Thread: Stoplight's Account Talk

Wow Stoplight, I know she'll never forget her year there and the life lessons she learned that she didn't know she was going to learn. So on to the next stage in her life, it's bound to get better. As for me and mine, we serve the Lord too. Daughter of one of my cousins is headed to Peru next, to serve for a year. Just dawned on me there may be a connection there. I need to investigate further on my family extended side, I don't get together with the cousins often, much too much geographic distance between here and mid-continent where the cousins live.

Starting my EOY re-balance, in light of my interpretation of where we’re at, going forward...

FINALLY sold my “mad money” UVXY that was held since early October...patience, in this case, paid off.... ~ 12% on 2 lots, but what a wild ride !!! This volatility is killing my Buy and Hold portfolio !!!

Probably will bite the bullet and dump my NUGT, just to clear the books for a new year...

Sold our Pepco (POM) today, after the EOY ex div date...it’s had a nice dividend, and I benefitted from the jump in stock price with the proposed merger with Execlon (EXC),

BUT....EXC paying a much lower dividend, merger running into political headwinds, and what I’m reading sez that a Fed rate increase will hit utilities... Besides, it was one of the few stocks we own that was in the green today !!!

Will look at all my bond holdings tomorrow...


Stoplight...

For those following my posts about the Grand-Niece, Sonja, and her 1-year teaching mission in Peru :

I was surprised this morning to get a text from her !!! She was back in the good ole U.S. of A., and was catching her next flight from Florida to Northern Virginia (NOVA), and Fiance James !!! They'll head for KY, and she'll be "home for Christmas" !!!

I thought she was flying home tomorrow, but the Wife said "Nope..you're a Dumb A.." Guess she's right !!!

Sonja cracked me up !!! Said her checked bag was just under the 50 lb limit, but her carry-on weighed 400 lbs !!! She said the School did a very nice party for her...I'll be curious to get more details !!! They are gonna MISS that Kid, and vice versa !!!

Anyway...it's good to know she's back in the States...

THANKS TO All who have supported her, in the ways that you did !!!


Stoplight...

Good news. It will be a great Christmas with family.

On this New Year's Eve, I'm briefly changing my avatar !

May ALL your trades be "green" in 2016 !!!


Stoplight...

Originally Posted by Stoplight

On this New Year's Eve, I'm briefly changing my avatar !

May ALL your trades be "green" in 2016 !!!


Stoplight...

Ugh...

Going back to my Bug Eye avatar !


Stoplight...

All,

I'm not comfortable with the way the New Year has started...going to cash in on a few buy-and-hold portions of our portfolio...looking at dividend payment based on my buy-in price, and my ROI (per Quicken).

Sold my last QRVO semiconductor holding...good bye, Little Engine That Did (for me) !!! Sold my tiny Chemours (CC) holding that I got from the spin-off from DuPont...FINALLY bit the bullet and sold all my NUGT...WHEW !!! The loss was huge, but what a relief to get that one off my books !!! "YTD Realized Gains" in Quicken is red, red, red...will NEVER recoup THAT blunder this year !!!

Oil price killing my BP and BPT...hanging on for now...still paying better than the Credit Union !!!

Foray into Apple and Disney killing me...but I DID like the new "Star Wars" movie !!!

Next target sell is a regional bank, BBT...will probably sell after ex div date in mid-Feb...ROI 15%...

"Stars" of the portfolio have been Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS)...and Con Agra Foods (CAG) ! DPS a 4.3% dividend ; CAG a 3.8% dividend, based on my buy-in price. Time to take some off the table ??? Hmmmm....

Bond funds have been a mixed bag...ROI leader is PRULUX and USIBX...

Sooo...what to do with the cash ??? I'm intrigued by the performance of a PIMCO fund I own...PONDX ; "Income Fund"...pays monthly ; ROI of 15% on my buy-in ; paid 8.3% dividend last year, and 6.2% so far this year...

I hope all y'all make great investment decisions in 2016 !!!


