Tips from Rick

Increase Revenue, Decrease Cost

noreply@blogger.com (rmacguidwin) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 06:50:00 +0000

I started a new website dedicated to helping readers build net worth through increasing revenues and decreasing costs. The site's URL: www.increaserevenuedecreasecost.com pretty much sums up my objectives.

This should be an effective arena for readers to start to make the necessary tweaks in their life to optimize income. I would suggest everyone check out the site when you get a chance.

Thanks in advance!

24 Goals - Final Update

noreply@blogger.com (rmacguidwin) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 19:41:00 +0000

So it's time I share how I faired.

Make the maximum contribution to Roth IRA by July 4th ($4,000/$4,000) - Complete
Successful open up Hedge Fund account by June - Complete
Hedge Fund account value greater than or equal to $10,000 by August ($13,136/$10,000) - Complete
Hedge Fund account value greater than or equal to $20,000 by January ($12,500/$20,000)
Roth IRA account greater than or equal to $9,000 by January ($6,912/$9,000)
Have 150 blog posts by December (92/150)
Create Fund website by July 4th - Complete
Read five books by August (5/5) - Complete
Create two more portfolio's in my VSE league (2/2) - Done, dedicated my portfolio to EMA technical trading.
Do 75 push-ups without taking a break (80/75) - Oh yea, next goal is 100.
Run 2 miles in 12 minutes - Reached this in December
Increase my net worth by 80% this year (68%/80%) - Almost got there!
Play a set of tennis without double faulting - Not gonna happen.
Achieve Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification - Deadline passed; goal failed
Secure a full-time job - Yes
Convince five people to start investing (5/5)
Establish and record 500 phone contracts (220/500) - A little to aggressive
Establish and record 1000 email contacts (280/1000) - A little to aggressive
Learn how to drive a manual transmission - Nope
Achieve 1000 lifetime trades (465/1000) - A little to aggressive
Complete my portfolio management spreadsheet and submit to sourceforge.net - Nope
Attend a University of Michigan basketball game for free - Complete
Master double-digit multiplication and division - Complete
Give blood - Complete

In short, I am pretty satisfied with the results. I set 24 aggressive goals and was able to accomplish 13 of them.

24 Goals to Accomplish in 240 Days - UPDATE

noreply@blogger.com (rmacguidwin) — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 17:49:00 +0000

It has been nearly six months since I shared my goals for the rest of the year. I have detailed the status of each of the goals below:

Make the maximum contribution to Roth IRA by July 4th ($4,000/$4,000) - Complete
Successful open up Hedge Fund account by June - Complete
Hedge Fund account value greater than or equal to $10,000 by August ($13,136/$10,000) - Complete
Hedge Fund account value greater than or equal to $20,000 by January ($13,136/$20,000) - Organic Growth, Yea!
Roth IRA account greater than or equal to $9,000 by January ($7,092/$9,000)
Have 150 blog posts by December (91/150)
Create Fund website by July 4th - Complete.
Read five books by August (5/5) - Complete
Create two more portfolio's in my VSE league (2/2) - Done, dedicated my portfolio to EMA technical trading.
Do 75 push-ups without taking a break (40/75) - Will measure this month
Run 2 miles in 12 minutes - Will measure this month
Increase my net worth by 80% this year (65%/80%) - Increased by almost 7%
Play a set of tennis without double faulting - 4 double faults is still my average
Achieve Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification - Deadline passed; goal failed
Secure a full-time job - Still working it
Convince five people to start investing (4/5)
Establish and record 500 phone contracts (170/500)
Establish and record 1000 email contacts (250/1000)
Learn how to drive a manual transmission - No progress
Achieve 1000 lifetime trades (435/1000)
Complete my portfolio management spreadsheet and submit to sourceforge.net - No progress
Attend a University of Michigan basketball game for free
Master double-digit multiplication and division - I would say I have a good grasp of this
Give blood - Complete

8 Goals down, 1 unreachable, and 15 to go.

24 Goals to Accomplish in 240 Days - UPDATE

noreply@blogger.com (rmacguidwin) — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 22:34:00 +0000

