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General: Portfolio issues

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    • CommentAuthordcarlson
    • CommentTimeJun 18th 2009
     Report Post# 1
    I'm still dealing with some laggers in my portfolio that are still down in the dirt even with the recent rise in the market. I am attempting to decide if to dump them and invest in another sector or double down to try and reduce my losses. Some are mutual funds I felt were pretty safe at the time, apparently bought at a bad time and believed they would hold their own in a bear market but as you know this was not a typical bear. Many others I dumped way before bottom but the losses on these represent several thousand dollars so I'm facing this issue of what to do here.
    FTR...down 43%
    FIGRX (fidelity international discovery)...down 42%
    FSUTX (fidelity energy)...down 36%
    FSUTX (fidelity utilities)...down 35%
    MOO....down 41% (I have bought another batch of MOO it is up 18%, prob should have bought more at the time)
    SE...spectra energy (natural gas)...down 35%
    Any comments appreciated....Dave
    • CommentAuthorPatches
    • CommentTimeJun 19th 2009
     Report Post# 2
    dcarlson, I was going to let others answer this one, but since no one did I'll chime in. In general I like to keep a 25% stop loss on my investments. I try to stay consistent on that rule, but there are exceptions if support levels are in place at 33% or less. Everyone is different, so I'd like to see some other opinions here.

    Looking at your holdings, FTR is the only one that is sitting at it's lowest support level, which means it is not likely to go down any further. Personally I'd keep that one. All the others have support above and below and could go either way at this point. Spectra has a 6% dividend, so you are still earning money while waiting for it to rise. The other dividends aren't so good. Spreadtrader made some good comments about MOO on another thread which you can view here:
    http://oneguysinvestments.com/gumshoe/comments.php?DiscussionID=2058&page=1#Item_27

    Just my opinions, hopefully someone else will give some input.
  4.  Report Post# 3
    FTR not likely to go anywhere until they announce how big the dividend cut will be, and if they can integrate the Verizon land lines in Wa and OR seamlessly.


    http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2009/05/14/why-frontier-will-escape-the-curse-of-the-verizon-deal/

    Last paragraph
  5.  Report Post# 4
    Not specific to your particular stocks, but just a general way of thinking: Except for tax ramifications, you should ignore your own history with regard to your purchase price, when evaluating investments. If stock A is a promising buy, based on whatever type of technical or fundamental analysis you're using, then it's a good buy whether you bought higher or lower, or don't own it at all. The same thing goes if a stock is a good sell/short candidate. I'll repeat: Your own personal past gains or losses are irrelevant in evaluating a stock (except for tax considerations); All that matters is the prospect for that stock, looking forward.
    • CommentAuthorDarrell
    • CommentTimeJun 20th 2009
     Report Post# 5
    indy, many stocks look good then government speak comes into play and the market goes haywire. Are you saying that you are seeing a for real upturn in the market or a temp. bull run ??
  8.  Report Post# 6
    D, I wasn't making any prognostications about the market (though, at the moment, as it happens, I'm still bullish on certain sectors.) Many investors make the mistake of looking backward at where they bought into some particular investment, and using that psychological "anchor" point to evaluate the investment NOW. That's a mistake, albeit a common one, and will throw off any analysis.
    • CommentAuthorDarrell
    • CommentTimeJun 20th 2009
     Report Post# 7
    indy, with all the lies about the housing market and government intervention in banking and autos while pushing healthcare, what sectors besides commidities, gold, oil, bio and ng are you bullish on ??
  10.  Report Post# 8
    D, interestingly, you've covered most of my favorites. I would add (noting that some of these are commodities, as you mentioned) silver, potash, industrial metals and, more so, rare earths, selected alternative energy, water purification, fuel cells, and power grid & water infrastructure. I tend toward Canadian, Australian, and Chinese companies, and have some other international holdings, as long-term plays against the American dollar. Bio seems to me to be too much of a crapshoot, and I'm avoiding anything dependent on a strong US$.
    • CommentAuthorDarrell
    • CommentTimeJun 20th 2009
     Report Post# 9
    indy, appreciate the clarification, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing too much. Some of the plays are looking long term and I'm not long terming it right now, markets too damn iffy and the government is too damn scarey for me to go too long term. I'm thinking some of this government crap we've been seeing is fixin' (that's ssouthern) to bite some in power in the butt. So many are pi..ed off about healthcare and unemployment that re-election for many is in jepordy. And that's a good thing. I'm heavy into Canada but not so in others except the US market, still supporting the small guys trying to create jobs and tech.

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