While everyone is aware of Vanguard and the Fidelity fund families, there's always the chance that either company will disappear whether through a merger or through management incompetence. One of the traders asked me which fund families I would look at regardless of the annual costs. Here are five, in no particular order:
Dodge and Cox, http://www.dodgeandcox.com
The Royce Funds, http://www.roycefunds.com
The Torray Funds, http://www.torray.com
Tweedy, Browne Co., http://www.tweedybrowne.com
Just a reminder that for 90% of investors, change is not necessary. However if you're one of the 10% who's underperforming your peers, comparing how these funds are doing with both your portfolio and the market averages is one investment possibility.
Edit June 4, 2007, The Weitz Funds was removed because one of their main funds was featured on fundalarm.com. While the prior 12-year fund history is among the top quarter, it's what they're doing now that matters to investors. The main argument against is that their reasoning for continuing to hold their core holding, Countrywide Financial as it declined from its highs, was somewhat wishy-washy. While no fund manager is perfect, by not admitting one's mistakes upfront sends a mixed message on whether they are watching what's working in today's markets.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Ordered Credit Report and Charts for Energy
Late last week, I ordered my free report from one of the three major credit rating agencies to verify I wasn't a victim of identity theft.
In addition to 20 hours of practice for next week's trip during the World Series of Poker, I was going through the weekly charts after options expiration. As casy's thoughts of "I ain't buying no sissy retail" and "energy" run through my head, I noticed I was only looking at energy. I also have in the back of my mind of what the ladies were saying about retail so perhaps August might be a better time to look at them, when college and high school students return for the fall.
Anyway, for the here and now, since I'm looking for opportunities for extra money on the 7% cash position, here's what I was charting:
TSO, ALJ, PCZ, FTO, TPP, CLB, LUFK, TESO, DRQ, GRP, NOV, OII, GMRK, OMNI, CAM, BJS, BTJ, HP, UNT, RIG
The ones that caught me eye were NOV, RIG, CLB, and OMNI.
Now NOV is on the IBD 100 so be mindful, however, the other point it is near the $100 price point. I remember a point from Livermore that when stocks reach the $100 price point for the first time, if the move is for real, the price will continue to rise on momentum alone.
OMNI is one of the ladies' small cap energy picks from earlier this year. It's recently broken out of a base pattern.
Knowing my tendency, I probably will look at NOV and RIG first, and if I can't decide, will go off the board with TPP for its 6.2% dividend.
In addition to 20 hours of practice for next week's trip during the World Series of Poker, I was going through the weekly charts after options expiration. As casy's thoughts of "I ain't buying no sissy retail" and "energy" run through my head, I noticed I was only looking at energy. I also have in the back of my mind of what the ladies were saying about retail so perhaps August might be a better time to look at them, when college and high school students return for the fall.
Anyway, for the here and now, since I'm looking for opportunities for extra money on the 7% cash position, here's what I was charting:
TSO, ALJ, PCZ, FTO, TPP, CLB, LUFK, TESO, DRQ, GRP, NOV, OII, GMRK, OMNI, CAM, BJS, BTJ, HP, UNT, RIG
The ones that caught me eye were NOV, RIG, CLB, and OMNI.
Now NOV is on the IBD 100 so be mindful, however, the other point it is near the $100 price point. I remember a point from Livermore that when stocks reach the $100 price point for the first time, if the move is for real, the price will continue to rise on momentum alone.
OMNI is one of the ladies' small cap energy picks from earlier this year. It's recently broken out of a base pattern.
