In Search of the Perfect Investment

An amazing day yesterday — the one on the right. Up strongly, then down like a rocket, then up again in the afternoon.

There’s oodles of talk that the market is in a “sector rotation.” Tech stocks are out of favor. The Dow 30 are in favor.

It’s not that simple. Some tech stocks are out of favor, i.e. have fallen — e.g. TSLA, GOOG, OPEN, ADSK,

But some are still up, e.g. AAPL, DTC, ATK, ORCL, MSFT, INTC, QCOM.

Some of the financials are not doing well – BX, APO, AINV, KKR. But, NLY is holding in nicely.

I don’t have an easy answer. I am positive. And I can play tennis just so much — i.e. ignore the gyrations. My “strategy” tends to be:

+ A broad portfolio of everything from financials like LADR and NLY, to industrials like PPG, IP and HON to technology companies, I like — DTV, QCOM, ORCL to retailers like COST and HP. I also own MA and V, though they’ve done miserably lately. I feel positive about them.

 + A big holding in general index funds like the Vanguard VXF, VBR, and VTI to general ETFs, like IVV.

+ I tend to sell when my 8% Stop Loss Rule kicks in. But my timing can be awful. It can kick in at precisely the wrong time — just before the market is about to bounce — like yesterday early afternoon. See S&P chart above. A better strategy might be to put a whole bunch of “buy” orders in at prices much below today’s market. Pick some up when they drop momentarily.

+ I’m still looking into potential energy holdings. But this is a very new area for me. Getting my arms around it is not easy.

Nice tip for overseas readers. You can’t get Netflix if you live in Australia. Why? Something to do with copyright. But if you subscribe to UnblockUs, ($4.99 a month), you can. The site explains it:

How it Works
Every computer or other Internet-enabled device has an address. It’s made up of numbers, like a street address. Our solution is brilliantly simple. We give you an address where the content you want is available. It’s like moving your computer or other device without actually moving it.

My Australian friends tell me UnblockUs works like a charm.

I couldn’t resist this: From yesterday’s New York Post, which I read in my barber shop. The divorce settlement was the Post’s cover story.

Remember, he was the New York State Attorney General who became governor and then got caught spending taxpayer money on hookers. He

I love the two photos. She’s ecstatic with the money. He’s annoyed with himself. Of course, the pictures were from someone’s archive and have nothing to do with the divorce. He actually did great work as attorney-general. Spitzer is 55. She is a delight. I’ve met her.

You can read the New York Post’s story here.

Will I live to 90?
After two visits and exhaustive lab tests, the doc said I was doing ‘fairly well’ for my age.

I asked  ‘Will I live to be 90?’

He asked, ‘Do you smoke tobacco, or drink beer, wine or hard liquor?’

‘Oh no,’ I replied. ‘I’m not doing drugs, either!’

Then he asked, ‘Do you eat rib-eye steaks and barbecued ribs?’

‘I said, ‘Not much… my former doctor said that all red meat is very unhealthy!’

‘Do you spend a lot of time in the sun, like playing golf, boating, sailing, hiking, or bicycling?’

‘No, I don’t,’ I said.

He asked, ‘Do you gamble, drive fast cars, or have a lots of sex?’

‘No,’ I said…

He looked at me and said, ‘Then, why do you even care?

Harry Newton who dropped by an optometrist to get his glasses fixed. One nose pad had broken off. While there, I tried on a pair of new Swissflex frames. They were super light and super comfortable. Only $329 for the frames. Another $120 for the lenses. When I got home, I googled them. They were $217 online.

Amazing markups in that business. Zenni Optical is still the way to go.