Welcome fellow investors!

[Zynx]

To get started, let's talk about our portfolios.

I'm young and have only been an investor for about five years starting with a Strong mutual fund back around this time of 2000. I barely made money on it by the time I dumped it in September of 2000 in favor of a DRIP(Dividend Re-investment plan) with Procter and Gamble that I bought at a split adjusted price of $30.62 a share. I recently added MMC to my portfolio after their recent tumble, but they have been weighed down by the steady decline of AIG that weighs on the entire insurance sector.

[Kolesar]

1. My investments are S&P 500 Index Funds + some international funds

Proportions would be about 60/20/20 Index/International/Cash and am progressively buying more international. I find analyzing and buying individual companies' stocks to be way to time consuming. I am still holding a scant bit of Intel I bought during the tech boom at twice its current value.

I have been buying CDs since the 1980s and stock/equity mutual funds since 1991. I'm not young.

[Zynx]

2. I'm about to toss some money I am getting from inheritance into some

index funds. I will probably go with the S&P 500, a small cap index fund, and an international fund.

[Kolesar]

12. Dollar-cost averaging

Don't invest the inheritance all on one day. Make a few payments over several months. I remember making a big lump-sum investment in early 1994, just to watch it drain away 10% of its value in about two months. I bought at the the market high. It was a discouraging start. It recovered in 1995, though.

[Zynx]

14. I like picking entry points myself, though I sometimes miss opportunities.

I think dollar-cost averaging is the right move in this case. Thanks for the advice.

[UpInArms]

3. Hi Zynx

I just wanted to drop in and wish you well - I won't be doing any investing - not in this market and not with my wallet.

Hope all your deals work out $$$$

I'll be over at the SMW and am really happy that you are there, too!

:hi:

[Zynx]

4. You can certainly contribute ideas about people's portfolios.

You watch the market intently, so you have a good grasp of things.

[UpInArms]

6. I will definitely drop in

and here's a link to one of my favorite stock sites:

http://www.karmabanque.com/

[Zynx]

8. ACK! P&G is my biggest holding and they are being boycotted!

;-)

[UpInArms]

11. isn't that a great place to find out

what's up?

;)

[JNelson6563]

5. Hey all!

Cool! I just stopped in to check the STW and here was a link to new group!

I'll be stopping in as time allows. As to investing these days, I've got three little words for the not-so-confident: Long On Gold.

Cheers-
Julie

[Zynx]

10. Long term, gold is not a good investment.

Recently though, only oil and copper have been better.

[JNelson6563]

17. Just through this rough weather

You won't get rich but you won't go broke either. :toast:

Julie

[Gregorian]

7. Thanks!

I've been waiting for this forum to arrive.

I'm 49. When I was 39, I quit my job as a mechanical engineer in Sillycon Valley, and bought a piece of real estate. I pulled my retirement account, paid the penalties, and got started in what was to be a new way of making money, although not intentional. Since then, I've surfed the real estate wave. I just sold my last property a week ago, and have money in my bank accounts. I'm too conservative (and ignorant) to do anything risky with my money. So it looks like CD's for me. But if I could safely do better than the typical 3% that they yield, I'd love to hear about it. That's why I came to this forum. Now I guess I'll watch and learn.

[Zynx]

9. Try some balanced mutual funds.

They have both bonds and stocks in their portfolios and that way you have less in the way of volatility.

http://flagship4.vanguard.com/VGApp/hnw/FundsSnapshot?FundId=0002&FundIntExt=INT

Vanguard has a good fund and so do most other major fund companies. I also like defensive plays like P&G(which I own), Clorox, Colgate, Pepsi, etc. They pay steady dividends and rarely go through major swoons. The key is diversification so maybe a couple diversified financials like Citigroup and Wells Fargo that pay good steady dividends.

I reccomend against CDs normally if you are actually trying to build wealth, but they're not a bad place to stash it while you are looking for other places.

[Gregorian]

23. Mutual funds are still stock market.

My parents lost $400k in mutual funds which they thought were safe.

I'm totally lost. I have nearly $200k in the bank. I look at real estate, and just can't get myself to believe that buying a little house is a good investment. I won't go near the stock market. So maybe I shouldn't have posted this post after all. It pretty much leaves CD's for my so-called investment.

