My 401(K): What's Next To Buy, And Why [View article]
Depends on whether your company contributes to your 401k or not. Mine doesn't, but the tax break and "automatically" saving pre-tax dollars helps my annual cash flow and bottom line while achieving my objective of saving as much as I can. Also, I'm 51, and at some point soon (when I'm 55? Or is it 59.5? Someone please chime in here with the correct age...) I'll be able to move my money out of my 401K and into my IRA without penalty, so I can then allocate those funds the way I want to, with no restrictions like I have on my choices in my 401K currently. So.... If your employer matches up to a certain percent, I'd contribute enough to make sure you get all that your employer is willing to pony up, then, well, do whatever you want with the rest... Just be sure to save!!!
My Mad Method: What Next To Buy, And Why? April 2013 [View article]
Sorry, Bull, I still don't understand your reference, or what it is you're asking... Can you elaborate a bit more, please?
I'm not aware of any "taxation disputes" that US companies are subject to, but that doesn't mean they don't exist... Can you describe what it is you're looking for?
My Mad Method: What Next To Buy, And Why? April 2013 [View article]
Hi, dave.
I don't necessarily sell immediately after the ex-div date, no. I try not to sell if I'm very close to the ex-div date, but I'm not playing that game of buying (hopefully low), waiting for the ex-div date, locking in the dividend, then selling and going to look for something else I can do that with. I try to look at the upcoming ex-div date and not sell if I'm super close to it (which I hope I didn't do in the case of these stocks! Ha!), but really it was such a low number of shares, I wouldn't be too upset with myself if I'd sold one of them a week or two out from their ex-div dates. Don't think I did, but I'll double-check...
My Mad Method: What Next To Buy, And Why? April 2013 [View article]
Hi, Matthew.
It's not an arbitrary number. I explain it in previous articles, and chowder probably has a good InstaBlog where he explains it better. The goal is to minimize the risk of any one position dragging the value of the whole portfolio down if something untowards happens to that company. Hence, 50 positions, with the goal being a good degree of diversity mixed with some "doubling up" on certain industries or sectors (like owning both KO and PEP) to get the Top 2 dogs in that sector, and with an even distribution between them of the overall value of the portfolio, hence the 2% goal for each position. At the moment I now have 30 positions, so "parity" is 3.33%. Something that has grown significantly over that percent allocation AND has shown a profit is subject to getting pruned back, and those profits redistributed across other positions that are below the current parity level.
Hope that helps. I really recommend you read chowder's InstaBlogs here on SA; he's got a kind of tutorial on his view of Dividend Growth Investing [DGI] laid out over several entries, and explains the logic behind the approach that he uses, which I am attempting to emulate (to a certain degree)...
My Mad Method: What Next To Buy, And Why? April 2013 [View article]
Thanks, Roady.
Yeah, BBL is definitely near the top of the list for what to add to next. However, I've got a few other positions that are so far below parity that I'm kinda anxious to get them built up (and they have great dividends, too, as does BBL). But you never know; it might be BBL that gets some love next time around... :-)
My Mad Method: What Next To Buy, And Why? April 2013 [View article]
Thanks, Rudester!
Yeah, we'll need to see if "Sell in May" happens this year. If so, I've really got nothing else to trim profits from, but I will have dividends accumulating with which to purchase something that (hopefully) drops as a result... :-)
The Method To My Stock-Picking Madness, Part 1 [View article]
Hi, kimidezzer.
That's one of the great things about the MyMM spreadsheet: You can add (and remove) whatever metrics you want to to meet your particular tastes for how you want to evaluate stocks!
My son lives in downtown Boston. I didn't know that the bombings had taken place until he sent me a text saying that he was OK, wasn't anywhere near where they took place. Quite a shocker. And yes, our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the dead and wounded, and everyone else who was affected by that cowardly tragedy...
Not afraid of UVE, just being cautious, and have (or had) other priorities. I haven't plugged in my numbers from today's close, but it's likely that I won't be taking those profits like I thought I might. Unfortunately I've been too busy with work & family to act as quickly as I'd like to have, but, c'est la vie! I've still got my eye on UVE, I just was planning on bringing HRS &/or PM up closer to parity. Now I've got to see where everything stands, and decide what to do over the next few days. Thanks for the info on UVE, appreciate it!
