# InvestWatch -- intro

[InvestWatch](https://praa.ms) is a mobile and web app that analyses the risks and returns of 120,000+ stocks, bonds, and ETFs, similar to a professional CFA-level research analyst and risk manager. It takes seconds to analyse and understand an instrument's key investment factors. The methodology includes over 470 key metrics, updated daily.

The key to InvestWatch’s design is that it shall take any user less than three seconds to research any asset. It is easy to understand the concepts of risk and return. Return is something that can drive the price up, while risk is something that can drag it down. Thus, in InvestWatch, the information is presented in a classic hand-watch format: return factors on the right, hours 1 to 6, in green, and risk factors on the left, hours 7 to 12, in red. In risk-return terms, investing is about finding instruments with more return than risk. In InvestWatch’s terms, investing is finding assets with more green on the right than red on the left. This is it. So simple.

For stocks, return factors cover all fundamental investment paradigms: value investing (Valuation), medium-term price swing investing (Performance), prominent analyst following (Analyst view), investing in solid companies (Profitability), growth investing (Growth), and dividend seeking (Dividends). Although these are usually considered separate and even competing investing schools, all six are critical for understanding the return potential for any stock. Risk factors cover essential risk factors: credit risk (Default risk), market risk (Volatility and Stress-test), liquidity risk (Selling difficulty), country & infrastructure risks (Country risks), and many other risks (Other risks). Again, all six are critical to understanding the risk profile of a stock.

 

<figure><img src="https://127507686-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FwRjXn96hvjvWy6sQz7TG%2Fuploads%2Fqpp4uSslnPiQ6fxRJ7Yq%2FIW%20Stocks.png?alt=media&#x26;token=76b12238-4194-4cf5-b843-5b599814b10c" alt=""><figcaption><p>InvestWatch risk &#x26; return for stocks</p></figcaption></figure>

For bonds, InvestWatch follows a similar logic. Valuation benchmarks the bond against the peers, i.e., the peers with similar risk profiles and denominated in the same currency. Performance measures the bond’s price performance against the peers considering its relative valuation. Market view compares the bond’s fair spread implied by the bonds with a similar risk profile and in the same currency to its existing spread. Profitability and Growth sections are identical to those for stocks, though here, these relate to both the issuer and the guarantor. The Coupons section deals with coupon payments and their characteristics. In terms of risks, these are very similar to the sections for stocks, except here, InvestWatch considers the risks of both the issuer and the guarantor, and the Other risks section includes more parameters (subordination and its degree, embedded options, etc.).

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<figure><img src="https://127507686-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FwRjXn96hvjvWy6sQz7TG%2Fuploads%2FlIIrDHOTeEf89KiGqXhq%2FIW%20Bonds.png?alt=media&#x26;token=864049a8-41f6-498d-a059-380eda75eeac" alt=""><figcaption><p>InvestWatch risk &#x26; return for bonds</p></figcaption></figure>


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