offered a big cheer to his rivals at Geoff Lloyd's Perpetual, who took a big stake in the McGrath float and have bought into the falling share price on three occasions.
And wouldn't you know it, JPMorgan, a co-adviser to the McGrath real estate float, has weighed in on the property group's share fall with a price downgrade, yet maintained its "overweight" recommendation.
In a note to clients, the broker cut its share-price outlook to $1.60, down from the $2.10 float valuation, based on McGrath's earnings downgrade for 2016.
McGrath shares are below the $1 mark.
Pot stock
Shares of cannabinoid resin producer MGC Pharmaceuticals got a little too high for the likes of the stock cops this week.
The ASX issued the pot stock a speeding ticket after its shares jumped from 4.2¢ to 6.3¢ on Monday.
The company said there was nothing to report other than it believes the recent "news flow" about its product releases.
Plus the news that "Victoria became the first state in Australia to legalise the use of medicinal cannabis for children with severe epilepsy, had led to the increased shareholder interest in MXC".
CBD is sure that MGC will clear the smoke a bit and inform interested investors that its products are for use in the cosmetics industry, not medicinal.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull visits a building site in Belconnen, Canberra, with Employment Minister Senator Michaelia Cash on Monday. . Photo: Andrew Meares
Apocalypse now
The administrators for Dick Smith Electronics may have just been showing a warped sense of humour when they announced on Tuesday that the last of the failed retailer's stores will close on May 3.
That is the date that our PM Malcolm Turnbull has pencilled in for the all-important federal budget.
Let's hope the budget does not get delayed, just like the clumsy release of Turnbull's latest thought bubble – beefing up ASIC to ward off calls for a royal commission into our banking sector.
The announcement was due to be made lunchtime Tuesday but was delayed until the evening for reasons unknown. It might be that Treasurer Scott Morrison had not finished his homework on what the government will do about the tenure of ASIC's chairman, Greg Medcraft.
The former investment banker this year applied to extend his term – which expires 10 days after the federal budget – by two years.
The whispers suggest Medcraft will get a 12-month extension.
Free lunch
There were some interesting sights at corporate canteen Machiavelli on Tuesday.
Malcolm Turnbull's OzEmail buddy, Trevor Kennedy, was keeping things lively, as was Ashley Service CEO Stewart Cummins.
It was good to see Cummins taking a break from the task of keeping the struggling group afloat.
It would be unfortunate for him to be associated with another collapse so soon after his attempt to rescue Vocation ended in collapse in November.
Over board
Board members of Bionomics have met with some of the biotech's fractious investors on Tuesday to discuss board renewal plans, which were triggered by an investor rebellion after its controversial issue of warrants to US investors in December.
Attendees included Paul Xiradis of Ausbil Investment Management, Platinum Asset Management's Bianca Ogden, and Hugh MacNally for Private Portfolio Managers.
Missing from the meeting was well-known Sydney businessman Laurence Freedman, who was part of the gang that had tried to unseat Bionomics chairman Graeme Kaufman but failed to get the support needed from the other major investors, like Xiradis.
Freedman emailed CBD from Africa early Wednesday morning to say his fellow renegades at CVC are handling things in his absence.
Got a tip? ckruger@fairfaxmedia.com.au