My 401(K): What's Next To Buy, And Why [View article]
Unfortunately, my 401K plan does not allow me to invest in individual stocks, or I definitely would be including them in the mix, if not trading them exclusively! However, I do have an IRA where I hold individual stocks, and which I write about regularly hear on SA using the "My Mad Method" 'brand' name. Feel free to read those and follow along as I try to build up my retirement nest egg to the point where it eventually generates enough income from dividends to replace my paycheck when I'm ready to retire!
My 401(K): What's Next To Buy, And Why [View article]
My Mad Method: What Next To Buy, And Why? April 2013 [View article]
I'm not aware of any "taxation disputes" that US companies are subject to, but that doesn't mean they don't exist... Can you describe what it is you're looking for?
My Mad Method: What Next To Buy, And Why? April 2013 [View article]
I don't necessarily sell immediately after the ex-div date, no. I try not to sell if I'm very close to the ex-div date, but I'm not playing that game of buying (hopefully low), waiting for the ex-div date, locking in the dividend, then selling and going to look for something else I can do that with. I try to look at the upcoming ex-div date and not sell if I'm super close to it (which I hope I didn't do in the case of these stocks! Ha!), but really it was such a low number of shares, I wouldn't be too upset with myself if I'd sold one of them a week or two out from their ex-div dates. Don't think I did, but I'll double-check...
My Mad Method: What Next To Buy, And Why? April 2013 [View article]
It's not an arbitrary number. I explain it in previous articles, and chowder probably has a good InstaBlog where he explains it better. The goal is to minimize the risk of any one position dragging the value of the whole portfolio down if something untowards happens to that company. Hence, 50 positions, with the goal being a good degree of diversity mixed with some "doubling up" on certain industries or sectors (like owning both KO and PEP) to get the Top 2 dogs in that sector, and with an even distribution between them of the overall value of the portfolio, hence the 2% goal for each position. At the moment I now have 30 positions, so "parity" is 3.33%. Something that has grown significantly over that percent allocation AND has shown a profit is subject to getting pruned back, and those profits redistributed across other positions that are below the current parity level.
Hope that helps. I really recommend you read chowder's InstaBlogs here on SA; he's got a kind of tutorial on his view of Dividend Growth Investing [DGI] laid out over several entries, and explains the logic behind the approach that he uses, which I am attempting to emulate (to a certain degree)...
My Mad Method: What Next To Buy, And Why? April 2013 [View article]
Yeah, BBL is definitely near the top of the list for what to add to next. However, I've got a few other positions that are so far below parity that I'm kinda anxious to get them built up (and they have great dividends, too, as does BBL). But you never know; it might be BBL that gets some love next time around... :-)
My Mad Method: What Next To Buy, And Why? April 2013 [View article]
Yeah, we'll need to see if "Sell in May" happens this year. If so, I've really got nothing else to trim profits from, but I will have dividends accumulating with which to purchase something that (hopefully) drops as a result... :-)
My Mad Method: What Next To Buy, And Why? April 2013 [View article]
My Mad Method: What Next To Buy, And Why? April 2013 [View article]
The Method To My Stock-Picking Madness, Part 1 [View article]
That's one of the great things about the MyMM spreadsheet: You can add (and remove) whatever metrics you want to to meet your particular tastes for how you want to evaluate stocks!
My Mad Method: What Next To Buy, And Why? April 2013 [View article]
My Mad Method: What Next To Buy, And Why? April 2013 [View article]
My Mad Method: Q1 2013 Recap [View article]
My Mad Method: Q1 2013 Recap [View article]
Not afraid of UVE, just being cautious, and have (or had) other priorities. I haven't plugged in my numbers from today's close, but it's likely that I won't be taking those profits like I thought I might. Unfortunately I've been too busy with work & family to act as quickly as I'd like to have, but, c'est la vie! I've still got my eye on UVE, I just was planning on bringing HRS &/or PM up closer to parity. Now I've got to see where everything stands, and decide what to do over the next few days. Thanks for the info on UVE, appreciate it!
My 401(K): What's Next To Buy, And Why [View article]
Thanks, JP. My thoughts exactly!...
My 401(K): What's Next To Buy, And Why [View article]
Thanks for the comments, folks!