Finding Value in Media and Sports Stocks

Time to get back to the basics. I've been laying the ground work for how to build a successful business, but it's time to get back to the basics of investing.  Remember, investing is something every person should consider once you pay down your debts and establish a rainy day fund (savings account).  In my perfect social media world, people would go viral for:

- Paying off their school debt

- Putting off unnecessary purchases

- Improving their credit score

- Hitting their retirement goals 

While I personally turn off the tweets and so-called influencers, I do not deny the irrational impulses of the masses. Everyone wants instant gratification, personalization, and to think they are influencing someone else's opinion.  So I try to keep it simple by recognizing the trend: "Content Is King".  Some of my recent investments over the last few years have been media AND social media stocks:

Social Media - Twitter (TWTR); Facebook (FB); Snap (SNAP)

Media - Time Warner (Acquired); Time Warner Cable (I think Acquired), AMC Theatres (AMC); ROKU (ROKU); Twenty First Century Fox (Recently Acquired); Verizon (VZ); Disney (obtained through FOXA shares)

Sports - Manchester United

My investing logic is simple. With cutting the cord coming and the fact that I DVR record and stream most of my television viewing due to my busy schedule, I want to own the content and pipes.  My influencers love Netflix, Apple TV and Roku and I buy the content that they are paying top dollar for to watch on all their devices.  Because everyone is giving themselves (free content) away for free on Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and YouTube for cheap...my investments are focusing on content specifically Sports.  Why!! Because Sports is one of the last few things that people WANT to watch live.  Take March Madness, NFL, NBA, and the English Premier League. This is amazing content bringing lots of viewers to the media stocks listed above. The games and players are the real influencers and it actually drives more business.  You do not have to believe me, just look at the how your favorite politician has flipped in the last decade. Very soon, a majority of states will allow legal sports betting to cash in on the trend.  If you do don't know now ya know: Fan Duel, Draft Kings are partnering with major sports leagues to get everyone betting Billions of dollars.  What am I watching next:

Media - CBS (CBS), Liberty Media, Madison Square Garden

Sports Betting - Ceasars Entertainment (CZR)  

The value is there for good content. I owned and watched Twenty First Century Fox's stock skyrocket as multiple companies fought to buy it out and Disney eventually paid top dollar. Then I inherited a new company with AMAZING content Disney. Every movie my daughter watches 50 times over are Disney movies. And sports is the Top Dog! 

URB Prediction: So I think Ceasars and their big bets on online gambling are good for business and they will be bought out in the next few years. If the NBA, NFL, and MLB were smart...they would form a consortium and purchase Ceasars outright.

How to Invest in a Clinton / Trump Election Year...

First, I'll address where I've been since my posts have dried up for about a year. My answer is: "Still Right Here".  As we all know for the last few years, people continue to have to do more with less and that extends to companies. With unemployment pretty low for most big companies, they have to squeeze more out of every employee.  Good old fashion hustlin', and I got the memo and have been very busy at work and in my personal life.  The other reason, I haven't written much is because as a country and in the stock market things appear to be in a holding pattern.  I had a feeling a little over a year ago that the stock market was reaching its tops and I took my ball and went home.  For my portfolio, that meant I decided to sell some of the stocks that had been big winners. If you need a reminder flash back to this post: http://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2014/08/marketsno-longer-starting-from-bottom.html

I never like selling but if life you can't get too greedy so I parted ways with names like:

• Allergan - maker of botox (Allergan was acquired Actavis for a nice price) :)
• Lululemon - athletic wear (bought when it was in the low 40s, after some of their pants were showing too much skin and when the CEO ranted he didn't want bigger sized women wearing the clothes, and waited for them to correct their missteps)
• Caterpillar - big equipment maker (bought early and they fell, then I acquired more shares over time through patient dividend investments and they rallied above my purchase prices...just sold in the last few months for a small gain)
• NovaGold - gold miner (bought over 3 years ago and they dropped by over $50 percent; my old mentor reminded me if the fundamentals make sense buy when they are on discount. At roughly $3 I bought more and sold a good portion of it this year at just under $7. 

