Let's talk about investments

[whitewave]

As my cpa told us (we are building a 3rd house), if you want the house for enjoyment, that is one thing. If you want the house for an investment… NO! your money is better off in the stock market.

Houses/real estate aren‘t great investments because they are costly to maintain (taxes, insurance, standard deduction is high so it’s hard to reach for mortgage interest and repair slush fund).

Our second house was inherited and my son lives there, so we don’t own rentals.

Yes, you would have been making much more money had your condo money been in the stock market.

YMMV. I am not a financial professional.

 

[whitewave]

Ran across this today whole checking lumber futures and prices:

• A provision in the budget-reconciliation bill presently being considered by Congress has the potential to dramatically curtail real estate investment. “Real estate is a long-term, risky and labor-intensive investment compared with stocks and bonds,” wrote analysts Dan Palmer and David Williams in the Wall Street Journal. “Without tax incentives, real estate can’t compete with other investments for essential capital” since the proverbial investment “playing field” is not level.
  
  
• Under the House bill, taxation of real-estate operating profit (i.e., ordinary income) as well as real estate capital gains would soar above current rates. Concurrently, new limitations would be phased in to reduce mortgage-interest deductions and depreciation.

Lumber Prices Retreat After Eight Consecutive Weekly Increases

In a departure from the steep surge in week-over-week pricing that developed in 4Q2020, lumber prices reversed course sharply in late November.

www.forest2market.com

 

[LilAlex]

Ran across this today whole checking lumber futures and prices:

Ugh. I have a safe-deposit box full of lumber and it looks like I missed the peak.

 

[Phoenix]

Loving this thread!! Will peruse each post.

I'm very big on savings and investments. I was very very poor at one point, so that scared the cr*p out of me and made me work very hard at everything (school, job, savings and investing). Believe or not, I didn't spend on luxuries until my 40's.

I truly believe the sooner you start investing, the better off you'll be later on in life.

My property is fully paid off (no mortgage, yay!). I am looking to purchase one or 2 more for rental income and capital gain, and will prob have mortgage(s) then - but that's ok cuz hopefully rental income will cover monthly mortgage payments. I have 3 pension funds (decent but not as much in them as I'd like). I have a stock portfolio and am waiting for market to go down further so I can put more money into it. I am my own fund manager/investment advisor (don't trust anyone else with my money, lol).

It does take a lot of discipline and hard/smart work... but sooooo worth it.

ETA: some of my friends seem to think I should take equity out of my current home and invest it in other properties and/ or put more into the stock market. I am not going to do it cuz (did I already say? haha) I have this innate fear of being poor and homeless. So just happy that I have a fully paid up home.

 

[missy]

Loving this thread!! Will peruse each post.

I'm very big on savings and investments. I was very very poor at one point, so that scared the cr*p out of me and made me work very hard at everything (school, job, savings and investing). Believe or not, I didn't spend on luxuries until my 40's.

I truly believe the sooner you start investing, the better off you'll be later on in life.

My property is fully paid off (no mortgage, yay!). I am looking to purchase one or 2 more for rental income and capital gain, and will prob have mortgage(s) then - but that's ok cuz hopefully rental income will cover monthly mortgage payments. I have 3 pension funds (decent but not as much in them as I'd like). I have a stock portfolio and am waiting for market to go down further so I can put more money into it. I am my own fund manager/investment advisor (don't trust anyone else with my money, lol).

It does take a lot of discipline and hard/smart work... but sooooo worth it.

ETA: some of my friends seem to think I should take equity out of my current home and invest it in other properties and/ or put more into the stock market. I am not going to do it cuz (did I already say? haha) I have this innate fear of being poor and homeless. So just happy that I have a fully paid up home.

Totally agree with you @Phoenix
1. The earlier you start the (much) better off you will be. Period.
2. Never risk your home. It just isnt worth peace of mind. I have never been poor (but never rich either) but for me our home is our sanctuary and I will do nothing to risk it. Paying off our mortgages was the best thing we have done despite what others might or might not think. I don't care what others think. For us it was the right and the best move.

