Can someone tell me what are the best stocks to own? Is it BRK, AAPL? Is now not a good time to invest?

November 19, 2007

Posted by invsense

( 1 rating )

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Cl A (BRKA) is a fantastic stock, though its practicality a mutual fund. Apple is another fantastic stock. It is not only important to pick a good stock, it is also important to ensure your portfolio is diversified.

In order to have a diversified portfolio, be sure your portfolio spans across several sectors as listed below. You can also choose to diversify in other ways as well such as market capitalization, growth vs. value, speculative vs. non-speculative, US vs International Diversification.
Sectors:
Basic Materials: These include gold, copper, composite material, chemicals, industrial metals, mining, forestry and paper companies such as FCX (Freeport McMoran), and ATI (Allegheny Technology).
Consumer Discretionary: Consists of General Retailers, Media, Travel and Leisure, Food and Drug Retailer companies such as TGT (Target), DIS (Disney), BBY (Best Buy), and SBUX (Starbucks).
Consumer Staples: Consists of Household Goods, Beverages, Food Producers, and Tobacco. Some others (such as those at ishares.com ) would include Automobile Parts, and Leisure Goods. Examples include PEP (Pepsi), MO (Altria), PG (Procter and Gamble), and SLE (Sara-Lee)
Energy: Consists of Oil & Gas Producers, Oil Equipment and Services, Coal, and Alternative Energies (such as Solar). Stocks include XOM (Exxon-Mobil), SLB (Schlumberger), and BTU (Peabody Energy).
Financial Services: Consists of National and Regional Banks, General Financial companies, Brokerages, Exchanges, Nonlife Insurance, Real Estate, and Life Insurance Companies. Examples include WFC (Wells Fargo), GS (Goldman Sachs), NYX (New York Stock Exchange-Euronext), AMTD (Ameritrade), PGR (Progressive Corp).
Healthcare: Consists of Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology, Health Care Equipment and Services, Healthcare Insurers. Examples include PFE (Pfizer), JNJ (Johnson and Johnson), MDT (Medtronic), GILD (Gilead Biotech), UNH (United Health Group), ISRG (Intuitive Surgical)
Industrials: Consists of General Industrials, Aerospace and Defense, Support Services, Industrial Engineering, Industrial Transportation, Electronic and Electrical Equipment, Railroads, and Construction and Materials. Examples include GE (General Electric), BA (Boeing), CAT (Caterpillar), UPS (United Parcel Service), UNP (Union Pacific Corp), DE (Deere), WMI (Waste Management), FLR (Fluor Corp), MDR (McDermott), and TEX (Terex).
Technology: Consists of Hardware, Software, Semiconductor, Internet, Networking, and General Technology Companies. Examples include MSFT (Microsoft), CSCO (Cisco), GOOG (Google), AAPL (Apple), IBM (IBM), INTC (Intel), NOK (Nokia), and RIMM (Research in Motion).
Telecom: Consists of Fixed Line and Mobile Telecommunication Companies. Examples include T (AT&T) and VZ (Verizon Communications)
Utilities: Consists of Electricity, and Gas, Water and MultiUtilities. Examples include EXC (Exelon Corp), TXU (TXU Corp) and DUK (Duke Energy).

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November 19, 2007

Posted by Damatr

( 1 rating )

Regarding "Is now not a good time to invest?"- you can't time the market, very few investors or more like trader can successfully.
The financial markets are fairly efficient. There is little to be gained from attempting to time them and more to lose. The lost opportunity caused by missing a bull market and the significant losses from getting caught in a bear market require that much more than 50% of a market timer’s predictions be correct in order to benefit from the strategy.

Remove the “market timing” mentality from investing and focus on the benefits of diversification, especially during volatile economic times such as the present. The sooner a decision is made to diversify assets, the sooner you can begin benefiting from that decision.

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