It has been nearly five months since I shared my goals for the rest of the year. I have detailed the status of each of the goals below:

Make the maximum contribution to Roth IRA by July 4th ($4,000/$4,000) - Complete
Successful open up Hedge Fund account by June - Complete
Hedge Fund account value greater than or equal to $10,000 by August ($11,608/$10,000) - Complete
Hedge Fund account value greater than or equal to $20,000 by January ($11,608/$20,000)
Roth IRA account greater than or equal to $9,000 by January ($6,975/$9,000)
Have 150 blog posts by December (90/150)
Create Fund website by July 4th - Complete.
Read five books by August (5/5) - Complete
Create two more portfolio’s in my Virtual Stock Exchange league (1/2)
Do 75 push-ups without taking a break (40/75)
Run 2 miles in 12 minutes - Still running, no timing
Increase my net worth by 80% this year (58%/80%) - Increased by 5%
Play a set of tennis without double faulting - 4 double faults is still my average
Achieve Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification - Deadline passed; goal failed
Secure a full-time job - Getting some interviews
Convince five people to start investing (4/5) - Another roommate opened an account!
Establish and record 500 phone contracts (160/500)
Establish and record 1000 email contacts (240/1000)
Learn how to drive a manual transmission - No progress
Achieve 1000 lifetime trades (420/1000)
Complete my portfolio management spreadsheet and submit to sourceforge.net - No progress
Attend a University of Michigan basketball game for free
Master double-digit multiplication and division - No progress
Give blood - Complete

I think I can easily knock off #9, 11, and 16 this month! We'll see.

Links for Friday

noreply@blogger.com (rmacguidwin) — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 04:39:00 +0000

This Week's Links: CNN Money Addition!

What's the difference between a stock broker and a financial adviser? Consumerism Commentary answers this question in Financial Advisers and Stock Brokers: What's the Difference.
Thinking about getting 15% by signing up for a store's credit card? Think again. The Simple Dollar explains why these cards are no good in Why Store Credit Card Are A Bad Deal.

Links for Friday

noreply@blogger.com (rmacguidwin) — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 17:32:00 +0000

This Week's Links: CNN Money Addition!

I was digging through my links repository a bit when I found CNN Money's Be a Millionare: 5 Ways to Get There, an simple article with supporting calculators.
Sick of fees? Consult CNN Money's list of the 35 Most Outrageous Fees (and How to Avoid Them) to recognize and reduce common fees.

A Post from the Past:

Understanding that stock price is determined not only by a firm's financial success, but also investor sediment. The intuition behind using of both of these factors is explained in June's Use Behavioral Finance When Picking Stocks.

24 Goals to Accomplish in 240 Days - UPDATE

noreply@blogger.com (rmacguidwin) — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 17:21:00 +0000

It has been nearly four months since I shared my goals for the rest of the year. I have detailed the status of each of the goals below:

Make the maximum contribution to Roth IRA by July 4th ($4,000/$4,000) - Complete
Successful open up Hedge Fund account by June - Complete
Hedge Fund account value greater than or equal to $10,000 by August ($11,000/$10,000) - Complete
Hedge Fund account value greater than or equal to $20,000 by January ($11,000/$20,000)
Roth IRA account greater than or equal to $9,000 by January ($6,902/$9,000)
Have 150 blog posts by December (87/150)
Create Fund website by July 4th - Complete.
Read five books by August (5/5) - Complete
Create two more portfolio’s in my Virtual Stock Exchange league (1/2)
Do 75 push-ups without taking a break (40/75)
Run 2 miles in 12 minutes - I have been running, but still have not timed myself
Increase my net worth by 80% this year (53%/80%) - Increased by almost 20%
Play a set of tennis without double faulting - 4 double faults is still my average
Achieve Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification - Deadline passed; goal failed
Secure a full-time job - No progress
Convince five people to start investing (3/5) - No progress.
Establish and record 500 phone contracts (150/500)
Establish and record 1000 email contacts (220/1000)
Learn how to drive a manual transmission - No progress
Achieve 1000 lifetime trades (410/1000)
Complete my portfolio management spreadsheet and submit to sourceforge.net - No progress
Attend a University of Michigan basketball game for free
Master double-digit multiplication and division - No progress
Give blood - No progress

I really need to start addressing my physical goals. Hopefully with school starting, I will be able to establish a more conducive schedule for these goals. The problem with this new schedule will be its potential impact on my net worth goal. Having a part-time job may only allow me to stabilize my current net worth. We'll see how it works out!

