Short Term and Long Term Individual Stocks

Hello Followers,


In my last post you are aware I had come to terms that my Financial Advisor and I had to part company due to some repeated issues of which I was not pleased.  I met with some financial advisors and they gave me some great information.  However, they both encouraged me to manage my own portfolio instead of paying them commissions.  They both felt I had the knowledge to do this myself.  After thinking long and hard that is what I decided to do.  My accounts are now starting to be transferred to Scottrade as I already had a small account there anyway.  Having lots of time on my hands and the ability to check my accounts daily made it a little easier what to decide to do.  One of the financial advisors has been a long time friend.  He is an independent agent with Wells Fargo.  If you are looking for a new financial advisor or wish to start investing and build a portfolio, please contact me and I will put you in touch with him.


So you maybe asking, what do I consider to be Short Term or a Long Term Individual Stock and what do these two terms mean to me?


A Short Term Individual Stock is a stock I am going to buy and hold for a short term, take my profits and sell as soon as I see the kind of profits I am happy with out of a stock.  I have talked about this frequently in previous posting.  What do I look for?  Mainly good quality companies of which the company has announced a stock split of 2:1 or more and meets my mathematical guidelines to make it a good buy.  Example for a 2:1 split:  Current price divided by 2.  If less than the 52 week low consider the buy.  If above the 52 week low, do not buy.  The lower the price from the 52 week low, the better the buy.  I then hold until after the split and wait for a nice return on my investment.  Then I sell, take my money and run.  Looking for the next good deal to come along and repeat.  You do NOT do this with all individual stocks in your portfolio!


A Long Term Individual Stocks is a stock that you are going to hold for a long period of time in your portfolio as a solid base, similar to your Mutual Funds.  It is kind of like your "homemade" mutual fund of good quality stocks that pay dividends and have a good dividend record.  A good dividend record is not necessarily a high paying dividend, but one that has a history of increasing dividends over time and not decreasing dividends over time.  Lets me give you some suggestions of these types of stocks.  TJ Maxx (TJX), Clorox (CLX), Royal Dutch Shell (RDS-B), Abbott Laboratories (ABT).  There are many more.  A list was given to me of such stocks, but there are a few others I have added on that list.


Do remember, Short Term and Long Term stocks should only be a part of your entire portfolio...Not the whole portfolio.  You need to keep your eggs in more than one basket.  You need some good 4 and 5 Star Mutual Funds from different sectors, Bonds, I personally like throwing in a little in some kind of precious metal such as Silver, Gold, Platinum.  You should always have a good financial advisor to help you unless you have greatly studied how to invest have done so under the watchful eye of a financial advisor etc.  There are many good books out there to read to help you gain the basic knowledge you may lack.  Learn how to research stocks and mutual funds.  Make some "Mock" accounts like I do on Quicken or other financial program.  See how your picks do and if you are on the right track.  You need to keep those "Mock" accounts for at least 1 year to get a decent idea how you are coming along and how good your picks have done.


Keep that portfolio balanced and always get the help of your financial advisor if you have a question or are unsure.


Gus S.






Disclaimer: Make sure to review any information found on this blog site with your personal financial advisor before making any decisions. I am providing general information and not financial advise. I am not a licensed stockbroker or financial advisor.