Investing megathread extravaganza

[DaFace]

A place to talk about investing stuff.

[scho63]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

And the year is over.

I'm pretty pleased with this year. Portfolio-wide, I got a return of 14.6% in 2016. I'll take that every year and be thrilled. How did others do? What worked and what didn't?

I did a little less than you at 12.67%, would have liked to do just a touch better.

I was all pretty much growth stocks in US with about 20% international, which was a laggard.

I also had 15% in a growth and income fund which I switched out a few months back due to rising interest rates. NO BOND FUNDS FOR A WHILE

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by scho63

I did a little less than you at 12.67%, would have liked to do just a touch better.

I was all pretty much growth stocks in US with about 20% international, which was a laggard.

I also had 15% in a growth and income fund which I switched out a few months back due to rising interest rates. NO BOND FUNDS FOR A WHILE

12.7 is a really nice return, too. This has been a nice year to be invested.

I probably should have more international stocks. I pretty much stick to dividend stocks these days, and for some reason the ones I like tend to be American.

[Fairplay]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

12.7 is a really nice return, too. This has been a nice year to be invested.

I probably should have more international stocks. I pretty much stick to dividend stocks these days, and for some reason the ones I like tend to be American.

Mine also.

[threebag]

I invested in a bunch of red tape bananas. When the stock is ripe I am going to roll them over into bread. Profit

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Fairplay

Mine also.

I remember us talking about Coke and Pepsi a while back. I keep being tempted to put more money into them. They both made money for me this year with the dividends, but they lagged the market. Thoughts?

[Demonpenz]

Coke and Pepsi are always talked about in investment books. Intellegent Investor and such.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Demonpenz

Coke and Pepsi are always talked about in investment books. Intellegent Investor and such.

I need to double down and also buy stock in some diabetes management companies, too.

[Nightfyre]

Sometimes, it's better to be lucky than good. I got tired of the performance of an index fund in February and started investing on my own. Since February, I have roughly doubled my Roth.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Nightfyre

Sometimes, it's better to be lucky than good. I got tired of the performance of an index fund in February and started investing on my own. Since February, I have roughly doubled my Roth.

You mean a 100% return, or is that counting contributions?

[Demonpenz]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I need to double down and also buy stock in some diabetes management companies, too.

that would definately sweeten the deal

[Nightfyre]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

You mean a 100% return, or is that counting contributions?

Net of contributions, a little over doubled, depending on the day. After five years of virtually no growth on my maxed out Roth contributions, I started playing with some call options and picking specific stocks. I haven't really refined my trading strategies with options yet, but you learn some expensive and valuable lessons.
The rule I am currently trying is to make a prediction, buy the position, and see it through. I actually left a huge amount of money on the table by exiting positions ahead of my predictions because I had tidy gains and was living by the "Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered" thought process.

The great thing about options though, is that you can make sufficient returns for your whole portfolio using just 5% of your actual account value. I have been sitting on roughly 60% cash since June and still making good gains. (I also have ~25-30% of my portfolio in stocks I have selected individually.)

[scho63]

Originally Posted by Nightfyre

Net of contributions, a little over doubled, depending on the day. After five years of virtually no growth on my maxed out Roth contributions, I started playing with some call options and picking specific stocks. I haven't really refined my trading strategies with options yet, but you learn some expensive and valuable lessons.
The rule I am currently trying is to make a prediction, buy the position, and see it through. I actually left a huge amount of money on the table by exiting positions ahead of my predictions because I had tidy gains and was living by the "Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered" thought process.

The great thing about options though, is that you can make sufficient returns for your whole portfolio using just 5% of your actual account value. I have been sitting on roughly 60% cash since June and still making good gains. (I also have ~25-30% of my portfolio in stocks I have selected individually.)

I call BS on this as naked option trading is not an allowed investment option for retirement accounts of any kind.

[Nightfyre]

Originally Posted by scho63

I call BS on this as naked option trading is not an allowed investment option for retirement accounts of any kind.

You can purchase calls and puts. You cannot SELL naked options, which I don't do.

[ThaVirus]

Originally Posted by hometeam

This is it.

Banks knows I will pay. I havent missed a payment since I first took out a 500 limit card when I was 18. I have racked up and payed off tens of high dollar loans, and am way down from my total credit limits.

800+ credit vs 750 doesnt really mean anything when you look at the whole picture. The whole picture shows I pay, and they can make interest off me. They want to give me money.

Beyond that, my plan is to have my emergency fund in place by jan 1. I went ahead and did 6% on my 401k at the new job, but I dont get a match until 1 year, and im not vested until 5 :/

I have already been offered a raise at my new job, as I have taken on even more responsibilities than we initially thought, once we got into the heart of things and found out wtf was happening here behind the scenes. That raise goes into effect Jan 1 also.

So did you get your emergency fund in place for the new year?

And what's the monthly payment on an $85k mortgage if you don't mind me asking? I'm guessing it's over 30 years?

[ghak99]

Originally Posted by lewdog

Any recommendations for sectors that lagged in 2016 and can be used for increasing what could be minimal gains in 2017?

Are you looking for a play on a deregulation move?

It's been on my mind, but I've been too busy to find something to get into.