Links for Friday

noreply@blogger.com (rmacguidwin) — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 12:18:00 +0000

This Week's Links:

I am a big fan of The Simply Dollar, but I have to agree with JLP's stance on investing in a down market.
CurrentTrading.net keeps the good posts coming. Here are the site's Top 100 Day Trading Blogs.

A Post from the Past:

Still thinking about starting to plan your retirement strategy? Consult June's It's Really All About Asset Allocation: Part 2 of 2 to help define retirement knowns and unknowns in order to accomplish your retirement goals.

Updated Performance and Transactions

noreply@blogger.com (rmacguidwin) — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 18:57:00 +0000

I sat down today and updated my performance and transactions spreadsheet (check out the right sidebar). It is pretty interesting how quickly the market has changed over the last month. With the S&P only up 1.71% this year, I am pretty happy with my current year-to-date performance.

Many of my readers can attest to my recent personal finance binge and the lack of investment posts. That currently does not mean I have stopped trading! I thought I would detail some of the transactions have I been negotiating in an effort to shield myself from this volatile market.

Deal Arbitrage:

I presented several opportunities mergers and acquisitions offer to investors last month. Some privatization deals are particular lucrative to small investors, such as the MCBF trade. While there are certainly some risks with these trades, deal break-offs and shareholder disapproval, statistically, these trades are pretty sure investments. If you are looking for stable returns in-excess of fixed income investments, these deals are a good place to start.

Aggressive Hedging:

I may do a more formal write-up detailing what hedging means, but for now I will simply explain the strategy individuals can implement in this uncertain market. The idea is simple, purchase a stock you feel is going to simply outperform the broader index, maybe it is undervalued or showing great technicals, and short the index that closely follows that stock. If the broader market goes down, your long position in your stock may fall, but your short position in your index will net positive returns. The reverse strategy can be implemented as well.

In short, risk-adverse investors should look for sure-things in this market environment. In order to appropriate protect yourself from this variable market, I would suggest taking both short and long positions. Good luck and happy trading!

Links for Friday

noreply@blogger.com (rmacguidwin) — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 12:03:00 +0000

This Week's Links - Firefox Extension Addition:

Use Firefox? Love investing? Check out the 13 Firefox Extensions Every Investor Needs posted by CurrencyTrading.net.
Use Firefox? Love saving money? Check out the 20 Essential Firefox Add-ons for Frugal Web Shoppers posted by Credit Card Lowdown.

A Post from the Past:

Thinking about starting to plan your retirement strategy? Consult June's It's Really All About Asset Allocation: Part 1 of 2 to help define retirement knowns and unknowns in order to accomplish your retirement goals.

Links for Friday

noreply@blogger.com (rmacguidwin) — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 19:35:00 +0000

This Week's Links:

CurrencyTrading.net shares a 24 hour trading schedule. For readers that are obsessed with trading, this link is for you!
The Simple Dollar explains how being frugal can be more beneficial that responsible investing.

A Post from the Past:

Check out May's post What You Can Do Today To Be Rich in the Future to quantify the power of implementing a few frugal strategies and investing the cost savings.