 

[Phoenix]

Totally agree with you @Phoenix
1. The earlier you start the (much) better off you will be. Period.
2. Never risk your home. It just isnt worth peace of mind. I have never been poor (but never rich either) but for me our home is our sanctuary and I will do nothing to risk it. Paying off our mortgages was the best thing we have done despite what others might or might not think. I don't care what others think. For us it was the right and the best move.

Agreed 100%, @missy .

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,
I am so impressed with LilAlex, whitewave, Diamond2006, and Matata.
I really wish that there are many people who are reading the thread and learning from it.. I am amazed at how much money has been made in the stock market in the last ten years. I shake my head and put my hand to my forehead. when I look at my portfolio. Sometimes. I am scared to contemplate those figures. Like Matata, I am in the top 6% of high net worth, which was accomplished through the stock market.
I used to own 3 properties. Most people who buy investment properties are really small time mom & pop landlords. It is usually work and not a passive investment. Its tricky. You have to wait so long for the value to increase a lot. I have a paid up house and I totally agree that I sleep easier knowing my house is mine.
Lil Alex and Diamond 2006 I think you are right to use an index fund to get started. I need to teach my niece to invest as she will handle my portfolio when I pass on. I have a trust within a trust and she needs to generate income for that trust. I have been mulling over how I should instruct her.

I always have a nice amount of cash at the ready in case the market crashes. I will not be poor even if that happens.
It is fun for me to invest and check each day how its going. I have been quite blessed (just a word Kenny ), and am always grateful.

Annette

 

[Alybetter]

We follow the Bogleheads 3 fund portfolio. We each have a Roth and one taxable brokerage. We do Vanguard funds. My husband has his retirement account through work, which he maxes up to match, we keep liquidity in a HYSA, and have a somewhat varied credit card scheme that maximizes cash rewards, albeit somewhat confusing.

I did fractional shares of Bitcoin for a while but sold it all. Might get back into it.

(ETA - child’s college is already paid for)

 

[whitewave]

Ugh. I have a safe-deposit box full of lumber and it looks like I missed the peak.

Damn speculators are messing me up as to when to start my build. On one hand, this could end up being a low point (though not historical low) since new home building has been under paced by the need for new housing.

On the other hand, maybe this is a bubble and I need to wait for it to burst.

I don’t like the idea that I’m losing money (or rather it’s costing me money) because speculators are playing the market.

And Biden, who was supposed to look into why the lumber prices are so high just DOUBLED (well not him personally, but his admin) the tariff on lumber from Canada, so that messes me up also. (I voted for him).…


What I’m also reading is new home building costs could remain high for a good ten years as new homes are built in accordance with pent up demand….

It was ok when our portfolio was soaring, but it’s correcting right now… so I wait. (I was waiting until January anyway to do business with my contractor... We haven’t signed a contract yet and I’m not sure about his queue)

 

[LilAlex]

Damn speculators are messing me up as to when to start my build.

Hahahaha! We need to replace a fence for our tiny yard. Quotes were nuts. We are just sitting tight. I thought it would be back to normal by now but I guess normal is a relative term and it could be a while still.

Reminds me a little of film in the '80s (or was it the 70s?). When silver skyrocketed, film -- which only contained a little bit of actual silver in the emulsion -- tripled almost overnight. And never really came back down. Of course that probably hastened the digital revolution.

 

[MRBXXXFVVS1]

These are just my 2 cents, I am not a financial professional, invest at your own risk of total loss! +1 to @LilAlex and others. Fidelity has great research and has a user friendly interface.

The way to increase net worth is to increase income and decrease expenses. We have no debt other than mortgage and have maxed out every tax advantaged account (401K, IRA, HSA, etc.). We manage all of our assets ourselves.

Generally, my investments consistently outpace the S&P 500 by 5%+ especially taking into consideration my cash position (not 100% invested). My returns are higher when I spend the time to research and focus on investing. I sometimes wonder if it's worth the effort vs. just putting it all in the S&P 500, but it's something fun for me to do. I would probably have better returns if I bought and held more long-term vs. trying to optimize short-term market volatility. I've been thinking about creating an investment framework, taking a more structured and disciplined approach. I'm quite curious about the alphas and net returns that investment professionals can consistently deliver after taking their fees into consideration.