I felt a little over a year ago we were closing in on the top and I was just a bit early, but by planning then I was starting to set myself up for what's to come. A market near its highs, a Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump election year, and other surprises like the UK leaving the European Union have kept the markets a little uneasy. So I'll tell you what I've been quietly doing as I've sold my winners over the last few months:

Buying Top-Tier Companies (when they reached Low Prices):

• Apple (bought in the low $90s)
• Verizon (bought in the low $40s)
• Manchester United (bought b/w $13-14 range)
• Gilead (bought b/w $73-74) 
• Alibaba (low $80s)

These bigger names anchor my portfolio and should grow in good times and fingers crossed, the bad times. They all pay a dividend so they will pay you to wait :)

I then decided to begin thinking about how I wanted to thin my portfolio out to and hold higher quality names. I've been making hard decisions and here are some of the mistakes I think I have made:

• Gold - NovaGold (I still own a small portion and should have sold it all when it hit its highs)
• Oil - There is too much oil around the world and oil stocks are NOT going anywhere anytime soon. I own (British Petroleum(BP), Oasis Petroleum, Cheniere Energy) and the only good thing is the latter two, I don't hold big positions. BP pays a nice dividend so I use that to buy more shares and love that this is a long-term cornerstone of my portfolio at these levels.
• Non-Dividend Stocks, Not Growing - Lastly, I have a few stocks that don't pay a dividend!! I've held them for quite some time and they are just sitting there taking up space. For me names like:  St. Joe's Company (real estate), Nuance Communication (voice services like Siri), Hertz, and a few others just are not bringing much to the table. So I'll likely be parting ways with these names in the future.

I'm reminding you to go Vote, go Cubs, for me...go focus on higher quality names in this crazy election year.

~ Get Ur Urb On

Personal Finance - Lowering Your Cell Phones Costs

I'm sharing this information with you "Because I'm Happy", kinda like how Pharrell Williams was after he penned his hit song.  I'm always happy about finding ways to invest and my #1 priority is helping you invest in yourself.  Some of my favorite ways of investing myself are: 1) Saving for a rainy day, 2) Investing for short/long term gains, and 3) Cutting Your Costs.

Today we are talking about cutting the cell phone costs that plague many people.  As important as your cell phone is, I tell people to try and be rationale where possible and save yourself a few bucks.  I personally do not have a $80+ dollar phone bill and as you read from my previous article I will not enter into a contract unless its on my terms. It turns out there are more people out there that are beginning to adopt this same strategy and its forced the cell phone companies to give us plans that we actually need, instead of paying for a plan I don't use.

Quick ways to save big bucks on your cell phone

1) Minutes - Go with the basic minutes plan and jump on a carrier that most of your friends and family are on. You will benefit from free mobile to mobile minutes.   

2) Text - Ease up on the one the word texts and pick up the phone and actually use those minutes every now and them. Or drop the text plan and take advantage of the many popular apps which let you text, talk or video message: "Whatsapp", "Viber", "Google Hangouts", "Blackberry IM", Apple Messenger", and "Skype" to reduce your reliance on carrier text plans. It's no secret why Whatsapp has 450 Million users worldwide.

3) Data - In as few words as possible, use WIFI. Its everywhere: Many people at work have access to WIFI, and don't forget to make a quick mental note of places like Starbucks, Staples, Home Depot, McDonalds, Jimmy Johns, and other retailers that offer you free WIFI when you are on the go.

Learn what you can live without and I've learned that WIFI is everywhere and I don't really need data. But cutting costs may also mean upgrading your plan if the price is right. If I can get a cheaper plan with unlimited minutes, text, and I can add data...then I might add something I want...but don't need. :)

Chart Courtesy of Techlicious.com:

Link to Techlicious Article: Cheapest Cell Phone Plans

Cell Phones Plans by Carrier – Prices & Data Allowances Valid as of Feb. 21, 2014

	AT&T	Verizon	Sprint	T-Mobile	MetroPCS	US Cellular	Virgin	Boost
Indv. Plan with some data	$45 300MB	$55 250MB	$55 1GB	$50 500MB***	$40 500MB	$80 300MB	$55 2.5GB***	$55** 2.5GB***
Indv. Plan with 1 GB data	$70 1GB	$80 1GB	$55 1GB	$60 2.5GB***	$50 2.5GB	$90 1GB	$55 2.5GB***	$55** 2.5BG***
Family Plan with some data (2 smartphones/ 2 feature)	$70* 300MB	$155* 250MB			$70 500MB/line	$180 300MB
Family Plan with 2GB data (2 smartphone/ 2 feature)	$105 2GB	$190 2GB			$90 2.5BG/line	$200 2GB
Family Plan with some data (4 smartphones)	$160 10GB	$175* 250MB	$160 1GB/line	$100 500MB***/line	$140 500MB/line	$200 300MB
Family Plan with 4GB data (4 smartphones	$160 10GB	$230 4GB	$160 1GB/line	$140 2.5GB***/line	$180 2.5GB/line	$230 4GB
Additional cost per month to use smartphone as a hotspot	$0 Included	$0 Included	$10 1GB	$0 Included	n/a	$0 Included	$15	$10

