Ideally, your overall portfolio should beat the market average. But even the best stock picker will only win with some selections. At this point some shareholders may be questioning their investment in SIV Capital Limited (ASX:SIV), since the last five years saw the share price fall 54%.

Now let's have a look at the company's fundamentals, and see if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.

See our latest analysis for SIV Capital

With just AU$793,599 worth of revenue in twelve months, we don't think the market considers SIV Capital to have proven its business plan. You have to wonder why venture capitalists aren't funding it. As a result, we think it's unlikely shareholders are paying much attention to current revenue, but rather speculating on growth in the years to come. It seems likely some shareholders believe that SIV Capital will significantly advance the business plan before too long.

We think companies that have neither significant revenues nor profits are pretty high risk. You should be aware that there is always a chance that this sort of company will need to issue more shares to raise money to continue pursuing its business plan. While some companies like this go on to deliver on their plan, making good money for shareholders, many end in painful losses and eventual de-listing. It certainly is a dangerous place to invest, as SIV Capital investors might realise.

When it last reported its balance sheet in December 2023, SIV Capital could boast a strong position, with cash in excess of all liabilities of AU$7.6m. That allows management to focus on growing the business, and not worry too much about raising capital. But with the share price diving 9% per year, over 5 years , it could be that the price was previously too hyped up. The image below shows how SIV Capital's balance sheet has changed over time; if you want to see the precise values, simply click on the image.

Of course, the truth is that it is hard to value companies without much revenue or profit. What if insiders are ditching the stock hand over fist? It would bother me, that's for sure. It costs nothing but a moment of your time to see if we are picking up on any insider selling.

What About The Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We've already covered SIV Capital's share price action, but we should also mention its total shareholder return (TSR). Arguably the TSR is a more complete return calculation because it accounts for the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested), along with the hypothetical value of any discounted capital that have been offered to shareholders. SIV Capital's TSR of 11% for the 5 years exceeded its share price return, because it has paid dividends.