24 Goals to Accomplish in 240 Days - UPDATE

noreply@blogger.com (rmacguidwin) — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 12:13:00 +0000

It has been nearly three months since I shared my goals for the rest of the year. I have detailed the status of each of the goals below:

Make the maximum contribution to Roth IRA by July 4th ($4,000/$4,000) - Complete
Successful open up Hedge Fund account by June - Complete
Hedge Fund account value greater than or equal to $10,000 by August ($10,800/$10,000) - Complete
Hedge Fund account value greater than or equal to $20,000 by January ($10,800/$20,000)
Roth IRA account greater than or equal to $9,000 by January ($6,700/$9,000)
Have 150 blog posts by December (82/150)
Create Fund website by July 4th - Complete.
Read five books by August (5/5) - Complete
Create two more portfolio’s in my Virtual Stock Exchange league (1/2)
Do 75 push-ups without taking a break (40/75) - No progress
Run 2 miles in 12 minutes - I have been running, but no measurable progress
Increase my net worth by 80% this year (33%/80%) - Increased by 8%
Play a set of tennis without double faulting - 4 double faults is my new average
Achieve Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification - Deadline passed; goal failed
Secure a full-time job - No progress
Convince five people to start investing (3/5) - Added my sister!
Establish and record 500 phone contracts (140/500)
Establish and record 1000 email contacts (240/1000)
Learn how to drive a manual transmission - No progress
Achieve 1000 lifetime trades (380/1000)
Complete my portfolio management spreadsheet and submit to sourceforge.net - No progress
Attend a University of Michigan basketball game for free - Potentially
Master double-digit multiplication and division - No progress
Give blood - No progress

Looks like the goal process is going well. Due to summer employment commitments, I have not been able to attack this list as much as I wanted to this month. So far I have managed to complete five goals, while only allowing one to slip away.

Links for Friday

noreply@blogger.com (rmacguidwin) — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 03:37:00 +0000

This Week's Links:

Wise Bread has started a series on frugal lessons from mothers. This particular article described one mother's ability to save on ketchup and napkins.
Consumerism Commentary describes how the television show The Office relates to finance. The web clip of Dwight and tipping is just hilarious!

A Post from the Past:

Considering that the market took a beating this week, one may want to investigate risk-free investment options by reading up on May's post: What to Do With The Rest of the Money That Is Not in Stocks.

Links for Friday

noreply@blogger.com (rmacguidwin) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 18:10:00 +0000

Little late with these...

This Week's Links:

A lot has been made about the drama around CNBC's stock-picking challenge. Mighty Bargain Hunter questions the value of these contests in his post: Are stock-picking contests totally worthless?
freemoneyfinance shares a great way to save a lot of money on basketball shoes created by Stephon Marbury.

A Post from the Past:

For investors that want to start learning technical trading, consider reading my review on Dr. Alexander Elder's Come Into My Trading Room: A Complete Guide to Trading.

Arbitrage Trade

noreply@blogger.com (rmacguidwin) — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 13:41:00 +0000

Oh, the privileges of being a small investor. It is really nice that big hedge funds are too occupied with million dollar arbitrage and currency trades to capture all available arbitrage. A couple thousand is insignificant in their books, but for many small investors, a trade of that proportion could add 10% to their net worth! As my risk tolerance diminishes, I continue to look for opportunities that provide substantial returns with limited risk. One such opportunity is Monarch Community Bancorp (MCBF).

Background:

Monarch Community Bancorp specializes in... oh wait a minute... it doesn't matter what they specialize in, what matters is what they are doing with their stock. In February MCBF agreed to execute a merger transaction in an attempt to reduce their number of shareholders in order to become a private company. MCBF calculated that in order to reduce the number of individual shareholders to 300, the maximum number of shareholders of a private firm, the company would need buy out shares from investors with less than 1,000 shares, at a price of 13.50 per share. The deal is scheduled to close sometime in the fourth quarter of this year.

Required Transactions:

The trade is pretty simple for this arbitrage opportunity: go long, right now, at any quantity under 1,000 shares.

Expected Results & Risks:

The only risk involved with this trade is merger abandonment. I have no reason to believe that the deal will fall through based on my initial research on the transaction. It appears that the company is progressing nicely toward privatization. So if the deal does finalize, investors could easily snatch up almost 10% in four months!

*Disclaimer*
The writer of this article currently owns shares in Monarch Community Bancorp. Investors should always do their own individual research before executing a trade.

