Programmer's Investing Notebook         :: Investing notes from a software developer :: | About Me |

Being well diversified is the key to long-term investing. If you were not, you probably learned from the recent correction. I began moving towards big, dividend paying, safe companies for some time. As a result, my portfolio is in good shape after the correction. The fact is, though, the economy is slowing and might even go through a recession. It doesn’t mean that there are no good picks. Actually, the best time to buy is during market downturns.

Here are some of the stocks and ETF that I’m currently looking at. I think technology is a good place to be in the near future. There is decent growth and the stocks do not look overpriced. I am going to have to pick on technology oriented ETF and invest in it.

Software and Technology ETFs
Software ETF (SWH)
iShares S&P GSTI Software Index Fund (IGV)
PowerShares Dynamic Software ETF (PSJ)
Technology Select ETF (XLK)

Town Sports Intl (CLUB)
Strong membership growth; profits should follow.

Here are the stocks that are "on my radar" now. I am doing a little re-shuffling in my portfolio. My objective is to have 10-15 quality stocks and invest in them regularly. (In addition to the ETFs I hold.)

Walgreens / WAG   » Pharmacy
: ($44.1, S&P Rating: 4 stars, Great Value Line rating)
: Good company to own. Great appreciation potential. Recommended in Value Line as well as S&P Outlook.

WellPoint / WLP   » Health
: ($127, S&P Rating: 5 stars)
: Recommended in Value Line as well as S&P Outlook.

Darden Restaurants / DRI   » Restaurant
: ($31.4; S&P Rating: 4 stars)
: Owner of Red Lobster and Olive Garden is looking exceptionally well. Ready to deliver. Recommened by Value Line, S&P Outlook, and Barrons.

Amgen / AMGN   » Biotech
: ($59.3; S&P Rating: 4 stars)
: I've always liked Amgen. I invested in it couple times before and always came ahead. The stock looks good, has good potential. It is recommened by Value Line and S&P.

Here are the stocks that are "on my radar" now. I haven't been buying lately (only investing in stocks that I currently own -- dollar costing, to be exact), but these look good...

Now, after February is gone -- one of the worse months, historically -- it might be a good time to load up on some stocks. This year, my strategy is to pick big, international companies as the dollar is weak and the economy might cool a little bit. I'm also investing in the following ETFs: SPY, VDE, VGT, VHT, VUG, EFA, EEM.

Citrix / CTXS   » Web Software
: ($23.5, S&P Rating: 5 stars)
: Very good company to own for superior returns. I'm looking to get in. Recommended in Value Line as well as S&P Outlook.

Cisco / CSCO   » Network Gear
: ($18, S&P Rating: 5 stars)
: Very good company beaten down. They will recover. One of the strongest players in the industry. Good long-term investment.

Coca Cola / KO
: ($43.6; S&P Rating: 4 stars)
: International company with strong overseas growth. Beaten down.

General Electric / GE   » Electronics
: ($36; S&P Rating: 4 stars)
: Strong inernational company. Good company to hold. Good price.

Hain / HAIN   » Foods
: ($18.9; S&P Rating: 3 stars)
: This company looks interesting as we move more and more into organic, more healthy foods.

WebEX / WEBX   » Web Communications
: ($23.4; S&P Rating: 5 stars)
: Leader in web communication. Looks cheap. Very good growth potential.

CheckPoint / CHKP   » Security Software
: ($22; S&P Rating: 5 stars)
: Looks cheap. Very good growth potential.

Here are the stocks that are "on my radar" now. I haven't been buying lately (only investing in stocks that I currently own -- dollar costing, to be exact), but these look good and might be up for grabs soon.

Note, however, that September has been, historically, the worst month of all.

Advanced Data Processing / ADP   » Business Services
: (S&P Rating: 5 stars)
: This is a good stock, good long-term play.

Applied Materials / AMAT   » Semiconductor
: (S&P Rating: 4 stars)
: Chip stocks are down but because they're cyclical they'll bounce back. Applied Materials should do well. Good time to get in.

Cadence Design Systems / CDN   » Software
: (S&P Rating: 4 stars)
: Good stock; cheap.

Car Max / KMX   » Car
: Stock that was recommended in BusinessWeek (see article); I think it has a lot of potential. I like their business plan.

Sony / SNE   » Electronics
: (S&P Rating: 5 stars)
: Recommended all over the place: good international player; safe bet; good long-term player. I'm looking to getting into it.

Phillips / PHG   » Electronics
: (S&P Rating: 4 stars)
: Has always had good producs; seems cheap now.

Sybase / SY   » Database
: (S&P Rating: 4 stars)
: Cheap; it will recover.

Sysco [Foods] / SYY   » Food
: (S&P Rating: 5 stars)
: Just look at the stock chart for this market leader. Very cheap. Should do fine.

OK, you might have noticed that I stopped updating my stock lists. The main reason for that is that it was becoming painful to update the XML file with the picks (that's how I stored them). I have not given up on stocks -- I don't think that will ever happen. I'm going to make my picks in this Stas on Investing blog, under the My Buy List category.

Investing in stocks is exciting. Although, I have to tell you that I bought some mutual funds and some ETFs, just to diversify a little more. OK, I'll tell you which ETF I bought in the list below, as I think it is a good time to buy ETFs. What is an ETF? Exchange Traded Fund, that's the name. It is basically a mutual fund traded like a stock. Get a little more info on ETFs here. I'll explain how and where I'm putting my money in a seperate, later entry.

Nokia / NOK   » Communications Equipment
: ($13, S&P Rating: 4 stars)
: I think that it might be a good time to get into buying this wireless equipment leader. This stock got hummered because they missed the analysts' expectations. However, this is a very good long term play.

Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts / SPY   » S&P Index
: ($110)
: I want to diversify my exposure to stocks a little bit. A good way, I think, is to buy an index fund. This ETF is basically the whole S&P index: it's like owning every stock in the S&P Index. They have a 0.1% fee, which is low when compared to a reasonable 1% mutual fund fee. Index funds beat all of the mutual funds in the long run -- that's a fact.

Humana Inc / HUM   » Insurance
: ($15.8; S&P Rating: 5 stars)
: Managed care company that's oversold. S&P raised its rating on it from 3 to 5 stars (the highest) and they recommend buying it. It went down a lot.