yeah -
I had LU, and all the other tech stocks,
and watched LU tumble from the bubble days of $64 down to $2...
Same with CSCO - from $80 to $18

Today - I limit my buys to $5k-$10k per stock or fund.
If it splits and goes up - then that's a different problem
that I've been wrestling with lately... SBUX, AAPL, CSCO

"msimonkey" <iram.mahomed[at]gmail.com> writes:

- quote -

That's not a particularly correct impression. Some do, many don't.

- quote -

Very much like closed-end mutual funds, except that the right
of in-kind redemption prevents the market value and fund NAV
from diverging the way they often do with closed-end funds.

--
Rich Carreiro rlcarr[at]animato.arlington.ma.us

kastnna wrote:
- quote -

I've always been under the impression that mutual finds have
not-so-desirable tax implications and fees. How do ETF's work. Well, I
will google it anyway but it would be nice to have a layman's
explanation. My assets are mainly real estate based and I would like
to get into the stock market in a larger way. So far I have just a few
holdings, nothing major really. Im risk averse but will be willing to
try out something new. Thanks in advance.
ps: My boss has made a killing in the stock market. I try to pick up
on tips here and there from him and have done some small investments
here and there. So far its ok, not great, but ok. Im not into
daytrading and generally prefer stocks that pay decent dividends over
time. I could be wrong but Im trying to figure it out as I go along.
I also will not go to a brokerage house since I interned for a major
one in college and I was contructing pension portfolios and in my
opinion, no 21 year old intern should be responsible for managing
someones entire pension/401K!!!!!!!

Peter,
On a similar note, I have a client that I recently acquired that had
all of his investable assets tied up in stocks that he had spent years
picking and choosing (over $500K). By "picking and choosing" I mean he
bought the company that made a product he liked or he could rationalize
("everyone needs healthcare, I'll buy healthsouth. It's guaranteed to
go up.") Its was about 6 different stocks.

He owned a large position in pfizer and I was joking with him about
having a Merck situation. He said there was no way Pfizer would do
something like that. He balked at the idea of liquidating and going to
asset allocation ETFs until a week later. That week was early Dec 2006.
Look at pfizer's chart. Of course they will recover eventually, but it
convinced him that no company is completely immune.

msimonkey wrote:
- quote -

- quote -

So, half of your investable funds are in cash and half are in stocks.
That's a rather large cash position, but that's your perrogative. One
of my partners actually has a client that held a 100% cash position
through 2005 and 2006 because he was "positive" the market was going to
take a downturn (I laugh every time I think about the guy. He just
won't listen).

I am wondering... why the individual stock picks? You are likely taking
on a risk that is much higher than other investments that statistically
yield similar returns. You said yourself that the returns have not been
spectacular. I often see people ge blinded by "lucents" because the
returns are great (for a while anyway). But that isn't even the case
here.

I am not going to go into details on the math, but diversification is a
proven method of reducing unsystematic risk. I recommend learning up on
the principles. Hell, just typing "unsystematic risk" into google will
probably return a world of info.

Good Luck!

Ignoramus3975 wrote:
- quote -

You'll have to decide whether it's reasonable or unreasonable. People
will tell you about Enron, etc. I can tell you there was one stock I
had that's an excellent company. It generates huge cash flows. Lots
of institutional ownership. In one day that stock dropped 30%, all
because testing found one of its products was harmful to the users.
The name of the that company is Merck.

Fortunately it's a small percentage of my holding. If 1/3 of my net
worth was tied up in Merck I'd be up a creek.

- quote -

Ignoramus3975 wrote:
- quote -

You'll have to decide whether it's reasonable or unreasonable. People
will tell you about Enron, etc. I can tell you there was one stock I
had that's an excellent company. It generates huge cash flows. Lots
of institutional ownership. In one day that stock dropped 30%, all
because testing found one of its products was harmful to the users.
The name of the that company is Merck.

Fortunately it's a small percentage of my holding. If 1/3 of my net
worth was tied up in Merck I'd be up a creek.

- quote -

On Tue, 9 Jan 2007 07:35:29 -0600, beliavsky[at]aol.com <beliavsky[at]aol.com> wrote:
- quote -

Well, About 1/3 of my net worth is my house, so the remainder is split
between cash and stock. The cash is, in turn, split between dollars
and euro. So the 1/3 of the net worth that is in stocks, is not an
unreasonable amount. That stock I have been buying on and off over the
years, and it has done okay, though not spectacularly.

i

Ignoramus15864 wrote:
- quote -

You may be mismanaging your money. You could invest more than 1/3 of
your money in a diversified equity mutual fund and obtain a portfolio
with the same risk and higher expected returns.

On Mon, 8 Jan 2007 16:47:25 -0600, msimonkey <iram.mahomed[at]gmail.com> wrote:
- quote -

I can;t see why not buy some stocks that you like, as long as your
overall risk profile is sensible (ie you do not go overboard with
quantity).

My stock holdings (about 1/3 of my net worth) are mostly in one
stock.

i

msimonkey wrote:
- quote -

Why those stocks? No matter how young you are "putting all your eggs in
one basket" still isn't usually a good idea. You can chase higher
returns because time is on your side and still be more diversified in
other investments.

Here's a better perspective: Imagine how your portfolio would look
today if you had put all your money in enron or lucent a few years ago
because you were "young and risky".

Look into ETFs or even no-load Mutual Funds. You can still get a shot
at those higher returns you are looking for.

P.S. - I won't say exactly how old I am, but let's just say I was in
high school the same time you were (I am now a financial planner). You
can be young and risky without being foolish. You should also repost
your question on misc.invest.stocks

Good luck!

msimonkey wrote:
- quote -

Why those stocks? No matter how young you are "putting all your eggs in
one basket" still isn't usually a good idea. You can chase higher
returns because time is on your side and still be more diversified in
other investments.

Here's a better perspective: Imagine how your portfolio would look
today if you had put all your money in enron or lucent a few years ago
because you were "young and risky".

Look into ETFs or even no-load Mutual Funds. You can still get a shot
at those higher returns you are looking for.

P.S. - I won't say exactly how old I am, but let's just say I was in
high school the same time you were (I am now a financial planner). You
can be young and risky without being foolish. You should also repost
your question on misc.invest.stocks

Good luck!

Hi all,
Im interested in purchasing Goldman Sachs (GS) and Emerson Electric
(EMR.) Im 25 years old and can afford to be a bit risky. Anyone have
any recommendations?

Thanks!