Some may call it beginners luck, but I like to say the stock market can teach you a number of pretty interesting things. I hate to admit, that it makes me a 'Jack of All Trades' and I seem to know a little bit about some of the strangest subjects under the sun. I can hold a conversation on the buzz around hydraulic fracturing (known as fracking) in the oil and gas industry or debate why the housing market may have bottomed in Phoenix or never really declined in the metro Washington DC area. Here are some of the non-stock things I've learned from the Mr. Market:
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Who to Watch / Company Watch - UPDATE
Who to Watch
My how times have changed! In the past, young investors like myself would have wanted to follow in the footsteps of corporate raiders, mutual fund managers, and high profile investors. One well known corporate raider is Carl Icahn, he and other corporate raiders were legendary for taking over companies or agitating boards for significant change. There was also those legendary mutual fund managers that made people in my parent's generation a lot of money by investing through their fund. Some well know names here are Peter Lynch (Fidelity), Bill Miller (Legg Mason), Bruce Berkowitz (Fairholme), and many others. The last group of high profile investors are guys like Warren Buffet and George Soros. Today some of the most well known money makers are in the hedge fund industry. A small difference from the previous investors in the past, are hedge funds try to make money when markets are up or down by betting on and against the performance of stocks. Here is a run-down of some of my favorite hedge fund managers:
My how times have changed! In the past, young investors like myself would have wanted to follow in the footsteps of corporate raiders, mutual fund managers, and high profile investors. One well known corporate raider is Carl Icahn, he and other corporate raiders were legendary for taking over companies or agitating boards for significant change. There was also those legendary mutual fund managers that made people in my parent's generation a lot of money by investing through their fund. Some well know names here are Peter Lynch (Fidelity), Bill Miller (Legg Mason), Bruce Berkowitz (Fairholme), and many others. The last group of high profile investors are guys like Warren Buffet and George Soros. Today some of the most well known money makers are in the hedge fund industry. A small difference from the previous investors in the past, are hedge funds try to make money when markets are up or down by betting on and against the performance of stocks. Here is a run-down of some of my favorite hedge fund managers:
- Steve Cohen, David Einhorn, John Paulson, Seth Klarman,
- Bill Ackman, David Nierenberg, Monish Pabrai, Ray Dalio
Saturday, March 03, 2012
Is Your Portfolio Up...
Dow Above 13,000 / NASDAQ 3,000
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is an index that is made of 30 stocks which are a general representation of US economy. The index consists of companies like McDonalds, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Bank of America, and Procter & Gamble. The Dow being above 13K is significant because some consumers like you and me are feeling a little bit better as we watch our collective investment wallets head in the right direction. If you are invested in the markets through a personal account, 401K, IRA or some other investment vehicle chances are they are all doing better. To put this in perspective the last time the Dow was at this level was in May 2008. Or this may help, when things were really bad a few years ago the Dow was at 6,547 on March 9, 2009. That was four years ago the stock market was where it is today, so we've come along way. I almost forgot the NASDAQ, which is an index tracking primarily technology stocks. The NASDAQ briefly hit 3,000 a level it hadn't seen in about 12 years!!
URB Investment Tips: My take away is that this is proof as why you usually want to stay invested in the markets and to not be scared away by the big swings. I also want to mention that this is a good time to cash in a few of your BIG winners. In short, I've been impressed by the momentum of jobs and have enjoyed this ride up in the stock market. I will be watching closely because I think we've come along way and worked hard to get here and I think the market may take a deep breathe and pull back (i.e., decline in price) a few months from now.
Here are a few themes from my latest quarterly stock picks:
~ Beaten down stocks
~ Pharmaceutical stocks
~ Gold Miners stocks
Stay tuned, they'll be released shortly.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is an index that is made of 30 stocks which are a general representation of US economy. The index consists of companies like McDonalds, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Bank of America, and Procter & Gamble. The Dow being above 13K is significant because some consumers like you and me are feeling a little bit better as we watch our collective investment wallets head in the right direction. If you are invested in the markets through a personal account, 401K, IRA or some other investment vehicle chances are they are all doing better. To put this in perspective the last time the Dow was at this level was in May 2008. Or this may help, when things were really bad a few years ago the Dow was at 6,547 on March 9, 2009. That was four years ago the stock market was where it is today, so we've come along way. I almost forgot the NASDAQ, which is an index tracking primarily technology stocks. The NASDAQ briefly hit 3,000 a level it hadn't seen in about 12 years!!
URB Investment Tips: My take away is that this is proof as why you usually want to stay invested in the markets and to not be scared away by the big swings. I also want to mention that this is a good time to cash in a few of your BIG winners. In short, I've been impressed by the momentum of jobs and have enjoyed this ride up in the stock market. I will be watching closely because I think we've come along way and worked hard to get here and I think the market may take a deep breathe and pull back (i.e., decline in price) a few months from now.
Here are a few themes from my latest quarterly stock picks:
~ Beaten down stocks
~ Pharmaceutical stocks
~ Gold Miners stocks
Stay tuned, they'll be released shortly.
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