Yesterday I analyzed my portfolio, which consists mostly of individual stocks and a few mutual funds. So far for 2008, I am seriously in the red:
January = down - $25,676
February = down - $7,764
March = up + $7,109
April = up + $11,674
May = up + $6,817
Calendar YTD = down - $7,840
I bought most of my stocks around 1996-2000 and then stopped when the market started going haywire. To date, I’ve never sold anything but know I should do some culling... if only I had more understanding and confidence about what to do and why.
Since January of ‘06, when I started keeping a spreadsheet I update on the last day of the month, my portfolio increased by 9.37% a year. I’m not sure how this compares to indices like the Dow or Nasdaq… all I know is that my portfolio’s produced a better return than anything I’ve gotten from a CD or money fund. To be honest, I do not review my statements from Schwab that are available online. I like to keep track using my own spreadsheet.
While the mutual funds have done OK overall, I have tech stocks that dropped significantly, have never recovered, and possibly never will. Some of these dropped as much as 50-60%, yet I hang on to them. I did get lucky with a couple of stocks bought solely because I liked/used their products or did business with the company (e.g., Apple and Walmart).
My plan is to educate myself more about intelligent investment strategies once I retire and actually have more time, but I’ll probably stick to mutual funds…and maybe I’ll even sell some of my dogs of the Dow. Can anyone recommend a good book/web site on mutual fund investing or portfolio management? I want to get more actively involved in managing my portfolio but don't want to obsess over it, either. There's got to be a better strategy than "ignore and check once a month."
Portfolio Update
May 31st, 2008 at 02:41 pm
May 31st, 2008 at 03:16 pm 1212246982
Regarding Pandora registration: I think you need to register if you want to save your stations and preferences. I would recommend registering.
May 31st, 2008 at 03:32 pm 1212247924
Few suggestion I'd used over the years. Morningstar.com. I also started investing in ETFs in the past 4 or 5 years which highly efficient products and low cost ETFconnect.com
May 31st, 2008 at 05:49 pm 1212256149
May 31st, 2008 at 06:33 pm 1212258781
As far when to retire, you will know when the time comes. If you keep up the pace of saving aggressively for your retirement, you will have lots of options... you can retire early because want to and can afford it, or work longer because you love your job.
June 1st, 2008 at 12:44 am 1212281079
June 1st, 2008 at 02:21 am 1212286913
http://assetbuilder.com/blogs/scott_burns/archive/2008/01/18/put-sloth-to-work-for-you.aspx
It has been awhile since I read Jane Bryant Quinn's
"Smart and Simple Financial Strategies for Busy People" but it was well-written and promoted a simple approach to mutual fund investing.