These are all well-known companies. They are also very successful stocks since their respective IPOs. And they all have been rising with the market for last few years. Then what am I doing still buying them today? I own all four companies for many years. You can see my portfolio … [Read more...] about Apple, Starbucks, Facebook, Tesla
PublicCompanies
Quarterly portfolio update – March 2018
I don’t pay much attention to quarterly stock market changes. I don’t spend time trying to read tea leaves either. However, when the market goes down 10% or more from its peak, it spurs me into action. Why? As I detailed in this blog entry, I have a cash-as-dry-powder strategy. … [Read more...] about Quarterly portfolio update – March 2018
My lucky break with Roth IRA
This was the year 2000 -- at the height of the Internet craze. I had two years of cash contributions ($2K max was allowed at the time) piled up in my Roth IRA. So, in March 2000, I bought $4K worth of Amazon shares (at about $70 per share) in my account. I can’t be sure why I … [Read more...] about My lucky break with Roth IRA
My quest for commercial real-estate
My portfolio has some real-estate (RE) assets but not much. The only commercial real-estate that I have come to own (indirectly) is via public REITs (publicly traded real-estate investment trusts). I have been looking into adding a dose of commercial real-estate in my portfolio. … [Read more...] about My quest for commercial real-estate
A lesson from Buffett
Warren Buffett’s shareholder letter came out last weekend. It’s an annual ritual and it makes for great weekend reading. I am a long-time shareholder and I appreciate how he comments on the general state of investing – besides his own company, Berkshire Hathaway’s affairs. As … [Read more...] about A lesson from Buffett
Let smart people work for you!
The best thing about long-term oriented stock investing is that it doesn’t require lot of work by us, the investors. Instead, we loan our money to people running actual businesses – and they work for us. We own shares in these public companies – so when they make money, we make … [Read more...] about Let smart people work for you!
How media get things wrong
Be wary of news briefs from the financial media – they are designed to catch reader’s attention but in reality often mean nothing – or worse could even be misleading. I follow mainstream news but with care. On one hand we investors need to stay abreast with news related to the … [Read more...] about How media get things wrong
Why I am buying Blackstone
You can see from my 4Q portfolio update that I have been buying shares of Blackstone (BX). I first bought some shares in the third quarter last year – bought again in the fourth quarter – and my last purchase was in January. Blackstone is a somewhat unusual public company. It is … [Read more...] about Why I am buying Blackstone
4Q 2017 quarterly portfolio update
There weren't many changes made in my portfolio last quarter. I did not start any new stock position - though I did add to three of my existing positions. I closed a couple of small stock positions where I took capital losses. There were no changes in my mutual fund positions. … [Read more...] about 4Q 2017 quarterly portfolio update
A deeper look into my portfolio
We take a deeper look at my investment portfolio in this post. A majority of my investments are in stocks or stock index funds. I have been working on my investments for last 20 plus years. These investments have evolved over time – initially all I had were some stock and bond … [Read more...] about A deeper look into my portfolio