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Dec30
Year End 2005 Performance
You're so smart Larry, how did you do in 2005?

I made four assumptions for my 2005 equity investments.  I assumed that oil prices would stay high or increase leading to profits for big oil.  I assumed that the companies that service big oil would do well as the companies would want to run as fast as they could to produce profits while the iron was hot.  I assumed that the Chinese demand would stay high and that commodities would continue to appreciate during the year.  Finally, I assumed that US real estate would continue to do very well in the low interest rate environment.  So, how did I do?

My best investment for the year was OIH, Oil Services Holders Trust which returned 56.75% on the year.  Second was XLE, Energy Select Sector SPDR which returned 43.83% on the year.
Third was ICF, IShares Cohen & Steers Realty which returned 11.08% in 2005.
I didn't do as well on the commodity trade, IYM, IShares DJ Basic Materials only returned 3.70%.

Still, these returns aren't bad when you consider that the SP500 returned 3.5% and the DJ Industrial Average was -0.34% or flat on the year.

What do you think the hot sectors will be for 2006 and why??
Dec29
Value Line
Another resource that is usually available at your local public library is Value Line.  It is a great source for doing research on companies and industries.  I'll let them toot their own horn here for a moment."The Value Line Investment... Continue Reading
Dec28
Mutual Fund Selection
I'd like to tell you about a resource for selecting mutual funds that is in most public libraries.  It is the Morningstar Reports.  It is usually kept at the reference desk.  Morningstar has a large staff of fund analysts who... Continue Reading
Dec27
Investment References
I thought I would share some references I have found useful through the years over the next few days.  For those of you looking to do fundamental or technical analysis, one of the most comprehensive sites is also the cheapest. ... Continue Reading
Dec26
Options
What are options? An option is a contract that gives you the right but not the obligation to buy or sell a specific asset at a specific price at a defined time. A call option is the right to buy an... Continue Reading
Dec23
Bond Substitute Portfolio
What is a Bond Substitute portfolio?People like bonds in their portfolios because of the cash coupon that is paid every six months.  One of the problems of owning bonds is that their value is eroded by inflation.  One of the... Continue Reading
Dec22
Dogs of the Dow
What is the strategy called "Dogs of the Dow"?  Does it work?Dogs of the Dow is a strategy where you take the 5 highest yielding stocks of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and buy them.  After some holding period, say... Continue Reading
Dec21
Comments on Winners & Losers
David wrote with some comments on Winners and Losers.  If I understood his points, he agreed that rules like selling after 5%, 10% or such are arbitrary.  He follows a long term buy and hold strategy it seems.  Find companies... Continue Reading
Dec20
Winners & Losers
When should I sell my winners and losers?Studies show investors sell their winners too quickly and hold on to their losers too long.  When we buy a stock or bond, we pay a certain price for it.  We fix that... Continue Reading
Dec19
Momentum Investing
What is Momentum Investing and does it work?In the simplest terms momentum investing selects stocks that are going up and buys them and stocks that are going down and sells them.  There are many different styles of momentum investing.  They... Continue Reading
Dec16
Scams and Frauds
Several times a month I receive emails promoting scams and frauds.  I will mention a couple of them and then generalize about detecting them.The most frequent scam I get is the Nigerian oil scam.  Someone purporting to be a member... Continue Reading
Dec15
FX Day Trading
Chris wrote with reference to trading FX, "... investing in the stock market has similar if not greater risks."  This is a pretty bold statement.  Risk in the investing world has specific meaning.  Remember, risk is defined by variance, or the... Continue Reading
Dec14
FX and the US Dollar
I see infomercials most Saturdays for FX trading systems.  They promise enormous returns for reasonable risks.  I'm here to tell you, it's not that easy.Foreign Exchange (FX) is not considered a separate asset class by most investors.  Rather, it is... Continue Reading
Know More Media
Great day in the morning!  It's official.  My publisher Know More Media has finally officially launched their service.  You can read all about their wonderful services at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/12/prweb321920.htm .Know More Media if focused on providing knowledge from business to business. ... Continue Reading
Dec13
FOMC Decision
The FOMC raised the Fed Funds rate to 4.25% today. They removed the language from their statement that implied their rates were accommodative (read low). They kept in language that measured increases might still be necessary. That means that more Fed tightening is... Continue Reading
Dec12
Gold, Gold, Gold
Gold is setting new 20 year price records each day.  How high can it go?  Should I invest now?  Will it go higher?Gold traditionally has been thought of as an inflation hedge.  A steep rise in gold prices often has... Continue Reading
Dec 9
Santa Claus Rally
Markets sometimes have seasonal patterns.  One of them is a Santa Claus rally.  During the month of December, the stock market may jump up a little.  It gives a nice pop to year end results.  Why might this be the... Continue Reading
Dec 8
But, I don't want to do it myself
I've got money but I don't have the time or interest to do the investing myself.  How do I select a financial advisor?There are at least a couple of broad classes of financial advisors.  One group makes its money by... Continue Reading
Dec 7
I've got Money, So Now What?
I've made a lot of money.  I want to earn a return on it.  So what do I do?  First, you need to decide if you have the time and the interest to do the investing yourself.  Most people can... Continue Reading
Dec 6
More on Index Funds
There are over 9,000 publicly traded securities.  More than 6,000 of them would be considered micro-cap stocks.  Most stock indexes contain far fewer stocks.  Some index funds measured by market cap include the Dow Jones Industrial Average (30 macro cap... Continue Reading
Index Funds
It is hard to beat an index fund over time for most investors.  It is also hard to tell if out performance of a fund is due to talent or random chance.  Take Peter Lynch, the famed fund manager for... Continue Reading
Dec 5
Index versus Active Funds
I've spent the last couple of weeks writing about investing basics.  It is necessary to get everyone on the same page.  I want to spend some time talking about how investors might invest.  It should be more fun.I was at... Continue Reading
Dec 2
Tax Deferred Savings - SIMPLE
You are undoubtably tired of my disclaimers about not being a tax attorney or tax accountant.  But I have no desire to practice law without a license or to displace CPAs who are licensed to give specific tax advice.  My... Continue Reading
Tax Deferred Savings - Keough Plan
As mentioned before, I am not a tax attorney or tax accountant.  I am giving general, educational information.  They are licensed and qualified to give specific recommendations for your specific circumstances.Another retirement plan that is available to small business owners... Continue Reading
Tax Deferred Savings - Uni-k
Small business owners have lots of options for tax deferred savings plans for them and their employees.  I'll briefly mention some of them.  I need to emphasize I am not a tax lawyer or an accountant.  My post is meant... Continue Reading
Tax Deferred Savings - SEPs
Small business owners have lots of options for tax deferred savings plans for them and their employees.  I'll briefly mention some of them.  I need to emphasize I am not a tax lawyer or an accountant.  My post is meant... Continue Reading
Dec 1
Another look at savings
Boy did I just learn a cruel lesson.  The software I'm using to write these posts doesn't save your material as you go along.  I went to view the site to check some of my figures and lost an entire... Continue Reading

« November 2005 | Main | January 2006 »

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