Some Thoughts On Earnings Season

noreply@blogger.com (rmacguidwin) — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 12:10:00 +0000

This week marks the first round of earnings reports. Companies expecting to report include Eaton (ETN), Merrill Lynch (MER), Coca-Cola (KO), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Intel (INTC), Yahoo (YHOO), Altria (MO), JP Morgan (JPM), eBay (EBAY), Google (GOOG), and Caterpillar (CAT). These reports will try to justify the great month that all of the major indices are having.

The only real earnings precursor came last week with reports from Alcoa (AA) and General Electric (GE). Both stocks boosted strong earnings results and investors responded nicely, but I am not entirely confident that the post-earnings rallies were due to the financial status of the firms. AA was down pre-market, but when an analyst suggested the buyout attractiveness of Alcoa, the ticker arrows quickly shifted direction.

GE had a really great report as well, but the total market was in the mist of a strong rally and GE may have simply rode the market wave last Friday.

Some final thoughts and a Bearish Warning:

Last season I suggested that investors would continue reacting well to earnings beats, even with the lowered yearly expectations. I am confident that if the beats continue, investors will once again ignore the lowered expectations and reward successful firms. I also predict that in-line reports will not be good enough to sustain the summer rally. A large part of this bullish run is unwarranted and not justified by earnings reports, leaving much of this month's run-ups susceptible for a pullback. I would encourage investors to wait a day or two and investigate the initial reports to better gauge the potential success for the rest of the earnings season.

Good luck all!

Links for Friday

noreply@blogger.com (rmacguidwin) — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 14:57:00 +0000

This Weeks Links:

The Motley Fool presents a great deal arbitrage opportunity. The hedge fund has already implemented this strategy.
Smart Money adds to ConsumerReports list suggesting when to buy certain items.

A Post from the Past:

Consult May's Some Thoughts for Students Entering the Job Market when considering a potential career. The post helps readers calculate their true hourly wage as well as their relative salary value based on work location.

Book Review: The 4-Hour Workweek

noreply@blogger.com (rmacguidwin) — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 19:37:00 +0000

I took a break from the heavy finance books to read Timothy Ferriss's The 4-Hour Workweek. The book has had excellent reviews from many respectable critics, so I thought I would give it a go.

Overview:
The book basically lays out a strategy to create automated income and free yourself from the dull life created from our 9 to 5 society. The basis of Ferriss's writing focuses on using DEAL (definition, elimination, automation, and liberation) to formally join the NR (new rich). Each chapter offers ways the reader can shift from a steady work-life, toward a life full of travel, leisure, and mini-retirements.

Personal Takeaways:
Honestly, the book is full of information. I am entirely convinced that all readers will find something of value embedded within Ferris's chapters. For me, the income via automation and comparison of travel costs vs. traditional costs were pretty compelling.

Automated income is very powerful and does not necessarily involve linking millions of databases together. Ferris details how to find your niche, use it to create a source of income, then automate it. The automation chapters explain that you can hire virtual assistants to do anything from responding to customer inquiries to sending your significant other flowers. Auto-response emails and a couple of outsourced resources can create a business with no maintenance. Amazing!

Ferris also busted the expensive overseas travel myth. In relation to the expense you are already paying now in the states, you could very well vacation as royalty practically anywhere else in the world.

Recommendation:
I recommend this book to everyone. It is informative and proactive (offering an array of activities to help achieve inner happiness) and will help readers uncover what is truly important in life. It is a quick read and will having you laughing more often than not.

And make this post finance related, consider borrowing this book from a friend or checking it out from your local library.

Links for Friday

noreply@blogger.com (rmacguidwin) — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 18:24:00 +0000

This Weeks Links:

I really like this post I found on Lifehacker about multiple positives. The article suggests to simply surround yourself with activities that provide multiple benefits.
Get Rich Slowly shares a hilarious story about buying stock tips from a 10-year-old's lemonade stand.

A Post from the Past:

Considering using a financial professional? Forget about it. Just consult May's Financial Calculators Galore for all of your financial calculation needs.

