Investing 102

[Sieg]

So......thanks to this thread I've been digging in the files and found a State Farm Flexible Premium Annuity IRA that I opened in 1983 which a fund it and forget about it deal.........total premiums paid $6,500, current value $13,200....cha-CHING!

Then I quizzed the wife about her 401K plan at work which I've paid little attention to..........comprised of 3 Mutual Funds (SUPAX, OUTDX, SMCAX) through DWS Investments (Deutsche Bank Group) asset allocations are Growth & Income and Growth. The Sept 30, 2011 YTD performance was -$13,600.

I researched each fund's performance and Morningstar basically rated 2 of the 3 as dogs and the other mediocre.

I will definitely be making modifications as I figure she's still got a good 15 working years left in her!

Having 66% of that fund in say 5 Steady Eddies and one decent mutual fund would have certainly beat -$13.6K over the same period right?

[GregWeld]

Originally Posted by Sieg

So......thanks to this thread I've been digging in the files and found a State Farm Flexible Premium Annuity IRA that I opened in 1983 which a fund it and forget about it deal.........total premiums paid $6,500, current value $13,200....cha-CHING!

Then I quizzed the wife about her 401K plan at work which I've paid little attention to..........comprised of 3 Mutual Funds (SUPAX, OUTDX, SMCAX) through DWS Investments (Deutsche Bank Group) asset allocations are Growth & Income and Growth. The Sept 30, 2011 YTD performance was -$13,600.

I researched each fund's performance and Morningstar basically rated 2 of the 3 as dogs and the other mediocre.

I will definitely be making modifications as I figure she's still got a good 15 working years left in her!

Having 66% of that fund in say 5 Steady Eddies and one decent mutual fund would have certainly beat -$13.6K over the same period right?

Sadly -- Another reason mutual funds SUCK!

Yes -- you could throw a dart at a board and beat that performance!

[GregWeld]

Just a note on some numbers I read today on Coke (KO)... which I own.

Given the size of - and the maturity of - Coke as a company... they're still 'growing'. And the better part - to me - is something that I look for in a DIVIDEND payer i.e., GROWTH IN THE DIVIDEND because that keeps you ahead of INFLATION even if your share price is static.

Coca-Cola has grown its revenue by 8.7%, its earnings by 19%, and its dividend by 9.5% annually over the past 5 years.

[GregWeld]

I found this and clipped it from an article.... and I have two takeaways from it:

Long term - and being counter or contrarian investor (I have LEARNED to be somewhat of a contrarian)... and maybe a third takeaway - eventually your earned interest/dividends will add more than you can on your own!

+++++++++++++++++++++++

As the past two centuries have shown, there has never been a 15-year period in which stocks delivered losses. That means when an investor buys in a given year, they can be reasonably certain of earning positive returns on their investment within 15 years—with gains ranging from just above zero to over 100%. Averaging the returns over the long run works out to 7% to 9% per year.

Investments made during the bullish phases are more likely to have long-term results closer to the zero bound. Conversely, investments made during the bearish phase are more likely to end up closer to the 100% level.

Not to be overlooked is the compounding of returns. Someone investing a portion of their income each year has a good chance of finding that, after 15 to 20 years, the return on their portfolio rather than salary deductions, is making a greater contribution to their retirement fund.

[GregWeld]

Louis Navellier is a super smart guy... and this is a very good - short - read about super easy to follow things to look for in a stock. Forget the stock advice at the end - that's not the reason for this post -- but rather his "reasoning" behind looking for GROWING EARNINGS... in his stock picks.



http://www.moneyshow.com/investing/a...sting-in-2012/

[Sieg]

Thanks, that was a good read.

[fleetus macmullitz]

Originally Posted by GregWeld

Louis Navellier is a super smart guy... and this is a very good - short - read about super easy to follow things to look for in a stock. Forget the stock advice at the end - that's not the reason for this post -- but rather his "reasoning" behind looking for GROWING EARNINGS... in his stock picks.



http://www.moneyshow.com/investing/a...sting-in-2012/

Enjoyed it, danke schoen Herr Veld.

[Blake Foster]

Just got a call from my broker today, one of my stocks went up 5.00 today and the company is being taken over, he suggested we sell and move to a different energy stock that pays 7.5% dividend.
my plan ended up with a 20% return over the last year and is up 5% this year already.
He was saying it has been the best performing plan he has reviewed this year sofar. i just wish i had way more in there.
but all i do is look at it and forget about it,i have averaged about 17% over the last 8 years