Knowing my tendency, I probably will look at NOV and RIG first, and if I can't decide, will go off the board with TPP for its 6.2% dividend.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Two Life Insurance Companies to Avoid and 10 Financial Questions for a Potential Soulmate
Policyholders with Nacolah Life or North American Life Insurance based in Illinois may want to be wary when it comes to holding their policies. While there may be many insurance companies that are on the straight, this is one that I wouldn't trust anyone's life on. Just remember that one way in which insurance companies generate their profits is when policyholders pay continuous premiums but never file a claim. Or perhaps the policyholder dies but the cause of death is excluded due to a nondisclosed line item change in their policy. One of the more common tricks is when the insurance company stalls in making policy changes when determining whom can access your account records such as an executor. So that if a policyholder becomes unexpectedly incapacitated but is still alive, there's a chance the policy expires because family or friends cannot keep the premiums up to date because the insurance companies uses the privacy and confidentiality laws to prohibit non-account holders from accessing the basic information.
Colonial Life and Accidental Insurance based in Columbia, South Carolina is another I would be wary of as well. While I have no specific problems with this company, the most recent visit by their sales agent at work nearly prompted me to file a claim with our state's insurance board. In short, he was snotty, arrogant, and pretty much said, "I think you're making a big mistake not having one of our policies." Now that I have had a chance to think about it, the next time I see him, because we see him once a year, I will tape record our meeting and hope he tries the same stunt so that I can file an unlawful practices claim with the state governing board. And yes for the record, he was "snooty" too.
Kiplinger's Personal Finance had an article that will probably generate a lot of controversy but the saying "you're not as good as gold" would apply. If you are truly serious about someone for marriage (and when I mean marriage its between one man and one woman), if the relationship is truly open, here are 10 questions to ask one another:
1) Where do they want to be in five to ten years? Supposedly things such as what part of the nation to reside, going back to school, starting a business would be part of this answer.
2) What are each person's assets and liabilties? Pre-nuptials are a difficult topic, but it's a necessary topic because if you can't talk about finances now, what will it be like after several years of marriage.
3) Having both joint and separate bank accounts. This is necessary since many couples are the proverbial opposites attract. One's a spender, and the counterpart is a saver. Have a joint account to pay all the common bills (housing expenses, property taxes, insurance, meals), but each person should have a separate account to have a little fun, say no more than 5% of each person's paycheck, so that they don't have to explain to one another why she bought a pair of shoes at Jimmy Choo's and why he bought another power tool at Lowes.
4) Investment selections. Generally, I prefer that each person makes their own decisions with regards to investments. If the other spouse requests assistance then give it freely. However, if they do not ask, at the least find out whether they are beating the market averages. If they are ahead of the market averages, then there's no need to worry. When one spouse is making the majority of the decisions, it is their responsibility to assist the other on sharing their knowledge with the other in case one spouse becomes financially incapacitated.
5) Having a budget. Each spouse should have a budget. It does not have to be a line item down to the penny budget, but in short, "You have X to spend for 31 days, you can spend anyway you wish, but after that nothing." If you spend over that amount, the overage is reduced by the following month. Since Housing, Taxes, and Meals eat up most of the budget, theoretically that should make things easy. And no cheating by using Credit Cards, Debit Cards, credit lines, home equity lines, or anything related to credit.
6) Who's responsible for paying the joint bills and tax returns? One person should take responsibility and the other should audit it to learn how the numbers were calculated. When you are married, you cannot claim ignorance if your spouse makes a computational error on tax returns. Your signature on the tax return states you are equally subject to your spouses' penalties or errors. The mathematics required to learn this is 4th grade level. And you do not need anyone from H&R Block, Jackson Hewitt, or any public CPA firm to tell you how to use addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. At worse, there's always the calculator you can purchase at 99 cents stores.
7) Risk tolerance. This goes above with question four. Allow each person to take some risk, but make sure that the overall portfolio total net worth is increasing each year.
8) Insurance. This is mainly to make sure you are not double paying for the same coverage. Make sure the basics such as auto liability, health, dental, vision, homeowners (rental) are covered. Then go through each policy to see you are truly getting the best value for each of you. You noticed I didn't mention life. Life is only needed to cover a surviving spouse without a means of supplemental income. Almost any other reason is salesman speak. Don't fall for it.
