Value Investing - Look4Leaders / FollowUrGut

Here is an article where I get to make a mental note about a stock I own, why I bought it and when I thought it was a good time to ring the register (sell some of my stocks).  Doing a quick search on my blog, gives me a quick peek into when I first took notice of Lululemon. I like to think of myself as a VALUE INVESTOR. Just like in life, I sleep better knowing I'm getting a deal on my bills, that new TV, and hopefully when I invest. Value investing can be tough because if you are a person that loves to follow the crowd then this investing style can make you nervous. I recently watched the movie Draft Day, and to quickly summarize the movie: The consensus #1 player did not get selected with the first draft pick and shortly thereafter the other teams began to panic and also decided to not draft this player and he remained available until the 7th pick.  So it made me think about the following:

1) Was he really the best player and team #7 got a huge bargain, while teams #1-6 got scared and made a huge mistake
OR
2) He was never the best player and everyone had really bad info, making him the consensus player

In short, these are the types of stocks I try to search for: "A potential number one draft pick that is falling in value". Lululemon was that out of favor company that caught my eye. I won't revisit everything here but my mental notes are to remember how I found out about the company and is there a legit reason for the fall from number 1.

First Found Out - Friends wearing the clothes, carrying the bags, Yoga craze, and me laughing at their high price tag ($100)
Fall From #1 - The company began a freefall after the CEO made disrespectful comments indicating that Yoga pants were not for women above a certain size. Then the next black eye came from a huge manufacturing mishap that caused the pants to be more see-through than women had bargained for.

The hardest thing then was not buying this amazing stock at full price ($70+) because they were the #1 pick...the favorite Yoga pants for many even with a little bad news. Then soon after, fear kicked in and I didn't want to buy the stock as it dropped under $45 a share. Right!?? I told myself this company was a huge mistake. Stop...I got myself to relax took a few deep breathes and tried to understand could they eventually overcome these things and remain a world class leader. I thought so and began to buy the stock from $37-42. This past few weeks it made sense to finally sell most of the shares after 1+ years because they have come full circle and I'd like to walk away and not be greedy.

I sold 75% of my stake and I'm on to the next hidden gem. #Value, #Patience, #Look4Leaders, #FollowUrGut

Urbanomics Pillars - The Path Set For Stability and Financial Freedom

I have not written much lately because my focus continues to on working thoroughly on the Pillars I have written about so much over time. A quick recap of those principles that are grounded in the following Pillars:

Spiritual - a belief in something (for me that is God), love for your family, and a willingness to treat others with the respect and the equality they deserve

Financial - a belief that financial independence on your terms will give you a freedom from the shackles of debt, the privilege to work on your own terms and a future legacy to pass down to the generations of your family.

Mental (Education) - a belief in the importance education and the sharing of various human experiences to allow you to grow

Physical - a belief in the importance of enhancing your physical health to support a sound mind, body, and soul

I hope you find these simple pillars interesting but you can't stand tall with just one, while the rest languish.  Here is a quick example of why just having lots of money can't get you Financial Freedom. We all pick on star athletes and how much money they make. But they are also given a blessing at such a young age. Without the proper nurturing, it's easy to see how a mult-million dollar star can go broke fairly quickly. Forgetting about taxes, living for today but not for tomorrow, and making bad investments usually seem to be a common theme. Listen to this story and remember money is just relative, someone will ALWAYS have more of it than you will. But if you use it to free yourself or UNPLUG from what everyone always tells you that you should have or that you need...you'll find yourself the richest person in the world.

1) Article on a NFL Player Who's Mom Demanded $1Million Dollars

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/04/11/phillip-buchanons-cautionary-tale-my-mom-demanded-1-million/

2) Quick Video from former NBA player Josh Childress (Why Athletes Go Broke)
courtesy of Grit Media

Personal Finance 101 – Starting an Investment Account

Picking A Broker

This is a quick tutorial on how to get started with opening your personal investment account.  While there are a number of choices, the average investor just getting started should only consider discount brokers. That’s because if you are no bringing a 100K or more to the table to begin with, the banks are that considered with giving you a break on fees and charges.  I am personally sending you two of the biggest players in the industry:

TD Ameritrade - https://www.tdameritrade.com/

eTrade - https://us.etrade.com/home

These two are brokers have been around since the beginning of online investing and the Dot.Com era and are still around.  There are many brokers to consider but these two do just about everything you will need them to do when just starting out. Go to TD Ameritrade or ETrade and trust me you will see a link to “OPEN AN ACCOUNT”. Click on that link and fill in the following:

Account Minimums – In today’s world the minimum amounts are going to be roughly $1,000 to $2,000 to open an account. Have this amount stocked away in your checking account before you begin your application.

Opening an Account

Personal Details:

-          Have your Social Security Number and Employer Name/Address ready

-          Name/Phone/Email

Citizenship

-          Select your status

Account Type

-          Choose “Individual” for traders looking to establish their first account

-          Choose “Buy & Hold” for investors starting off with the basics. You can always upgrade to complex trading in the later years

-          Confirm you are a “first-time” investors

Account Owner Details

-          You will be required to fill out unique account details that prove you are who you say you are and not trying to open an account through some type of illegal enterprise.

o   Employment Information

o   Financial Information (Be honest about your net worth, its likely 0 – $15K)

o   Personal Affiliations ( Select No, if you are new to investing and have no family members that work for Wall Street)

They will have you review and edit your details, agree to their terms, and eventually choose an “Account Login and Password” and “Funding Type” (how you want to fund your account). 

Funding Your account - Think “Direct Deposit” when getting a tax refund.

-          You will enter the “Routing” and “Account Number” of say your checking account into your newly established broker account.

-          Your broker will deposit a small amount of change into your checking account.

-          You will identify that amount deposited and login to your new brokerage account and CONFIRM that the two accounts have been setup to sends funds between each other.

-          Once confirmed, you will be asked to initiate an electronic withdrawal for minimum deposit amount over to your new brokerage account.

-          Remember starting off with $2,000 as a minimum is just that to these guys so be ready because the key is to meet that amount so no fees will be taken out against your account.

Happy Trading