Looks like Steve Johnson's Forager have dipped their toe....

Looks like Steve Johnson's Forager have dipped their toe. https://www.livewiremarkets.com/wires/7-stocks-we-re-backing-at-forager-including-a-recent-addition

Praemium new addition

If inflation is returning to normal, it will be good news for a lot of smaller companies, including new portfolio addition Praemium (ASX: PPS).

Praemium operates Australia’s third-largest independent investment platform. While Hub and Netwealth dominate the market, Praemium’s $44 billion of funds under advice makes it a serious player and its strength in key niches has enabled it to grow in a competitive space.

New management, a refreshed board and the sale of a loss-making business in the UK had seemingly consigned the listed company’s patchy operational performance to history. With its share price more than halving as financial markets swooned through 2022 and into 2023, we thought the valuation had become appealing.

Just two weeks after the Fund’s modest initial investment, Praemium’s AGM update indicated a serious cost inflation problem, with costs in the first half of this financial year expected to be 10% higher than the second half of last financial year. Combined with still sluggish financial markets in the first quarter of the new financial year, where trading volumes impact Praemium’s revenue, the company now expects its first-half earnings before interest and tax to be 20% lower than the prior corresponding 6-month period. The share itself price ended November down 24%, having been down 34% at the lows. It has since stabilised and we have added further to the investment. The market recovery in November and December should help revenues. However, we will need to see more cost discipline before considering making it a larger investment.