24 Goals to Accomplish in 240 Days - UPDATE

noreply@blogger.com (rmacguidwin) — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 17:44:00 +0000

It has been nearly two months since I shared my goals for the rest of the year. I have detailed the status of each of the goals below:

Make the maximum contribution to Roth IRA by July 4th ($4,000/$4,000) - Complete
Successful open up Hedge Fund account by June - Complete
Hedge Fund account value greater than or equal to $10,000 by August ($10,800/$10,000) - Complete
Hedge Fund account value greater than or equal to $20,000 by January ($10,800/$20,000)
Roth IRA account greater than or equal to $9,000 by January ($6,700/$9,000)
Have 150 blog posts by December (74/150)
Create Fund website by July 4th - Complete.
Read five books by August (4/5)
Create two more portfolio’s in my Virtual Stock Exchange league (1/2)
Do 75 push-ups without taking a break (40/75) - No progress
Run 2 miles in 12 minutes - No progress
Increase my net worth by 80% this year (25%/80%) - Increased by almost 12%
Play a set of tennis without double faulting - 9 double faults the last time I played
Achieve Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification - No progress
Secure a full-time job - No progress
Convince five people to start investing (2/5)
Establish and record 500 phone contracts (140/500)
Establish and record 1000 email contacts (230/1000)
Learn how to drive a manual transmission - No progress
Achieve 1000 lifetime trades (342/1000)
Complete my portfolio management spreadsheet and submit to sourceforge.net - No progress
Attend a University of Michigan basketball game for free - No progress
Master double-digit multiplication and division - No progress
Give blood - No progress

Woo-hoo, I have completed four goals already! I still really need to start working toward achieving the fitness goals. Feel free to share how your goals are going!

Festival of Stocks #43

noreply@blogger.com (rmacguidwin) — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 16:35:00 +0000

I am proud to be hosting this weeks Festival of Stocks! Enjoy all of this weeks articles!

This Week's Submission

Free Money Finance presents Low Cost Usually Equal a Better Investment (And the Various Costs You Need to Look for).
This article goes in depth about why lowering costs usually creates a better return and what costs are usually associate with particular investment vehicles.

Canadian Economy, Commodities And Mining Stocks Through a Fundamental Lens presents 5 Ways to Gauge Market Sentiment.
This article shares several important factors that help measure market sentiment.

Bankruptcy Lawyer's Blog presents Understanding Chapter 12 Bankruptcy.
This article details Chapter 12 bankruptcy concerning farmers and fishers.

Money Ning presents Taxable Account Portfolio Update - June 2007.
This article shares Money Ning's portfolio holdings at the end of June.

INTJ Personal Development presents Do You Get Money? and Grow Your Pile of Money
The first article details the basics of currency, economies, and meaning on money. While the second article offers ways to use an individual's pile of money.

Investment Jungle presents Stock Analysis - Respironics Inc.
This article evaluates RESP as a potential investment.

Dividends Matter presents Dividend Analysis - Wal-Mart Stores Company.
This article evaluates WMT as a potential investment.

Mad Money & Fast Money Fan Site presents Mad Money - Cramer on Buffett Stocks.
This article shares Jim Cramer's take on Warren Buffett's stocks.

Neutral Market Trends presents Backtesting the S&P Volatility Timing Model.
This article shows the back-tested results of a unique volatility timing model.

Wealth Building Lessons presents Is Sears the Next Berkshire Hathaway?
This article details the investment nature of SHLD, comparing it to Berkshire Hathaway.

The Skilled Investor presents How to Lie with Statistics: Investment Performance Charts.
This article address the dangers of following investment performance statistics.

Adventures in Money Making presents How Capitalism Really Works.
This article shares some comments on the Blackstone IPO.

The Credit & Credit Card Blog presents Boat Show Financing - Never, Ever Use It.
This article reminds use why cash in king when purchasing a boat.

My Estate Planning Career Blog presents Smart Estate Planning Strategies for the Average Joe.
This article reviews some of the most fundamental components in estate planning.

Personal Investing Advice presents Investing - Gold Shares - The Leverage Factor.
This article suggests investors exercise leverage via gold, leaps, & warrants.

My Deft Relief Plan presents Reduce Credit Card Debt Quickly.
This article suggests several chronological steps an individual should negotiate to reduce credit card debt.

Personal Finance Blog Articles presents Saving Money - A Top Strategy for Saving Money.
This article explains how individuals should re-evaluate their spending formulas.