9) What does each person's credit report look like? Any bankruptcies? If he or she is your equal, their credit report should be relatively similar to your own. Once you are married, both the benefits and the skeletons of the past become your own.
10) What happens if they become in debt? While this would hopefully never occur, there's likely two reasons for debt: first time purchase of a home, or unexpected medical expenses. You'll want to know their reaction to this hypothetical situation to know if they have the will to handle something this stressful.
This doesn't cover everything but it's an interesting financial snapshot of trying to figure out if the person you're seeing at least in financial terms is the right match.
Colonial Life and Accidental Insurance based in Columbia, South Carolina is another I would be wary of as well. While I have no specific problems with this company, the most recent visit by their sales agent at work nearly prompted me to file a claim with our state's insurance board. In short, he was snotty, arrogant, and pretty much said, "I think you're making a big mistake not having one of our policies." Now that I have had a chance to think about it, the next time I see him, because we see him once a year, I will tape record our meeting and hope he tries the same stunt so that I can file an unlawful practices claim with the state governing board. And yes for the record, he was "snooty" too.
Kiplinger's Personal Finance had an article that will probably generate a lot of controversy but the saying "you're not as good as gold" would apply. If you are truly serious about someone for marriage (and when I mean marriage its between one man and one woman), if the relationship is truly open, here are 10 questions to ask one another:
1) Where do they want to be in five to ten years? Supposedly things such as what part of the nation to reside, going back to school, starting a business would be part of this answer.
2) What are each person's assets and liabilties? Pre-nuptials are a difficult topic, but it's a necessary topic because if you can't talk about finances now, what will it be like after several years of marriage.
3) Having both joint and separate bank accounts. This is necessary since many couples are the proverbial opposites attract. One's a spender, and the counterpart is a saver. Have a joint account to pay all the common bills (housing expenses, property taxes, insurance, meals), but each person should have a separate account to have a little fun, say no more than 5% of each person's paycheck, so that they don't have to explain to one another why she bought a pair of shoes at Jimmy Choo's and why he bought another power tool at Lowes.
4) Investment selections. Generally, I prefer that each person makes their own decisions with regards to investments. If the other spouse requests assistance then give it freely. However, if they do not ask, at the least find out whether they are beating the market averages. If they are ahead of the market averages, then there's no need to worry. When one spouse is making the majority of the decisions, it is their responsibility to assist the other on sharing their knowledge with the other in case one spouse becomes financially incapacitated.
5) Having a budget. Each spouse should have a budget. It does not have to be a line item down to the penny budget, but in short, "You have X to spend for 31 days, you can spend anyway you wish, but after that nothing." If you spend over that amount, the overage is reduced by the following month. Since Housing, Taxes, and Meals eat up most of the budget, theoretically that should make things easy. And no cheating by using Credit Cards, Debit Cards, credit lines, home equity lines, or anything related to credit.
6) Who's responsible for paying the joint bills and tax returns? One person should take responsibility and the other should audit it to learn how the numbers were calculated. When you are married, you cannot claim ignorance if your spouse makes a computational error on tax returns. Your signature on the tax return states you are equally subject to your spouses' penalties or errors. The mathematics required to learn this is 4th grade level. And you do not need anyone from H&R Block, Jackson Hewitt, or any public CPA firm to tell you how to use addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. At worse, there's always the calculator you can purchase at 99 cents stores.
7) Risk tolerance. This goes above with question four. Allow each person to take some risk, but make sure that the overall portfolio total net worth is increasing each year.
8) Insurance. This is mainly to make sure you are not double paying for the same coverage. Make sure the basics such as auto liability, health, dental, vision, homeowners (rental) are covered. Then go through each policy to see you are truly getting the best value for each of you. You noticed I didn't mention life. Life is only needed to cover a surviving spouse without a means of supplemental income. Almost any other reason is salesman speak. Don't fall for it.
