cfa pg 168 without a sustainable competitive advantage, above average performance is usually a sign of harvesting what does this mean? what is harvesting?
economic and industry circumstances are good and working in the company’s favor. so it is able to get an above average profit. It is not because the company has a Unique competitive advantage or a unique selling proposition – but because it is able to make profits because of things outside its own sphere of influence.
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/taxgainlossharvesting.asp I searched it on investopedia and got that link (not sure if AF will let it post). The explanation there was that short term capital gains from sales of equipment are taxed at a higher rate so in some instances firms will sell securities for short term losses to create a tax sheild or something along those lines. I always thought of harvesting as practices designed to generate short term profits at the expense of long term viability. Such as selling key assets, decreasing investments in maintenance and plant and equipment, etc. I could very definitely be wrong though. It has happened before. On many occasions.
thanks