Note: Chart shows the least expensive plan available to meet the criteria set forth: unlimited text, unlimited calling and specified data package. Prices provided by carrier, with exception of T-Mobile and Sprint, whose most recent prices were pulled from their website February 21, 2014. Pricing based on you bringing your own device, where possible. Some carriers do not support feature phones.

2014 - Themes Shaping My Investments (pt 1)

I want to capture the themes that I believe are shaping the world in 2014 and for the foreseeable future.  Game changing events shape people first, then entrepreneurs react, and finally investment dollars follow.  This is important for many people to remember in my opinion when looking back and asking why is the world changing right before my eyes and how can I participate. I've heard the phrase when life gives you lemonade...and changed it to when you and the world are buying or using a quality product think about investing in it.  I have a good friend that constantly talks to me about Whatsapp and if anyone close to me knows Apps are not my thing but I find out they were bragging about what would be a 19 Billion Dollar company I was just being introduced to.

Theme 1: E-Commerce

I write about this theme often and the verdict is in, many people prefer the comfort of buying things online. I know I do and a number of entrepreneurs have responded to become mega online retailers for everything imaginable.  Continue to think about the ways our buying patterns change on the Internet and take advantage of the companies that will capitalize on it first OR do it better. This will be a combination of new and old companies changing the way we shop. Remember last year, there was a reason why so many packages were delayed during the Christmas holiday by UPS and that theme is the comfort of buying things online.

- Amazon, Ebay (Paypal), Yahoo, Google, Walmart, Home Depot, UPS, Fedex

Theme 2: Mobile /APPS

The mobile wars are heating up. Finally, most of the world is warming up to a concept I've been using for quite a while: "No Debt/No Contract".  The mobile companies have used contracts to their advantage for quite some time and this has led many people to enter into never ending contracts that change usually on the companies terms. My philosophy is don't sign it until to read it. If you don't like what you read...call the company and see if you can change the terms...or don't sign it. I buy my phones myself and never enter into a contract. Many people have not paid attention to the fine print so AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint have dominated the US market. The public is tired of this model and now enters T-Mobile and their "no contract" and "cheaper packages".  And now the big companies like AT&T must follow suit with lower prices or lose customers.

Then enter the world of Apps...I can't explain the love affair for all things FLAPPY but Apps are the favorite hobby of the world.  I personally don't use very many apps but I can't deny their staying power. 

- Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Apple, Samsung, HTC, Nokia, Blackberry, Facebook, Whatsapp, Snapchat, Zynga, Candy Crush

...the remaining themes are to be continued

Easier Said Than Done...

“It’s been a long time, shouldn’t have left you without a dope beat to step too…”  As you know I have a love for music, especially hip-hop, so when I am thinking a song will often pop into my head.  Here, I am thinking of how long it’s been since I’ve written something to the readers out there.  I admit work, life, and stuff happens but I shouldn’t have left you without a nice article to think about.

I would like to start off by simply just being honest!  One of the primary reasons I have not written anything is that in REALITY there is not that much going on in the investment world.  Maybe I should say it different, the markets have been steadily going UP and there hasn’t been much else.  If you remember, there have been a few moments in the last year or so where I wrote that the stock market indicators lead me to believe that stocks and the overall market were headed higher for the foreseeable future.  If I were a TV personality, I can say “We Predicted This Would Happen!” but the reality is it took months and months of reading, researching, and keeping my eyes and ears open to rationalize where things were logically headed.  The goal while investing is to navigate through ALL of the NOISE (family, friends, and TV people telling you how to invest) and for you to logically conclude about where things like are headed.  Once you get a good idea about that then you can determine what and how much to invest in.  I am here to simply share my thoughts on how I navigate through the noise so that I can share those with you and I can learn from the past by coming back and reading my own writings.  This is helpful in life, because you must navigate through the noise (when choosing a house, car, job, etc.) and really get down to making a sound decision.

Here I am always looking to make a sound investment and I’m going to present 1 topic to assist you on your investment journey:

Easier Said Than Done…