29May 2010 by stanley

Excellent Mutual Funds

investing, My Stock Picks
While at the Barnes & Noble today, I got drawned in by a title in US World & Reports: The 100 Best Mutual Funds for the Long Run. Sure enough, I found a few funds that I think are top quality. Large Cap Value Comparing it to Fidelity Contrafund, which is considered one the top funds, I can see why Yacktman is on top: 3 year return of 8.9% is much better than -0.2% for the Fidelity fund. Foreign Large Cap Blend Very good returns. Better than Marsico Global, also a top rated fund. Very good returns.
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25May 2010 by stanley

Defense ETFs

investing
Some good quality Defefense ETFs Fidelity Select Defense & Aerospace iShares Dow Jones US Aerospace & Defense Source: Kiplinger's
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04Jan 2010 by stanley

New Frontiers: Emerging Markets Funds

investing
Here are some funds that offer diversified exposure to the emerging markets in Europe, Asia, Africa/Middle East, and Latin America. These are taken from the latest BusinessWeek, Dec 28th edition. Sorted by 2009 Total Return 98% Europe, 1% Asia, 1% Latin America 70% Africa/Middle East, 30% Europe 100% Africa/Middle East 51% Latin America, 26% Africa/Middle East, 17% Europe, 6% Asia 50% Africa/Middle East, 25% Asia, 22% Europe, 3% Latin America
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26Oct 2009 by stanley

Ivy League Model Portfolio

investing
Invest 10% in all of these 10 ETFs and you got yourself something close to what an Ivy League portfolio looks like. For more information, check theivy.portfolio.com Reference Kiplinger's Magazine - 11/2009 Issue
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22May 2007 by stanley

Sell in May, Buy Back in November

Tips & Advice
There was an interesting observation in the S&P Outlook recently. Since 1945, in the period from November-April, the S&P 500 returned 7.19%; in the May-October period, just 1.6%. What do do? Sell in May, and Buy back in November! I think this is true this year. I feel like we’re due for a correction. It might be a good time now, especially after the recent records. They recommend doing the following. For May-October overweigh- consumer staples- health care For November – April overweigh- financials- industrials- materials- consumer discretionary- information technology Now that’s an interesting observation… Here's a chart that breaks the returns by month, averaged since 1950.
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06Feb 2007 by stanley

Vanguard mutual funds that look good to me

My Notes
I like Vanguard as a company. I have been with them for a couple of years now. I like what they offer: both, in terms of fund selection, and in terms of the services they offer.Why would I want to invest in Vanguard funds? First, they give you a good selection. And second, you can put your investments on auto pilot: you can actually do dollar-cost averaging at no cost!So far, I have invested in 2 funds at Vanguard (NJ Tax-Free Fund; and S&P Index Fund). Every month, $50 gets automatically invested into each of them from my bank account. I really like that.The downside? There is usually a $3K minimum investment for each of the funds. (It would be great if it was $1K.)I am planning to shift some…
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30Jan 2007 by stanley

My Feb 2007 Stocks and ETFs

investing
Here are my current holdings in the beginning of 2007. My strategy now is still go with a defensive lineup and also diversify more internationally. I also decreased my position in energy. I'm going to stick to my strategy and even increase my exposure to ETFs and opt for less risk than investing in individual stocks.: $68: A giant that's beaten up a bit. Should recover. Quality stock..: $36: Quality company with good management. Diversified. Looks cheap.: My recent addition. Company makes good products, moves into more healthy oriented products. Good international player.: Panasonic makes the best plasmas and cameras. Good growth potential.: It's beaten down now but a quality company with very good growth potential.: One of the biggest and beaten down. Good pipeline.: I believe content is the…
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02Oct 2006 by stanley

International ETFs

My Notes
I am just looking over the 2006 Semi-Annual iShares MSCI Series report I received today. I'm thinking, US economy will slow in the next year or two. Looking at the markets outside of US, I might want to invest in other assets.For instance, iShares Australia Index (EWA). 1 year return: 15.83%; 5 year return: 148%.Brazil Index (EWZ): 1 year: 70%; 5 years: 187%Canada Index (EWC): 1 year: 33%; 5 years: 103%Mexico Index (EWW): 1 year: 45%; 5 years: 194%Those are some impressive returns. I like Canada and Australia indexes: stable countries with very good results. I should have invested in Brazil when it went down a year or two ago; same with Mexico.
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