I don't recommend "playing" the stock market as it's just gambling at that point and you're better off investing in the S&P 500 and other low cost index funds. Much of the market is divorced from fundamentals and valuations, so much is speculative. Best to continue to "average in" and continue to put money in the market over time.

For HSAs, it's best to not use the money and let it grow. You can then use the funds or seek reimbursement decades down the road when the balance has had time to benefit from compounding growth. It's also important not to overfund 529s as there's a 10% withdrawal penalty.

At the end of the day, everyone has different goals, priorities, and risk tolerance. All of our investments are stocks and real estate currently as we're young and have higher risk tolerance. Some of my savvy investor friends actually have interest only mortgages on multi-million dollar homes, not because they can't afford the house (they can pay for them in cash) but to use leverage to get better returns in the market. Other friends prefer peace of mind by paying off their mortgages and buying with cash only. I'm middle of the road and have a 30 year mortgage. We have the cash to pay off the house if we want to, but I want to take advantage of better returns in the stock market and leverage. I prefer to lock in a low interest rate long term vs. taking more risk with the interest only loan.

We do not purchase any life insurance or long term care, as we prefer to "self-insure." Insurance companies are in the business of making money, so if you set the premiums aside and invest it, you could come out ahead. DH also thinks the premiums now are worth more to us alive (even though they aren't that much) than pay out money when we're dead. We have enough assets in the event anything happens. My parents have been paying into life insurance for so many years, but they are aging out of the coverage. I also did the math for long term care and it's about a wash if you invest the premiums. A lot of the time, long term care plans are limiting to what you can spend it on and might want, so with cash there's more flexibility.

@whitewave One way to think about it is how much the incremental building costs are today vs. waiting. Is that difference worth waiting vs. having the house done and enjoying it sooner? I've learned that sometimes trying to optimize (finances) isn't worth it. Better to optimize convenience and/or happiness!

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,
Since we have a started discussion on investing I thought I would post these varying comments.

On Friday a list of how the Hedge-funds are doing this year was reported. The big surprise was that most are losing money. 4%, 5%. I was quite shocked, so to me it does seem like speculation.

A new star has been born in a woman called Cathy Wood who runs a fund with a 5 yr time horizon, Her buys are reported almost everyday. I bought a speculative stock called VUZI that went up nicely in the beginning, but has sold off and is a loss to me now. Yet Cathy Woods keeps buying it, along with many others. I need a tax loss this year to offset a large gain, and now I think I must hold this stock as Cathy Woods seems to think its a good investment. I have 2 other losses to choose from, so I'll think on it.

Annette

 

[SomethingNew]

These are just my 2 cents, I am not a financial professional, invest at your own risk of total loss! +1 to @LilAlex and others. Fidelity has great research and has a user friendly interface.

The way to increase net worth is to increase income and decrease expenses. We have no debt other than mortgage and have maxed out every tax advantaged account (401K, IRA, HSA, etc.). We manage all of our assets ourselves.

Generally, my investments consistently outpace the S&P 500 by 5%+ especially taking into consideration my cash position (not 100% invested). My returns are higher when I spend the time to research and focus on investing. I sometimes wonder if it's worth the effort vs. just putting it all in the S&P 500, but it's something fun for me to do. I would probably have better returns if I bought and held more long-term vs. trying to optimize short-term market volatility. I've been thinking about creating an investment framework, taking a more structured and disciplined approach. I'm quite curious about the alphas and net returns that investment professionals can consistently deliver after taking their fees into consideration.

I don't recommend "playing" the stock market as it's just gambling at that point and you're better off investing in the S&P 500 and other low cost index funds. Much of the market is divorced from fundamentals and valuations, so much is speculative. Best to continue to "average in" and continue to put money in the market over time.

For HSAs, it's best to not use the money and let it grow. You can then use the funds or seek reimbursement decades down the road when the balance has had time to benefit from compounding growth. It's also important not to overfund 529s as there's a 10% withdrawal penalty.