9) What does each person's credit report look like? Any bankruptcies? If he or she is your equal, their credit report should be relatively similar to your own. Once you are married, both the benefits and the skeletons of the past become your own.
10) What happens if they become in debt? While this would hopefully never occur, there's likely two reasons for debt: first time purchase of a home, or unexpected medical expenses. You'll want to know their reaction to this hypothetical situation to know if they have the will to handle something this stressful.
This doesn't cover everything but it's an interesting financial snapshot of trying to figure out if the person you're seeing at least in financial terms is the right match.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Balance of Power Indicator on Worden Telecharts
When I used to trade a lot of earnings plays, one of the technical tools I used was the BOP indicator on Worden Telecharts. The BOP indicator tells you whether block trades over 10k shares are trading on upticks or downticks. I usually scan for one of two patterns: either confirmation of an existing trend, or signs of a trend reversal. For example, suppose a stock you're watching is in an uptrend for anywhere between ten days and two months. If prior to an earnings release, the BOP is red or a negative value and the stock continues to climb, I'm more likely to either sell or short the position before the earnings release. Now some may balk at the $100/month cost for Telecharts. But in my personal experience, that $100 has saved me from many potential catastrophes.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Increase your stop at least $.75 on FLIR
I'm increasing my stop on the remaining 100 shares by $.95 to 39.55. Most of the earnings players who captured the gains from a few days ago probably have their stop around 40.30. I'm being a bit more cautious on the newer longs as they will be first to be stopped out on any meaningful pullback.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Today's tuition and Play Like A Champion
As I stated to some of my fellow daytraders yesterday, I would either be a fish or lucky after selling the last casino from the portfolio. As of this afternoon prior to tomorrow's earnings announcement, I'm looking like a fish, since its turning out to be a $225 tuition lesson.
Unfortunately, I have let some of the doodad distractions in the past month interfere with my overall performance. Ironically, my year to date performance closely mirrors 2006, which is both optimistic and frightening. Frightening in that this same time last year, foreshadowed a bleak seven months on a personal finance level.
The thing to watch out for is that "playing not to lose" is a horrible way of thinking. Whether its trading, sports, activities, or life in general, I have yet to see anyone successful who adopted a "not to lose" strategy. It's ok, not to be arrogant when it comes to your decision making ability; but if you allow distractions to interfere with your profits, something needs to be changed or the next time, the tuition lesson will not be so forgiving.
Although The University of Notre Dame is reviled by many parts of the U.S., one thing adversaries and allies of the university agree upon is the slogan affixed to the top of the doorway upon exiting the football locker room. The slogan says "Play Like A Champion Today", and its customary for each team member to slap their hand on the slogan as they pass through the doorway before a home game. Before you allow negative thoughts to interfere with your day, focus on what you want to accomplish today. The rest of the world's problems will still be there.
Unfortunately, I have let some of the doodad distractions in the past month interfere with my overall performance. Ironically, my year to date performance closely mirrors 2006, which is both optimistic and frightening. Frightening in that this same time last year, foreshadowed a bleak seven months on a personal finance level.
The thing to watch out for is that "playing not to lose" is a horrible way of thinking. Whether its trading, sports, activities, or life in general, I have yet to see anyone successful who adopted a "not to lose" strategy. It's ok, not to be arrogant when it comes to your decision making ability; but if you allow distractions to interfere with your profits, something needs to be changed or the next time, the tuition lesson will not be so forgiving.
Although The University of Notre Dame is reviled by many parts of the U.S., one thing adversaries and allies of the university agree upon is the slogan affixed to the top of the doorway upon exiting the football locker room. The slogan says "Play Like A Champion Today", and its customary for each team member to slap their hand on the slogan as they pass through the doorway before a home game. Before you allow negative thoughts to interfere with your day, focus on what you want to accomplish today. The rest of the world's problems will still be there.
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