Taking Some Profits, Buying A Little
Deep Value, Long-Term Horizon, Growth At A Reasonable Price, Special Situations
Seeking Alpha Analyst Since 2008
Geopolitical analyst, speaker, writer. Former professor, retired Brigadier General, Special Ops and Intelligence. I invest for myself and the world's best clients. You are welcome to join us.
Published or reviewed Wall Street Journal, Strategic Review, American Thinker, Forbes, others. I write for my own pleasure and your feedback on SA, my SA blog and on SA Marketplace site, The Investor's Edge. Author of the investment book "Bringing Home the Gold." I also write geopolitical commentary at "On Point -- National and Global Issues and Intrigues." You can see these essays gratis at https://josephlshaefer.substack.com/.
Summary
- Stopped out on a few holdings, all at a profit.
- Next, I will be lightening up on some mutual funds.
- And adding a couple more Defensive positions.
I believe 2021 will be a good year to be invested, particularly in the industries and sectors where intellectual capital trumps the production of goods -- hence my interest in owning companies like Palantir, though I am mostly waiting to invest further until after the lockup period ends in February.
I understand, and disagree with, the Biden administration decision to throw too much money for too long at people ostensibly "unemployed" while many of those same people, often still living at home with zero expenses, are putting every penny of it into GameStop, Naked, Big Five, AMC, et al and making a very nice living -- for the nonce. Say, "Thank you, American taxpayers. who support that lifestyle."
And I believe the headlong rush to immediately "go green" to create "a million new jobs," while possibly destroying a million in the oil and natural gas industry, is a zero sum game with potentially very negative consequences. One example is the state to the left of mine's decision to not disturb the "natural environment" extended to requiring special permitting to cut back tree branches near electrical line, which created fires that caused far more damage than a few less tree branches. Seriously, people, there is a thing called balance that Nature used to provide that we humans in some places still don't have the hang of.
However, even with the above possibly harming the economy and the credibility of the United States as a borrower, I see "a shot in the arm" as solving 90% of the economic slowdown, resulting a 100%+ recovery this year.
That shot in the arm is, of course, the literal one. I just spoke with one of my very sharp clients. His wife (and my client) is a nurse who has tried to save the lives of some patients who, when told they are suffering from Covid-19, scream variations of, "Covid-19 is a hoax to get the government to control our lives! What do I really have?!!"
Get the vaccination. That is the essential first step of the journey that allows businesses to re-open, students to get a real education, people to travel, friends to visit, and, once we stop helicoptering money as if it grew on those green trees, companies to hire anew and re-hire, and people to experience the joy of work.
Stopped Out
Unlike 2020, with its huge swoon down then mostly well-ratcheted back up, I think we will see more action this year like we have in January already: more volatility, though I don't see any reason on the horizon for a major decline. Coincident with the action this week, with 700 point decline, 300 point recovery, and a (currently) 600-point decline, we have been stopped out of some protective trailing stops. I will be entering buy orders on other companies or on some of these at better prices.
Every one of our stopped positions has been stopped at a profit so, if you follow the same issues and entered at the same price, you can buy back at a lower price without experiencing a wash sale. Here are the current ones:
650 Manulife Financial MFC: purchased October 15 @ $14.14, ended 2020 @ $17.82, sold today @ $18.
300 Artisan Partners APAM: Bought 12-21 @ $49.91, ended 2020 @$50.34, sold today @ $50.
350 Netgear NTGR: Bought 12-31 @ $40.85, sold @ $43.
300 Dow Inc DOW: Bought July 6 @ $41.48, ended 2020 @ $55.50, sold @ $54.
200 Rio Tinto RIO: Bought Aug 7 @ $60.95, ended 2020 @ $75.22, sold @ $78.
I will be making other purchases to the Growth & Value Portfolio at our Investors Edge Marketplace site -- and may well buy some of these back if the market correction is deep enough.
Enough for now!
Good health and good investing,
Joe
I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Additional disclosure: Unless you are a client of Stanford Wealth Management, I do not know your personal financial situation. Therefore, I offer my opinions above for your due diligence and not as advice to buy or sell specific securities.
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