At the end of the day, everyone has different goals, priorities, and risk tolerance. All of our investments are stocks and real estate currently as we're young and have higher risk tolerance. Some of my savvy investor friends actually have interest only mortgages on multi-million dollar homes, not because they can't afford the house (they can pay for them in cash) but to use leverage to get better returns in the market. Other friends prefer peace of mind by paying off their mortgages and buying with cash only. I'm middle of the road and have a 30 year mortgage. We have the cash to pay off the house if we want to, but I want to take advantage of better returns in the stock market and leverage. I prefer to lock in a low interest rate long term vs. taking more risk with the interest only loan.

We do not purchase any life insurance or long term care, as we prefer to "self-insure." Insurance companies are in the business of making money, so if you set the premiums aside and invest it, you could come out ahead. DH also thinks the premiums now are worth more to us alive (even though they aren't that much) than pay out money when we're dead. We have enough assets in the event anything happens. My parents have been paying into life insurance for so many years, but they are aging out of the coverage. I also did the math for long term care and it's about a wash if you invest the premiums. A lot of the time, long term care plans are limiting to what you can spend it on and might want, so with cash there's more flexibility.

@whitewave One way to think about it is how much the incremental building costs are today vs. waiting. Is that difference worth waiting vs. having the house done and enjoying it sooner? I've learned that sometimes trying to optimize (finances) isn't worth it. Better to optimize convenience and/or happiness!

This! Although stock market definitely gives you the biggest returns, but unless you are an investment professional and really know the company or that specific industry, otherwise it's gambling to me. We don't have the time and we don't have the talent to be i-banker, so we stick with mutual funds, and primarily in 401K. For us, we are in the middle of the risk tolerance scale. I am a little risk adverse than my husband. He believes in leveraging good debt such as student loan and mortgages. He prefers 30 years mortgages and not paying down so soon. I like to be debt free and prefer 15 year mortgage. At one point, we pulled out a HELOC to buy another property with a cash offer, then refi later. It was a bit nerve racking for me, but it made sense at the time.

I also agree not to overfund the 529. We hope in a couple years, we have enough to fund majority of the college tuition, though we know it still won't be enough, but hopefully difference will be manageable. For our two kids, we hope to give them a debt free education and as much as we can for the down payment of the first home. We want to give them a good start financially so they don't feel too cash-trapped, after that they will be on their own. This is definitely the asian blood in me.

We actually thought life insurance is a good thing, at least if anything were to happen to us, kids are protected.

I see your point when you say optimizing savings vs living your day. Our parents have always been frugal, to the extreme, especially towards themselves. They have never been frugal to friends and kids, but they never spend on themselves. It hurts sometimes to see they spend so much effort to save a few pennies (such as taking a bus to Chinatown because they feel like the veggies are cheaper, while I am all about Amazon / Wholefood deliveries). They worry so much about their kids and saving money even to this day when the kids are financially independent. We strive to be in the middle, we hope to give our kids a solid foundation but we want to treat ourselves well as well. We are greedy, we want to be able to achieve both

 

[Phoenix]

Hi,
Since we have a started discussion on investing I thought I would post these varying comments.

On Friday a list of how the Hedge-funds are doing this year was reported. The big surprise was that most are losing money. 4%, 5%. I was quite shocked, so to me it does seem like speculation.

A new star has been born in a woman called Cathy Wood who runs a fund with a 5 yr time horizon, Her buys are reported almost everyday. I bought a speculative stock called VUZI that went up nicely in the beginning, but has sold off and is a loss to me now. Yet Cathy Woods keeps buying it, along with many others. I need a tax loss this year to offset a large gain, and now I think I must hold this stock as Cathy Woods seems to think its a good investment. I have 2 other losses to choose from, so I'll think on it.

Annette

Hedge funds have been doing horrible, as of late esp considering stock market has been going up (barring the last week or so)...or at least that's what I've been reading.

Cathy Wood is nuts! I do hear about her buys everyday. I'm not sure about her, so not sure...

 

[LilAlex]

Cathy Wood is nuts! I do hear about her buys everyday. I'm not sure about her, so not sure...

Yes, you are wise to keep your distance. No one consistently beats the market -- and by the time you hear about them, they are already nothing special.

