The Independent Investor
Understand the business.
Know what you’d pay.
Learn to analyse a company, estimate what its shares are worth, and make your own investment decisions with a clear, written case.
$199One-time payment in USD. No subscription.
- 1Start Investing Smarter
- 2Understand the Business
- 3Know What to Pay
- 4Build Your Conviction
- 5Compound Your Wealth
Lesson 4.2 · The case
From fair value to the most you’d pay
- Base Case Value
- $33.58
- Room under Base
- 10%
- Maximum Investable Price
- $30.22
Nike, fixed teaching example. Illustration only, not a recommendation.
- 5 levels
- 23 lessons
- Practice after every lesson
- Learn at your own pace
A high income is not the same as wealth
Earning more helps. It does not, by itself, tell you where the money goes, what it is doing, or whether you are building something that lasts. Investing is one set of skills for putting money to work on purpose.
Turn information into your own investment case.
Understand the business
Read how a company makes money, what its margins and cash flows are telling you, and what could break it.
Estimate what it’s worth
Build bear, base and bull cases in MarketSnap’s Intrinsic Value Calculator, and save your own Base Case Value.
Write your investment case
Turn your work into a thesis, the most you would pay, and a decision: Investable, Interesting, Pass or Too Hard.
Your path from beginner to independent investor.
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1
Start Investing Smarter
What you own, how a company makes money, price versus value, risk, and why time does the heavy lifting.
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2
Understand the Business
Read the three statements: margins, cash, debt, return on capital, and what would break the business.
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3
Know What to Pay
Pick a yardstick, build cash-flow scenarios in the Calculator, and see what today’s price assumes.
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4
Build Your Conviction
Why the market might be wrong, write your case, and make a clear decision.
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5
Compound Your Wealth
How much to own, temperament through cycles, and letting good businesses compound.
See all 23 lessons
Level 1 · Start Investing Smarter
- 1.1 What you own, and how it pays you
- 1.2 How a company makes money
- 1.3 Price, value, and one multiple
- 1.4 Risk, Uncertainty, and the "Too Hard Pile"
- 1.5 Why time does the heavy lifting
- 1.6 You do not have to pick stocks
Level 2 · Understand the Business
- 2.1 Three statements, three questions
- 2.2 Margins
- 2.3 Earnings, cash, and capital spending
- 2.4 Debt, cash, and the share count
- 2.5 Return on capital, and what they did with the money
- 2.6 Quality, cycles, and what would break it
Level 3 · Know What to Pay
- 3.1 An argument, not a target
- 3.2 Which yardstick
- 3.3 Cash flows, a discount rate, and a terminal assumption
- 3.4 Estimates, scenarios, and sensitivities
- 3.5 What the price assumes, and the room for being wrong
Level 4 · Build Your Conviction
- 4.1 Why the market might be wrong
- 4.2 The case
- 4.3 The decision
Level 5 · Compound Your Wealth
- 5.1 How much, and what you do next
- 5.2 Cycles and temperament
- 5.3 Let it compound
Learn by doing.
Every lesson has a worked example, then Your turn: five to seven situations with feedback that explains why an answer is wrong. Get at least 80% right (four of five) to record your progress and earn each level’s badge. Retry as often as you like.
Try one from lesson 4.2. Pick an answer.
Try a full free lessonYour turn · Lesson 4.2
Your saved Base Case Value for Nike is $33.58. You keep 10% room under Base, so you pay up to 90% of it. What is your Maximum Investable Price?
Fixed teaching example. Not a recommendation to buy, hold or sell.
Start building your investing skills.
$199
US$199 once. No subscription. Complete the course at your own pace and revisit it after completion while it remains available on MarketSnap.
Create a free account or sign in, then complete checkout here to open the lessons.
There is no money-back guarantee and no change-of-mind refund: refund requests are reviewed individually, and any refund required by law remains available. If a full refund is issued, course access ends. See Terms of Service, section 5.1.
Course-only access: it does not include Research or Full membership. Stock Picks, the Calculator and public Learn labs stay free on your account.
Questions
Do I need any investing experience?
No. Level 1 starts with what owning a share actually means. Professional terms are explained in plain language as they come up.
How is the course delivered?
On MarketSnap, in your browser or on your phone. Each lesson is a page you read, with a worked example, followed by a short Your turn check. There are no deadlines.
Will you tell me which stocks to buy?
No. This is an educational course. Nike and the other examples show the method; they are not recommendations. You learn to make and write down your own decisions.
What do I need besides the course?
A free MarketSnap account. Level 3 uses the Intrinsic Value Calculator, which is free on your account.
How long can I access it?
Complete the course at your own pace and revisit it after completion while it remains available on MarketSnap. Finishing the course does not end your access.
Can I get a refund?
There is no money-back guarantee and no change-of-mind refund. Requests are reviewed individually, and any refund required by law remains available. A full refund ends course access.
