An Interesting Comment (and some vague answers)- October 23, 2006 Following is an interesting comment by an anonymous reader on my model portfolio post, which I would like to address: Anonymous said... A few requests:Tell us how you gained such confidence in your thinking at such a young age.Your portfolio is a broad stroke. Can you be more specific MLP's...which ones..and observations on how to narrow down. Bonds Currencies If not specifics, something about your thinking to help weigh a final choice. These are just the demands that I.http://whereistheyield.blogspot.com/2006/10/interesting-comment-and-some-vague.html My Model Portfolio(s)- October 22, 2006 Due to popular demand (namely two or three requests) , I have decided not to be just a kibitzer, who spells out the inadequacies of other people's model portfolios, but to actually present a general idea of my own here, for other people to gleefully dismiss.Before I go into that, I do have to warn you that I am, as the name of this blog suggests, an income-oriented investor. Despite of the fact that I still have, oh, about four decades or so till I retire, I still like to own things that give...http://whereistheyield.blogspot.com/2006/10/my-model-portfolios.html Keeping It Too Simple is Stupid- October 17, 2006 MarketWatch has published this story, repeating the almost-too-fashionable argument about the superfluity of ETFs and how confused investors get bamboozled into paying high fees in-stead of putting their money in Vanguard's hands, which is presumably what you're supposed to do.There's nothing new about this, and I wouldn't bring it up if it weren't for an original recommendation made in the article, by Bill Schultheis of Pacific Asset Management. According to him, an investor only needs 3 funds.http://whereistheyield.blogspot.com/2006/10/keeping-it-too-simple-is-stupid.html The Waiting is the Hardest Part- October 13, 2006 A memorable Seinfeld episode has the comedian giving a clerk at a car rental agency a piece of his mind, when the agency had taken his reservation but had not actually reserved a car for him to drive off in. "Anyone can just take a reservation", he says while making the offhand gesture of writing something down.Buy-and-hold investing is just like that, in a way: Anyone can just buy securities. The holding (or as Tom Petty put it, the waiting) really is the hardest part.Take for example shares..http://whereistheyield.blogspot.com/2006/10/waiting-is-hardest-part.html Mattel as a Hybrid Play- October 9, 2006 Asif Suria has written this bullish article on Mattel Inc. (MAT), which I own.The immediate reasoning for buying Mattel is the so called "TMX Elmo", which is expected to be a big hit. I don't have kids so I wouldn't know. But I do know of a few long-term reasons to buy and hold Mattel.Here's a company that generates positive cash flow and uses the cash well. They pay a dividend and grow it consistently. They buy back shares and they make what I consider to be sensible acquisitions, like the...http://whereistheyield.blogspot.com/2006/10/mattel-as-hybrid-play.html Don't Ever be Around for the Dividend Cut- October 4, 2006 Investors who own Chiquita Brands (CQB), Ford (F) or Pier 1 (PIR) recently learned the hard way, that regular dividends are not guaranteed to grow, or indeed to even be maintained at their current levels. When companies get into cash trouble, your dividends are in grave danger. When that happens, you want to bail out before the news about the dividend cut hit the wires.The dividend cut is the proverbial other shoe, and its drop can almost always be anticipated. One key indicator investors...http://whereistheyield.blogspot.com/2006/10/dont-ever-be-around-for-dividend-cut.html Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund (ESD)- October 1, 2006 Legg Mason just announced that they were renaming the Salomon Brothers Emerging Markets Debt Fund (ESD). The new name will be "Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund", and so this closed-end fund, once a part of the Citigroup family, will shed the name that connected it to its previous owner.The fund itself looks like good value here. The portfolio includes a better-than-average quality mix of emerging market debt, out of which the governments of Brazil,Russia and Mexico each take up roughly..http://whereistheyield.blogspot.com/2006/10/western-asset-emerging-markets-debt.html |