She made some big -- and ultimately successful -- bets on tech. So did a lot of folks. She has no magic touch because there is no magic touch. Unless you: 1) buy undervalued companies and fix them yourself (Warren Buffett); or 2) buy undervalued companies, charge them an outrageous "fee" for your restructuring services, and then gut them (Bain Capital/Mitt Romney comes to mind but he is far from the worst).

All US publicly-traded companies can be divided into nine flavors based on company size and whether they are growth- or value-oriented. In very general terms, the former pay no dividends (see below) but are expected to reward you in appreciating per-share price (think: Apple). The latter, in contrast, are "mature" companies that are expected to maintain stable earnings and a stable share price, and reward you with a piece of their annual profits in the form of dividends.

All the storied managers mostly pick one of these nine boxes and let it ride. You can download the Morningstar app and look every day how these broad categories fare. It is hugely entertaining -- one day large-cap growth is way up and the next day it is way down and another flavor is having a run.

In the '80s, I bought "20th Century Ultra" (now "American Century Ultra") -- it was the Cathie Woods ARK Funds of its day. It was phenomenal -- and then it tanked. Stayed down for 10 or 15 years. Popped back up this last decade since it was mostly large-cap growth. No special sauce -- it did exactly what large-cap growth stocks did.

 

[kenny]

Sell everything you own.
Use all of it to buy apple stock back on December 12, 1980.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

Since Apple has been mentioned several times, I want to say that although one "Ought to have a balanced portfolio, it has been said that putting all your marbles in one basket is a way to get rich. Yes, you can also go bust. But ,April Baby made her killing in Apple as I believe she has a son who works for Apple. so had faith in the company. I own some Apple, not much that I purchased when the shares recently split. I am up 40% already.

Since I can afford to speculate a little, I did buy Rivian on the IPO for a quick trade. I bought at 106.75 and sold at 118. It went to 160 before falling. I'm looking at it again. As a trade only

For many yrs I only owned 7-8 stocks in the portfolio with minor changes. I recently have 14, which I think is too much for me. I'M TRYING TO REDUCE IT.

Annette

 

[MRBXXXFVVS1]

Curious to get the group's thoughts on market outlook in 2022?

I really like reading Financial Samurai's blog, for those interested in checking it out!

 

[musicloveranthony]

My advice is check out Visa (V). It's in a massive dip and it's definitely gonna bounce back

 

[LilAlex]

Curious to get the group's thoughts on market outlook in 2022?

There is no way to know. Based on valuations, I have been expecting "modest returns" for years now. So have most experts. Glad to be wrong.

If you are young and earning, pray for a crash (that's what I tell my kids) -- it's the only way you will get cheap shares now. All the years we were grumbling about terrible returns, we were quietly accumulating boatloads of cheap shares in our retirement plans and then -- voila!

In terms of buying individual stocks, unless you are prepared to invest like 10% of your assets, it's mostly a waste of time. And anyone who would put 10% of their assets in a single stock is nuts. So there is that paradox...

Retail clients (all of us) are laughably bad "stock-pickers" -- buying high and selling low. There are objective data that support this. The overwhelming majority of actively-traded accounts earn nowhere near what the market earns; client portfolios grow way slower than the market as a whole. Fidelity, for example, has these data. This should tell you something. But maybe you are that one in a hundred who gets it right . At least this time.

Rivian guy -- you think you know how the EV market will evolve? Study the ICE market and look who was left standing after the thousand or so start-ups narrowed to a handful...

 

[Phoenix]

Yes, you are wise to keep your distance. No one consistently beats the market -- and by the time you hear about them, they are already nothing special.

She made some big -- and ultimately successful -- bets on tech. So did a lot of folks. She has no magic touch because there is no magic touch. Unless you: 1) buy undervalued companies and fix them yourself (Warren Buffett); or 2) buy undervalued companies, charge them an outrageous "fee" for your restructuring services, and then gut them (Bain Capital/Mitt Romney comes to mind but he is far from the worst).