Stoplight...

All,

Today, I made a move to "sell the rally" and move some more to cash :

...sold my BBT, as mentioned above. It was a small lot, and only paying 3.5% div (below my target 4% rate) ; ROI ~ 16%

...sold my 2 lots of DD ; nice run-up from my buy-in, but div rate was 3.2% ; ROI ~ 41%

...sold a partial lot of my current "best performer", DPS. Paying a decent 4% div, but I was up > 110% over my buy-in price...time to take some profits there !!! May try and "trade around a core position" approach on that one.

After all the prices are in for the night, I'll take a look at where I'm at, from a diversity point of view, and decide what to do with the cash. Honestly ??? I'm in no hurry to put it into something else right now...

Best wishes on YOUR investment decisions !!!


Stoplight...

OK...today's numbers plugged in...

Right now I'm ~39% in stocks, but ~32% in cash and long-term government securities (think "G Fund" !!!). The rest is in various maturity bond funds.

VERY conservative, but being retired, I don't like the day-to-day look of the markets..."preservation of capital" is the name of the game for me right now !


Stoplight...

All,

Yesterday, I was looking at the fact that I now had almost $100K in CASH, between the 2 of our accounts !!! OMG....ain't gonna get ahead with THAT strategy !!! So I did some research...still have a lot of $$ in various bond funds, so wanted to stick some more in equities...but NOT necessarily in a single Company's stock...

Ended up buying into an ETF...Global X Super Dividend (DIV). Trades like a stock, so I can bail whenever I want if the market goes south (not just at COB price, like a mutual fund) ; low volatility ; paying monthly ; paying ~5% div at this time... I like those features, for a place to park some cash !!! OTOH, it's a low volume ETF, on a daily volume basis...so selling may be a problem for finding a buyer !!! Risk/Reward, baby...risk/reward !!!

Just another plug for USAA...but this only applies to folks who are eligible to be Members of the Company !!! See their web page for more info...

I’ve been a Member of USAA since “Christ was a Corporal” (as they say !) We’re talking 1975, as an AFROTC Cadet...had MANY different products, over the years, and happy with all of them !

Currently, we have a term life insurance policy (on me), our Master Card (soon to be converted to Visa), a checking account, and our car insurance with them. My and the Wife’s rollover IRAs are also in self-directed brokerage accounts with them. We have a high enough household balance that our trades are usually $5.95...a good thing ! I’m not a sophisticated enough investor to need a lot of foo-foo, so I’m happy with the trade info and options they offer me.

They also have this thing called a “Subscriber’s Savings Account” (SSA)...once your allocation to the SSA reaches a certain point, they refund an amount to you, based on how the Company performs in any given year. It’s NOT guaranteed, but what is, in this day and age ??? In 2015, they refunded me ~$350...that cut my car insurance 6 month bill in half !

Here’s the kicker : In 2015, they said I was eligible for a “Senior Bonus”...just needed to apply ! Now, I don’t remember if that’s based on my age, or how long I’ve been a Member, but I got another ~$750 credit yesterday !!!

Moral of the story ? If you find a Company that gives you great service, offers good products, and rewards loyalty, then stick with them !!! Just saying...


Stoplight...

Originally Posted by Stoplight

Ended up buying into an ETF...Global X Super Dividend (DIV).

On that theme, one that I plan to purchase as part of my retirement portfolio is PFF. Once the dust settles in this bear market I'm hoping it dips down to $32ish, maybe even $30 worst case. It pays solid dividends (currently 5.8%) and seems very stable long term, so it might not get anywhere near my hoped for price.

PFF - SharpCharts Workbench - StockCharts.com

Beyond that, I'm whittling down a list of other solid dividend payers. For the overall dividend portfolio, I'd like to end up with something like 20% in PFF, then ~16 more individual stocks making up about 5% each of the account (with those 16 stocks averaging near or a bit better than 4% dividends). That will be just one chunk of the overall retirement plan.