Investing 102

[GregWeld]

Imnop -----


Had you just put all your money into COKE (KO) == not the kind you push up your nose.... just FIVE YEARS AGO -- you'd have a 63% return... so you'd have around 30 grand now -- and that's if you'd have just done this 5 lousy years ago.

17 years ago - KO traded at $20 a share - and it split two for 1 in 1996... so you'd have TWICE as many shares and it's now trading at $60

So 18 grand (900 shares) - 17 years ago you would now own 1800 shares of KO worth $108,000

[GregWeld]

Sieg ---

Compare TransCanada Corp (TRP) to Calumet Specialty Partners (CLMT).... do a 5 year chart -- and you'll see what I was saying to you via PM.



To include "others" here as an Investing 102 "thought process" -- as I recommend nothing - only how I look at things...

CLMT -- is in the "oil chemicals biz" -- and TRP is a canadian pipeline (the one that's been in the news lately)... and what I was saying is that while CLMT pays a very high dividend (9%+) --- it has a terrible 5 year chart. When I say "terrible" -- what I see is -- they went down with the "market" in the 07/08 "great recession"..... but they DID NOT come "back" with the market (09 to present).... One of the "nice chart" things I want to see is whether or not a company was down with the market and are they also UP with the market... but if they went down and stayed down -- that's not a good sign, therefore not something I want to own. That -- and this is not a business I understand nor do I understand their competitors etc. So PERSONALLY I wouldn't take the big dividend as a "good thing"... rather, it would scare me. Remember -- pigs get fat - hogs get slaughtered. I want the good chart - with the growth - AND - the good/decent/nice/healthy dividend.

Dividend % is only ONE COMPONENT.... if you get a big dividend but the stock goes down 40%... that's not a good combo. If you get a decent dividend and some growth (8/9/10% + per year) now you're making money!

You want GROWTH in your money -- TOTAL RETURN -- That is the key.... you can get that in different combinations of dividends and growth of capital. Big growth - small dividend -- big dividend with steady eddy growth -- or decent dividend and decent growth... the key is to try to find some balance... and there's just too many companies out there that will give you these - without "settling" for something that lacks all the magic numbers. We need to be firing on all cylinders!