My Investing Notebook :: Learning from the pros; making decisions on my own. ::

Here are my current holdings. My strategy now is to go with a more defensive lineup. I believe the economy is going to slow in the next couple of months or even years. I like to go with quality stocks and stocks that increase their dividends. I am also shifting into ETFs. I currently have around ten stocks and ten ETFs.

Here’s what my current stock holdings are:

AIG (AIG)   » Insurance: A giant that’s beaten up a bit. Should recover. Quality stock..

General Electric (GE)   » Conglomerate: Quality company with good management. Diversifed. Looks cheap.

Kraft (KFT)   » Food: My recent addition. Company makes good products, moves into more healthy oriented products. Good international player.

Matsushita (MC)   » Consumer Electronics: Panasonic makes the best plasmas and cameras. Good growth potential.

Medtronic (MDT)   » Health Products: It’s beaten down now but a quality company with very good growth potential.

Pfizer (PFE)   » Drugs: One of the biggest and beaten down. Good pipeline.

Time Warner (TWX)   » Media & Internet Services: I believe content is the king and will eventually provide the most value. I’m losing my patience with AOL and I might unload in the near future.

Verizon (VZ)   » Telecom: I’m still optimistic about the fiber rollout. The best wireless provider.

Yahoo (YHOO)   » Internet Services: I think Yahoo is cheap compared to Google. Good search technology. Very good growth potential. Cheap.

Exxon Mobil (XOM)   » Energy: The biggest energy player. Safe bet.

My current ETFs

Emerging Market Index (EEM)   » International: It slowed down recently but still a good diverifier.

Europe Index Fund (EFA)   » Europe: Recommended by S&P, good diversified holding.

Pacific, Excluding Japan (EPP)   » Pacific: Recommended by S&P. A lot of potential growth.

Japan Index (EWJ)   » Japan: Japan is recovering. Recommended by S&P.

US Telecom Sector (IYZ)   » Telecom Sector: Telecom is a good defensive sector.

S&P Midcap 400 (MDY)   » Midcaps: Recommended by S&P.

Spider Divident ETF (SDY)   » Divident Focused: I am a big fan of companies that keep increasing their dividents. This ETF is focusing on that.

Vanguard Divident ETF (VIG)   » Divident Focused: Similar story to SDY, divident focused with a little different lineup.

S&P Index (SPY)   » S&P: Over the years, the S&P index beats most of the funds.

Vanguard Energy ETF (VDE)   » Energy: Is energy ever going to go down? Probably, but not anytime soon it looks like.

Vanguard Health Care (VHT)   » Health Care: Baby boomers are starting to retire. Health care has very good growth potential.

Consumer Staples Sector (XLP)   » Consumer Staples: Even in a slow economy, people still need to buy everyday products. Good defensive player.

Lehman Aggregate Bond Fund (AGG)   » Bond: I hold it because it’s recommended by S&P. I do think that diversification in bonds is imporant.

Lehman 1-3yr Tresuries (SHY)   » Bonds: Recommended by S&P.

Whoa, that took me some time. I have 3-5% in most of these, with around 7% for the S&P Index.

I’m going to reveal it all. I’m going to reveal the stocks I own in my Interactive Brokers account. Why? Because that’s where I put my investing (not retirement) money. In the next post, I’ll tell you which ETFs I currently hold. I’m also going to tell you, in the next few posts, which stocks I currently like and that are not in my portfolio right now.

My 2006, Quarter I, Stock Holdings

Applebees (APPB)   » Restaurant: ($24.5, S&P Rating: 4 stars; Good Value Line rating): Good stock to own in the restaurant business. Every time I go to Applebee’s, it is packed. I like its food, as well as its growth potential.

Cisco Systems (CSCO)   » Networking: ($18.8, S&P Rating: 4 stars; Very good Value Line rating): Good, stable company. Good player in the tech industry. Fairly cheap.

Exxon Mobil (XOM)   » Energy: ($61.3, S&P Rating: 5 stars, Great Value Line rating): Great company to own in this energy-starved world. The biggest, most diversified.

Fiserv (FISV)   » Financial Computer Services: ($45.1, S&P Rating: 5 stars, Great Value Line rating): Great recommendations from S&P & Value Line. Good combination of tech, and financials.

General Electric (GE)   » Multi-industry: ($33, S&P Rating: 3 stars, Good Value Line rating): Very good, diversified company. Great long-term potential. Good slow-moving economy player.

Home Depot (HD)   » Home Improvement: ($40, S&P Rating: 5 stars, Great Value Line rating): Good company to own. Good growth potential.

Medtronic (MDT)   » Health Care: ($57, S&P Rating: 3 stars, Great Value Line rating): Great Value Line rating. Besides that, I need to do a little more research.

Motorola (MOT)   » Wireless Handsets: ($22.5, S&P Rating: 5 stars, Great Value Line rating): Good wireless player, diversified. They have cool phones in the pipeline. Gaining market share.

Oracle (ORCL)   » Enterprise Services: ($12.4, S&P Rating: 4 stars, Great Value Line rating): Very good presence in the enterprise that’s just going to increase with PeopleSoft and Siebel acqusitions. I don’t like their price appreciation: read, slow appreciation.

Pfizer (PFE)   » Drugs: ($26, S&P Rating: 3 stars, Good Value Line rating): Cheap. Good long-term holding. Good upcoming pipeline.

Time Warner (TWX)   » Media & Internet Services: ($17.3, S&P Rating: 4 stars, Good Value Line rating): I believe content is the king and will eventually provide the most value. Time Warner is the leader in the industry. Plus, AOL seems to be on the right track with the portal and recent broadband initiatives.

Verizon (VZ)   » Telecom: ($32.1, S&P Rating: 3 stars, Decent Value Line rating): I like Verizon’s long-term potential. I think fiber to house will be big. I think that Broadband to laptop will be big, I like their Wireless. It’s a good, value company. However, subscriber loses for landline will increase, holding the stock price a little.

Walmart (WMT)   » Retail: ($45.8, S&P Rating: 5 stars, Very good Value Line rating): The gorilla in retail. Good to own in a slow economy, but I’m going to see if it is not too slow. Great ratings.

Yahoo (YHOO)   » Internet Services: ($35.1, S&P Rating: 3 stars, Good Value Line rating): I like Yahoo. I like their services, their growth potential. It’s cheap compared to Google.

That’s it. Those are my stocks that I have invested in the last couple of years and will invest in the near future.