The maddening part of all of this is that I've been chasing a dream. It has been just moments ahead of me. Ah, forget it. Noone cares about MY dream.

[silverlib]

24. I care -

really I do and I also understand. Investment is risky business and you may fare better than the rest of us. That is exactly what my husband says he would do if he wins the lottery.

Whatever you do, you are the one that must take the glory or the doom. As my mother always said - "stick with you gut feeling."

Peace

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

13. hi everybody

I've got IRA's, Roth's & SEP's, most invested in index funds, no load. I use to get my statements in the mail, pour a glass of wine & enjoy the moment. Now I get them & hold the envelope out as if it's full of anthrax.

I'm thinkin about investing in foreign companies like Warren Buffett, but am wondering if the boom is over & I would just be chasing returns.

Any thoughts?

best

[Zynx]

15. Don't chase foreign stocks now.

You may miss some upside, but the comeback of the dollar due to rising interest rates will make foreign investments fairly risky. When the dollar rises, returns are hampered so be careful there.

[silverlib]

16. Great gruop!

I was wishing for a group like this last week.

I don't have a lot invested. My best investment was a startup Janus contrafund back in 2000. I've about tripled my small amount of money in that one. Thank God, cause it made up for may total flop in the Palm IPO (my old boss told me I really got a bad palm job). I recently have been doing something that I've just read on this thread my not have been a great move. I bought silver several weeks ago and some gold (3 pieces) just the other day. I also just put the maximum 3500 (cause I'm old) in an IRA that invests in European funds. I have about 50/50 stocks in domestic/overseas which make up about 60% of my portfolio, about 5% in bonds and the other 15% in the silver and gold. (edited to make up the other % - cash)

I am a pessimist about the dollar and an optimist about life. I refuse to invest in oil, as I dispise the oil companies. Of course I would never by WalMart. My portfolios do hold some technology stocks that I would prefer not to be involved with, but I do what I can.

Thanks for starting this thread. I know just enough to be a dangerous investor.

[Zynx]

19. In my opinion, stay away from tech.

It's unfortunate that many people are still in tech stocks, but the fact is that many of them will not come back and those that will will never have the returns that they once did or anything close to them. Most modern technology, as we know it, has become economically cyclical and eventually will be valued as such with low PE ratios and poor returns over time.

The rest of your portfolio sounds fairly good and diversified.

[lastknowngood]

18. I'm interested but ignorant. I have some money invested in

gov bonds and some in international stocks via my 401k type account. I have a small inheritance and am trying to figure what to do with it.
Are there any easy to understand cookbook type books I could to get the
basics? Thanks

[silverlib]

20. reference this

http://btobsearch.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?sourceid=00395996645644787198&btob=Y&pwb=1&ean=9780764554117

I have heard this is a good start, but I haven't read the book. This is a B&N link, but it's probably available in your local library. There was a unique website that I started with about 6 years ago, but the name and link have slipped my mind. It will now bug me until I remember, but I'll certainly come back and post it when it comes to me.

[silverlib]

21. Okay - that didn't take long

http://www.fool.com/landing/tmf/offers.htm?source=istmktpop004112&email=elizabethgoble%40austin.rr.com

It has since become a sign in site, but it's free. I hope it is as fun and easy to understand for you as it was for me when I originally found it.

The group is called Motley Fools.

[SCDem]

22. Hello all!

I'm a young new investor and my main goals are to secure money for retirement and college for my son. A year and a half ago before my son was born I met with my financial advisor for the first time. We established two Roth IRAs, a Mutual Fund and a 529 plan. We were putting a quarter of my income into all of these.

Time has passed and now I am a single mom. I am still putting the same amount in my son's 529 plan. I am not putting any money currently into the mutual fund as I am waiting for it to be split in two with divorce proceedings and I am now only putting 1/4 of what I was previously putting into my IRA because of limited resources. Over the next two months I am going to track all my expenses now that I have kind of settled from moving and such and see if I can contribute more to any of the accounts I mentioned above.

If anyone would like to give me advice I'd surely appreciate it.