Investing 102

[CRCRFT78]

Speaking for myself, at the pace this thread is moving a recap wouldn't hurt for those trying to "catch up" with the info provided. I try and understand what is said before moving ahead so that i don't get lost. There are various levels of investment understanding between us and I can see how it would be easy for someone just jumping aboard the investment ship to quickly get thrown overboard. This thread has taken on a life of its own. 55 pages and counting.

I applaud you for providing such a wealth of information. I have made some moves that I probably wouldn't have made without this information. All I need to do now is continue to apply it and watch my money grow.

LOL it was at 55 pages when I started my response. This thread would be an ideal investment with the steady growth its getting.

[Bucketlist2012]

Originally Posted by GregWeld

Thanks Mike -- it just occurred to me that only you - Sieg - and a couple others are asking questions or participating... so got to thinking that maybe it's gone sour somehow.

You bet.... Never stop...It should never be sour, because it is so important..

You are sharing and in a way, giving back to people by your success...

I do it on a money management level, but I am not comfortable giving investment advise , except the most basic stuff because I can only explain what I know...Again, I consider myself a novice...

Kudos on having the knowledge and sharing...

[Bucketlist2012]

Originally Posted by CRCRFT78

Speaking for myself, at the pace this thread is moving a recap wouldn't hurt for those trying to "catch up" with the info provided. I try and understand what is said before moving ahead so that i don't get lost. There are various levels of investment understanding between us and I can see how it would be easy for someone just jumping aboard the investment ship to quickly get thrown overboard. This thread has taken on a life of its own. 55 pages and counting.

I applaud you for providing such a wealth of information. I have made some moves that I probably wouldn't have made without this information. All I need to do now is continue to apply it and watch my money grow.

LOL it was at 55 pages when I started my response. This thread would be an ideal investment with the steady growth its getting.

I really feel the need to re-read my homework too...

[GregWeld]

Well okay then!

I see we have a lot of readers -- and just not posters. I was really starting to think that it was a private conversation between about 5 people. So thanks for the feedback. There's no way to tell if it's of any interest to a broad swath of folks - particularly when everyone is so "quiet".

I'm on a flight to Ontario, CA to meet up with "the boys" for Grand National Roadster Show this weekend so will try to give some thoughts to a "recap" post as requested when I have a quiet moment to gather my thoughts.

It'll be hard to switch off the background NOISE I'll no doubt get down here... I'll have about 5 or 6 tall guys trying to beat me down 24/7!! Rodger and I have build stuff to go over etc...

[GregWeld]

Originally Posted by dhutton

My best success to date is CAT, my biggest flub to date is VZ. It's only been three and a half weeks so let's see where I am in a year.

Thanks,
Don

Don -- If you owned 20 or 300 individual stocks -- those "flubs" will move about with time... Remember the little dude on Wall street that takes YOUR latest purchase (investment) straight to the dog house 15 seconds after you hit the buy button!

So CAT --- which has had a very nice run contrary to what Europe and China and the USA have been telling you (which is building stuff STINKS)... just turned in a stellar quarter! But remember that you need GROWTH (which CAT is showing us it has) to trade off for the dismal 1.56% dividend payout... whereas VZ has that nice 5.56%... so VZ is paying you to wait for the stock to catch up.

What we're seeing -- and have seen -- and will continue to see with the big wireless guys is huge build out costs trying to one up each other with capacity and speed etc - and then you add the subscriber costs... every time someone buys an iPhone -- these guys are PAYING APPLE about $400 for each one of those! Good for Apple -- not so hot for the bottom-line of VZ and T... and now T-Mobile. But those subscribers are paying premium monthly bills so eventually the cash flows to the bottom line. In the meantime you get a nice quarterly payout.

[sik68]

I can't say it any better than that, and here is some good data on the cellular industry:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2397688,00.asp

Highlight:
"Approximately 44 percent of Americans now own smartphones, up from 18 percent two years ago, "

That's phenomenal growth, and like Greg said it takes a lot of infrastructure/cost to keep all of these data users happy...but at $20+ per month, per data device, they are raking in the cash. And with only 2 or 3 real players in the US, it's not hard to see who is holding the rakes. (Although, I also bought Sprint (S) at $5 and so far that's not panning out well at all).

AND

That leaves a large majority as untapped data plan customers...data is a cash cow, and it's only in its infancy. IMHO.

[Woody]

Originally Posted by GregWeld

Since we're not hearing from many varied posters -- I'm wondering if there is "too much" information and maybe it needs to be dialed back...

There really only seems to be 4 or 5 posters lately -- and that tells me maybe folks have stopped reading????

Greg,

I haven't been posting much lately, but I still check this thread several times a day. I think you are providing some great information which has really got me more interested in researching individual stocks.

One of the sectors that I have not seen mentioned yet is alcohol. I figured it should rank up there with tobacco. I was doing some research on alcohol stocks and came across DEO. The dividend is slightly less than 3.0, but the stock has a pretty good growth record over the last 10 years. It looked to me to be one of the better choices in this industry. Any thoughts about the alcohol industry. I also took a look at BUD, TAP, SAM,HINKY, & PDRDF. SAM has had phenominal growth, but does not pay a dividend.

Thanks

[MoparCar]

I'm still reading---several times a day, and sometimes re-reading. Please keep it up. I'm still learning daily. I think some of us who previously have not been "investors" (besides typical 401K type investments) perhaps don't have a lot of input because we are learning from reading and watching since we don't have the personal knowledge to "help". I personally am learning a lot.

Thanks-I look forward to every post!

[Musclerodz]

I read this thread everyday, sometime several. If I don't I fall way behind real quick. Thread is more of a seminar for me, sit back, listen to the speakers, and try to understand it all. I have enjoyed everybit of it and hope to apply some of it very soon.

[Sieg]

Great feedback it's nice to see so many people taking this to heart!

If I may, I'll speculate that like myself many might be hesitant to post comments or questions for fear of exposing their perceived lack of investing/financial knowledge or be labeled neglegent for not addressing investing or retirement funding matters earlier in their life.

What I've observed is the key contributors in this thread have a reasonable amount of experience, put a lot of effort into their delivery to insure they are sensitive to the "other" issues, and have a genuine desire to help fellow car enthusiasts.

The common objective appears to be getting people engaged and learning about fundamental investment principles and strategies, thus creating opportunities for themselves to improve their financial position and quality of life.......no matter what the age or phase. What I really appreciate is that the information is not being handed to us on a silver platter, we're being forced to think and investigate which greatly adds to the value of the lesson.

Please don't hesitate to participate, more participation creates more learning opportunitites, which deliver more qualified dividends to the participants.