Wealth Building World presents Wealth Creation - Don't Start with the Wrong Concept of Wealth.
This article explains the value and concepts behind establishing a wealth creation program.

Stock Value Finder presents Visa Initial Thoughts.
This article evaluates VISA as a potential investment.

HotStrategies.com presents Do Not Sell Your Stocks Randomly.
This article explains the importance of not letting emotions drive your selling.

Trader's Narrative presents Homebuilding Sector Merits Attention.
This article presents a potential inflection point for homebuilding stocks.

Sox First presents Subprime Fallout: The Bears Are Out.
This article explains the fallout from CDOs and how it could effect the global economy.

The Mad Money Analyst presents Why Invest in Stocks.
This article presents an argument why stocks are always the best long-term investment.

Political Calculations presents Fundamental Indexing in 18 Months.
This article tracks the current progress of a weighted indexing strategy.

The Dividend Guy Blog presents BCE - A Sell Gone Way Bad.
This article recaps a prior sell gone bad.

Investor Trip presents How to Investing in 2008 Beijing Olympics.
This article evaluates HMIN as a potential investment.

Off to New York

noreply@blogger.com (rmacguidwin) — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 17:33:00 +0000

I will be leaving for New York this afternoon and returning Sunday night. Please sumbit your articles for the Festival of Stocks by Monday, July 2nd.

Have a great rest of the week!

Hurray for the Festival!

noreply@blogger.com (rmacguidwin) — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 12:26:00 +0000

This week I will be hosting the July 2nd edition of Festival of Stocks! Investors from all around will be sharing their insights right here on this blog! Check out Value Investing News for the complete details on what this festival is all about. To submit an entry to the festival, simply click here and fill out the Blog Carnival form.

Last week, my Behavioral Finance article was featured on Fat Pitch Financials and The Digerati Life. Student Load Consolidation Lowdown also shared my article on Asset Allocation.

Hurray for the Festival!

Load Up on Dividend Stocks

noreply@blogger.com (rmacguidwin) — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 02:38:00 +0000

It has been a tough month for most investors as the DOW and S&P have fallen almost 2% each. Are there still buying opportunities, or is it time to sell and run? What fascinates me most about this recent sell-off is the significant pull back of large dividend stocks. PNG, PFE, and AEE all dish out more than a 4.5% dividend, but have fallen more than 4x the major indices. Intuitively, these stocks should not sell-off in this environment and buying these companies could quickly become a great hedge in an falling market.

So why are these great buys?
There are two main reasons why these are great buys. The first reason is the failed correlation between the major indices and dividend achievers. The ability for these companies to perform and adhere to their targeted profits has nothing to do with the movement of the DOW during the last couple of weeks. It is very likely that these companies will perform as promised and pay the expected dividend no matter what their investors want their shares to sell for. The second reason to buy is because of the pure increase in the value of the dividend yield with the recent decrease in share price. Dividend yield percentage and stock price share an inverse relationship; so as long as the price drops, the dividend yield grows. If the dividend payments are paid as promised, shareholders will get the same payout for cheaper!

So why did these stock sell-off then?
Predicted volatility showed his face again and scared shareholders. Analysts were big on dividend stocks early in the year when the market was fluctuating and investors had little certainty in the direction of the market. Dividend stocks became every investors go-to, causing these stocks to not only show dividend gains to investors, but capital gains with increased buying pressure. This month, major indices have sold off leaving these dividend holders a reason to take profit on their unwarranted share price gains.

I hope to share some of my favorite dividend buys later in the week.

Links for Friday

noreply@blogger.com (rmacguidwin) — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 13:01:00 +0000

This Weeks Links:

fivecentnickel shares excerpt from Andrew Tobia's The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need presenting the value of savings. In short, saving a dollar contributes more to your bottom line than earning a dollar.
Everyone knows that sales happen at certain times of the year. Well ConsumerReports has crafted a sales calendar so individuals can schedule purchases.

A Post from the Past:

Check out some important amendments I made to my earnings strategies in March's post: Lessons Learned.