I have started converting 40% of cash that was sitting in my IRA into stocks today. I am <30, so wont be needing this money for a long time. I focused on 3 sectors: 1) oil/solar: Usually oil drops before election and runs up after election. However we are in a strange situation right now as the oil has crashed yet at the same time, the market is so wild it could very well drop another 10-20 on recession/slowdown fears. Not to mention the dollar could continue to gap, i really think the dollar is overbought. Look at the UUP chart, it's crazy. So instead of buying oil directly, i bought some solar solf stock today. It has a very direct relationship with uso at these low levels, but the downside risk is a bit less since it's already a $4 stock. And it's a solid company as i have traded/followed this since its ipo. 2) Tech Bought some nvda today as well at $6.4, the stock got destroyed from its chipset bugs and the current selloff but still a very well run company and strong products. Next year will be HUGE for pc games with some of the biggest names coming out (starcraft2, diablo3, etc..) and its only competition is amd's ati with intel still years away to be competitive in the graphic card sector. 3) Financial Didnt have the stomach to pick and choose, i was going to load some chase but just bought some xlf at 13.4 instead. I think this sector has its spring cleaning done already with the weakest players all gone(lehman, bear stern, so on..). I will load up some sp500 if it drops to the 700 level, and still looking for some good dividend blue chips, hard to find value these days if you think about the impact of a depression will have in that company. P/E are all but useless to determine value in the current economy. --------------------------- How about you guys? anyone started investing in their 401k/IRA, or still holding cash? or holding the bag? If you have started investing, what did you buy? Lets keep this to long term investment picks please, no daytrading stocks etc or debate on the economy. We have plenty of that already.
Closed-end funds at big discounts to NAV. London listed hedge funds at big discounts. Buying dips on BRK.
Since a year ago last July is when I went 90% cash or short, the monthly S&P does not show any basing and only a slight hint on the weekly for divergence. I did buy Wachovia but at a ninety cents and sold half at two dollars, the only stocks I still have are stocks that are literally free. I am not by any means a trend trader when I get in, never could find anything that tests out over long term that trend is my friend when position is first taken. I like buying stocks at incredible low prices, selling half at double what I paid and keeping the rest till I start seeing divergence on weekly charts and tighten Protective stops on 30%, so I will always keep the other 20%. I did buy Siri today at 22 cents, CDL at .25, WON at 12 cents, waiting for SIX to go lower. I believe the Dow will go much much lower 2400, we will have rallies to sell short, USA does not produce much of anything, companies going out of busness, loss of jobs, markets will drop, drop, drop and until markets go sideways for a number of years, no good reason to be buying in earnest in here. I will buy stocks only at less than a dollar and they must be good reason stocks, otherwise I am in cash as far as stocks. Handle
that is always what majority of people think at a bottom. I don't know where the bottom is but I think the current melt down has to reasons. First reason is deleveraging and the second is indeed a world wide recession which will definitely come. However stocks always make a bottom in the beginning of a recession and I think that due to the current unwinding of hedge funds we could see it even earlier this time. There is a great book I think its from David Drehman who says its best time to invest if newspapers max. the word Recession on the cover. Then you should wait 30 days and then invest. Return was positive in 90% of all recessions during the next 2 years. I think the opportunities that the panic selling of hedge funds offer us right now are great and I am taking the chance and invest a good part right now and the following weeks. However I think USA is one of the worst places to invest into. The private dept situation is so bad it will indeed take years for recovery. If you are in for a really long term investment focus on countries with a healthier age-structure and where is more wealth to be created and which have enough oil. I can think of Brasil, China, Russia. Several 100% can be made here long term and the price level now is fantastic. I would not pick single stocks but rather index ETF. And no, the world will not come to an end. Even if the financial system comes to an end we will still need companies that produce oil, food, pharma. If the financial system really comes to an end I still prefer to be a shareholder of companies than of worthless cash. But if you have more skills picking a bottom of course you can wait but we all know that there is never a sign "bottom" once we cross it. I would keep my fingers from Solar Stocks. Don't touch them ! They will underperform every sector during the next decade because during the recent hysteric climatic change debate and alternative energy boom there has so much overcapacity been build.
I agree with you here - about 2 yrs ago I made the transition away from US companies. I've found some solid gains in Canadian companies (lots of resource companies here - and oil), and the emerging 4, from the last 2 yrs.
I don't have an IRA, (I don't think anyone should have one), but I just opened a DRIP account at Bank of New York Mellon and bought shares of Pepsico. I'll be holding this one for a very long time. My brokerage account is still 100% cash, I ain't ready to start trading again yet. The market's too oversold to short, and I'm too uncertain to buy. I'm content to sit and wait.
there's no hurry in buying. major corrections take years to run their course. eight years after the tech bubble, the naz only recovered to 50% of its 2000 peak. it probably will take 20+ years to recover completely.
I'm more concerned about being early than being late. Something like EWZ is still up more than 300% from 2002. I think we have a lot farther to go.
well my IRA is up about 60% since i first made this post buying the 3 ticker (solf, nvda, xlf). Just converted 50% back to cash as we are hitting the 1005 strong resistence on the sp500. so much for that idea of long term investment, once a trader always a trader heh?