All US publicly-traded companies can be divided into nine flavors based on company size and whether they are growth- or value-oriented. In very general terms, the former pay no dividends (see below) but are expected to reward you in appreciating per-share price (think: Apple). The latter, in contrast, are "mature" companies that are expected to maintain stable earnings and a stable share price, and reward you with a piece of their annual profits in the form of dividends.

All the storied managers mostly pick one of these nine boxes and let it ride. You can download the Morningstar app and look every day how these broad categories fare. It is hugely entertaining -- one day large-cap growth is way up and the next day it is way down and another flavor is having a run.

In the '80s, I bought "20th Century Ultra" (now "American Century Ultra") -- it was the Cathie Woods ARK Funds of its day. It was phenomenal -- and then it tanked. Stayed down for 10 or 15 years. Popped back up this last decade since it was mostly large-cap growth. No special sauce -- it did exactly what large-cap growth stocks did.

Crazy!!

I've long figured out that these so called "experts" are not really experts. I take what they say/do with a pinch of salt. I mean, I read up but then I take all that I read into consideration and make up my own mind. Of course, there are times I've been wrong too. Nobody is right/successful 100% of the time. For most people, I'd agree that an index fund is best. If you pick individual stocks, be prepared for the wild rides! lol

 

[Phoenix]

@MRBXXXFVVS1 , i am certainly not an expert, but my guess would be that 2022 is gonna be slow, nowhere near 2020 and 2021 have been, thanks to high/ rising inflation and thus rising interest rates. Also, Fed is tapering, more aggressively than previously thought. Add to that the uncertainty on Omicron and we have a massive storm brewing, though hopefully the uncertainty re latter should hopefully "resolve" ( i use this term loosely) soon, meaning we'll find out one way or another about Omicron and importantly whether/what vaccines will work. Market doesn't like uncertainty. But I think Covid will be around forever, will not be eradicated.

@smitcompton, I have in the past traded more than 10 stocks. But I also find sticking to 5-6-7 or at most 8 stocks is best. But I do switch my stocks around. I don't trade the same stocks all the time. Having said that, my portfolio is roughly divided into 2 parts: one for growth (permanent, safer stocks and index funds) and one for trading (in and out, ie. for speculation or short term profit).

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

2022-- inflation is rearing its ugly head and the Fed will taper faster and start raising interest rates faster. Thus the financials and energy will rise. If the economy booms and covid stays under control we will have a good year. In the financials I own: Bank Of America, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo. At the start of the Financial Crisis I deducted that if the Gov't was going to bail out some banks, this would be the time to buy. So, I bought BOA for 3.00 and change and kept accumulating . This is a core holding and my largest, and yes, it's a high percentage of my portfolio. I also bought City bank at 2.00 and change and had 10,000 shares of that stock. Sold C and bought Wells Fargo which was fine until they were found to be cheating customers. I have held it and now have a nice profit. Morgan Stanley is my latest purchase.
I own Chevron and Exxon Mobil, for both the possible gain, and the dividends, which I need for income. I
I think an index fund is good for those not interested in worrying. I have a friend who tells me that she has 20 people worrying for her in the fund she owns. I enjoy picking them. I do lose. but have done much better than expected.
Good Tech stocks will continue to do well. I own three. Apple, AMD, and Zilinx. There is a story there, but I wont' bore you with it now.
If Covid is under control we will have a good year. The Fed will raise rates, as it should b.

Annette

 

[whitewave]

I opened a wealthfront account for each of my kids— I wanted an auto save that I didn’t have to think about. They are at highest risk, 9.0 on their scale since they are young.

Its up 17% (not great but better than savings account) and I don’t have to think about it.

 

[Phoenix]

Hi,

2022-- inflation is rearing its ugly head and the Fed will taper faster and start raising interest rates faster. Thus the financials and energy will rise. If the economy booms and covid stays under control we will have a good year. In the financials I own: Bank Of America, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo. At the start of the Financial Crisis I deducted that if the Gov't was going to bail out some banks, this would be the time to buy. So, I bought BOA for 3.00 and change and kept accumulating . This is a core holding and my largest, and yes, it's a high percentage of my portfolio. I also bought City bank at 2.00 and change and had 10,000 shares of that stock. Sold C and bought Wells Fargo which was fine until they were found to be cheating customers. I have held it and now have a nice profit. Morgan Stanley is my latest purchase.
I own Chevron and Exxon Mobil, for both the possible gain, and the dividends, which I need for income. I
I think an index fund is good for those not interested in worrying. I have a friend who tells me that she has 20 people worrying for her in the fund she owns. I enjoy picking them. I do lose. but have done much better than expected.
Good Tech stocks will continue to do well. I own three. Apple, AMD, and Zilinx. There is a story there, but I wont' bore you with it now.
If Covid is under control we will have a good year. The Fed will raise rates, as it should b.

