Investing with you, dear foolish investors, here’s a selection of stocks that some of our authors have been buying over the last month!

abrdn

What it does: abrdn is an investment company whose clients include both sovereign wealth funds and individuals.

Author: Andrew Mackie. Latest trading update from abrdn (LSE: ABDN) stressed back in October that it was still struggling to stem outflows from its funds. Since the beginning of the year, capital withdrawn from funds has been £2.3 billion greater than deposits. Since 2022, net outflows have been over £25 billion.

The causes of these outflows vary. However, one of the key factors was the escalate in passive investment strategies. As an busy investment manager, his funds simply couldn’t match the stellar returns of mutual funds S&P500where the huge majority of global capital is attracted.

So is this a business doomed to failure? I don’t believe that’s the case. Passive investing strategies work well when markets are rising, but when markets are falling, they can be disastrous. In such a market, busy managers stand out. This has indeed been the case in bond markets, where abrdn’s funds have outperformed.

The falling share price means the dividend yield is now 10.5%. The road ahead will undoubtedly be bumpy, but I cannot sit on the sidelines while shares in a valuable company go up for sale.

Andrew Mackie owns shares in abrdn.

Chord energy

What it does: Chord Energy is an oil and gas company. It is the largest independent operator in the Williston Basin.

by Stephen Wright. Warren Buffett and his colleagues continue to build Berkshire Hathawayparticipation in Western crude oil. In a similar spirit, I bought shares, among others: Chord energy (NASDAQ:CHRD).

Chord’s operations take place in the Williston Basin. The downside to this is that mining costs are higher than in the Permian, where Occidental has its operations.

Moreover, depletion rates are relatively high, which means that modern wells must be found or acquired more frequently. Still, I think the stock looks like a good deal.

The company is expected to return 75% of free cash flow to investors. And if oil prices average $70 a barrel, the dividend is projected to be around $525 million.

With a market capitalization of $7.8 billion, this translates into a yield of 6.7%. I expect this number to grow over the next decade, creating an attractive passive income opportunity.

Stephen Wright owns shares in Berkshire Hathaway and Chord Energy.

Crowd blow

What it does: CrowdStrike is a rapidly growing cybersecurity company with clients around the world.

Edward Sheldon, CFA. I had Crowd blow (NASDAQ: CRWD) has been on my watchlist for a long time. I finally pulled the trigger and bought a few for my portfolio.

The main reason I invested here is that the cybersecurity industry is poised for massive growth over the next decade. And it is the fastest growing large-cap company on the market.

I also think the industry offers an element of defense. Given the catastrophic damage that cyberattacks can cause, no company can afford to back away from cybersecurity spending today.

It’s worth noting that CrowdStrike was responsible for a major global IT outage a few months ago. This may result in slightly slower growth (and share price volatility) in the near term as customers renegotiate contracts. So I started with a very diminutive position to reduce my risk.

However, from a five to ten year perspective, I am quite confident that this company will generate good returns for me.

Edward Sheldon owns shares of CrowdStrike

iShares S&P 500 Information Technology ETF

What it does: iShares S&P 500 Information Technology Sector ETF invests in industry giants like the “Magnificent Seven.”

By Royston Wild. As the name suggests, iShares S&P 500 Information Technology ETF (LSE:IUIT) provides exposure to the largest US technology companies.

As such, it has significant growth potential and the ability to provide exceptional capital gains. Over the last five years, it has achieved an impressive average annual return of 26.2%.

The three largest ETF holdings are Apple, Nvidia AND Microsoftwhich together constitute almost 60% of its total weight. So bad news from these companies could have a significant adverse impact on the fund.

Still, I’m sure such a tech-focused fund could deliver better returns in the long run. Segments such as robotics, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, cloud services, and spatial and quantum computing are poised for robust growth in the coming decade.

And with capital spread across 69 different companies, this ETF means investors take less risk than investing in one or two specific stocks. In my opinion, this is crucial given the rapid pace of change in the industry.

Royston Wild owns the iShares S&P 500 Information Technology ETF.

ITV

What it does: ITV is a broadcaster operating terrestrial and digital television, as well as operating studios and production facilities

Christopher Ruane. The market did not like the last update of the quotes ITV (LSE:ITV). This reaction was understandable. Revenues in the first nine months of the year were 8% lower than in the same period last year. Total revenue in the studio business was down by one fifth compared to the prior-year period.

There is a risk that advertising demand will remain feeble. Plans for further cost cuts also carry risks in my opinion. Such cuts can harm employee morale and reduce organizational flexibility at a time when advertising demand is complex to predict.

Still, I believe the current share price undervalues ​​this consistently profitable business. The stock price is within 1% of its initial price a year, but has fallen by more than half in five years.

This means the dividend yield is currently an impressive 7.9%.

ITV continues to run a lucrative business and is strongly building its digital footprint. The studies department provides additional sources of revenue.

Christopher Ruane owns shares in ITV.

MercadoLibre

What it does: MercadoLibre is a Latin America-based e-commerce company that also provides digital payment solutions.

Author: Zaven Boyrazian. One sec Amazon dominates e-commerce in Europe and North America, MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) dominates Latin America. The online market saw a slight decline following the latest results. Despite revenue growing 35% to a modern high of $5.3 billion in the quarter, the sluggish earnings growth of 9.4% due to shrinking margins was concerning.

The drop in operating margin from 18% to 10% is undoubtedly disturbing. The earnings decline is due to an escalate in credit card lending, which helped deliver higher revenues but at lower margins. Combined with aggressive investment in modern distribution facilities in Brazil, the piercing escalate in earnings is not entirely surprising.

Increased exposure to credit card debt comes with a higher level of risk. However, management appears to be prudent to avoid bad debts. At the same time, MercadoLibre just added another seven million modern buyers to its online marketplace, bringing the total to 60.8 million!

Zaven Boyrazian owns shares in MercadoLibre.