Annette

I'd love to hear.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi.
Just another investment story-- As I;ve indicated I sometimes trade a stock. I'm also very happy to make a few hundred dollars on the trade. So, when AMD was 10.00 a share I did some trading in it. I did it several times and then it got away from me (went too high-mid 20.s), so I didn't chase it because it was only a trade. When I looked again it was in the 60's and semi-conductors were becoming the darlings of the market. I bought Amd in the 60's and Taiwan Semi also in the 60's. I sold AMD when I made 10,000, but held TSC. AMD kept rising and I bought it back on a pullback. Then I learned AMD was buying Xilinx so I held as everyone thought this was great. TSC increased 50% and I sold it at 109.00. Then an analyst came on explaining the spread between AMD and Xilinx. Xilinx was about 150. He said it would probably close at 178.I really do have a big tax bill so by my simple math calculations I could make a few thous toward my tax bill. so, I bought Xilinx. It kept going up with AMD. The buyout is supposed to occur this month. You get 1.72 shares of AMD for every Xilinx share.
I'm going to wait for it to close. I like Dr. Lisa, and she also seems to be everyones darling. I'm rooting for her and for me. Its been a wonderful stock for me. Up 100 %
End of story.

Annette

 

[LilAlex]

Uh this is like my thread on chainsaw juggling. Somebody needs to lock it before someone gets hurt.

 

[LilAlex]

It is getting very frothy...we are closing in on dot-com bubble territory. I remember that really well. I remember my neighbor's brand-new Porsche in the driveway and his boss stopping buy in his new Ferrari the same day. Spouse and I felt like idiots working for a living. The whole house of cards came tumbling down pretty quick.

 

[MRBXXXFVVS1]

It is getting very frothy...we are closing in on dot-com bubble territory. I remember that really well. I remember my neighbor's brand-new Porsche in the driveway and his boss stopping buy in his new Ferrari the same day. Spouse and I felt like idiots working for a living. The whole house of cards came tumbling down pretty quick.

Curious how you would compare today's market with the dot-com bubble? What about from a fundamentals person?

My advice, don't "trade" what you can't afford to have a total loss on. Put long term investments in index funds, high quality stocks, etc.

 

[Phoenix]

Hi.
Just another investment story-- As I;ve indicated I sometimes trade a stock. I'm also very happy to make a few hundred dollars on the trade. So, when AMD was 10.00 a share I did some trading in it. I did it several times and then it got away from me (went too high-mid 20.s), so I didn't chase it because it was only a trade. When I looked again it was in the 60's and semi-conductors were becoming the darlings of the market. I bought Amd in the 60's and Taiwan Semi also in the 60's. I sold AMD when I made 10,000, but held TSC. AMD kept rising and I bought it back on a pullback. Then I learned AMD was buying Xilinx so I held as everyone thought this was great. TSC increased 50% and I sold it at 109.00. Then an analyst came on explaining the spread between AMD and Xilinx. Xilinx was about 150. He said it would probably close at 178.I really do have a big tax bill so by my simple math calculations I could make a few thous toward my tax bill. so, I bought Xilinx. It kept going up with AMD. The buyout is supposed to occur this month. You get 1.72 shares of AMD for every Xilinx share.
I'm going to wait for it to close. I like Dr. Lisa, and she also seems to be everyones darling. I'm rooting for her and for me. Its been a wonderful stock for me. Up 100 %
End of story.

Annette

Love this story!

I've been buying and selling AMD and NVDA, amongst a few other stocks. Wish I'd stayed invested in AMD all along.