Talking stocks, trading, and investing in general

[Connemara]



Unfortunately, your broker may not be able to help. As a general rule, you inherit the gifter's cost basis. Not to be morbid, but was the stock gifted to you by a family member who is still alive?

Yeah, it was from my father. He uses the same broker.

 

[amerikajinda]

Sold my Valero Energy and Exxon Mobil today - picked up some GM and Aetna.

 

[Concordia]



Yeah, it was from my father. He uses the same broker.

Then it's almost certainly his purchase price/cost basis.

 

[seeldoger47]

I've often tried but have never ever made it all the way through one of those.

Your not missing out on anything.

 

[Connemara]



Then it's almost certainly his purchase price/cost basis.

OK. Thanks.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

Are you still planning to sell of your Wfc?

 

[Connemara]

The WFC is what I ended up selling.

 

[lemmywinks]

What's a good way to get into investing with small sums of money (say <$1000)? My mom suggested mutual funds and I want to explore a few more options to read on.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

You could build a portfolio with $1000 purchases, just buy one stock or fund each time you have a thousand to invest.

 

[NickInTO]

Not sure if there are any Canadian investors in this thread, but what the hell. I'm just starting my stock portfolio. I work in business journalism, so I have a bit of an advantage on your average small-time investor (and I'm as small-time as they come) - access to a Bloomberg terminal, analyst reports, etc - plus I'm just immersed in the markets all day. Anyway, I'm starting off my portfolio with some Scotiabank and BCE. My goal is to build a low-volatility, income paying portfolio. As it grows, I will look to add a bit of risk, but I'm generally the conservative sort. Considering some AGF because of the great yield, but might wait to see if the price comes down a bit more. I'm also researching some ETFs that track the TSX - looking for a good combination of yield vs. fees - but still in the early stages.

 

[tropics]



What's a good way to get into investing with small sums of money (say <$1000)? My mom suggested mutual funds and I want to explore a few more options to read on.

what are you investing for? i was asking the same question myself about a year ago (for long term / retirement), i'm pretty new to all this stuff.
my conclusion is to look at ETFs, you can diversify with low amounts of money and they have a low expense ratio compared to managed funds. you'll miss the big jumps of individual stocks but also the big losses.
i opened a vanguard account so there are no trading fees, pretty happy with it so far.
interested to hear what other people think.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]



Not sure if there are any Canadian investors in this thread, but what the hell. I'm just starting my stock portfolio. I work in business journalism, so I have a bit of an advantage on your average small-time investor (and I'm as small-time as they come) - access to a Bloomberg terminal, analyst reports, etc - plus I'm just immersed in the markets all day. Anyway, I'm starting off my portfolio with some Scotiabank and BCE. My goal is to build a low-volatility, income paying portfolio. As it grows, I will look to add a bit of risk, but I'm generally the conservative sort. Considering some AGF because of the great yield, but might wait to see if the price comes down a bit more. I'm also researching some ETFs that track the TSX - looking for a good combination of yield vs. fees - but still in the early stages.

IMO, this seems backward, you usually start with risk and ease into more conservative investments as your portfolio grows.

In regard to AGF, it doesn't bother you that their dividend 4x earnings? or that their share price has declined ~25% since start of 2012 where the dow has risen 29% over the same period of time?

If you want to pay yourself your own principle and call it a dividend, go ahead, but you hardly need them to do it for you.

 

[Concordia]

How does your employer feel about your owning stock in the companies that you might be writing about?

 

[NickInTO]

IMO, this seems backward, you usually start with risk and ease into more conservative investments as your portfolio grows.

In regard to AGF, it doesn't bother you that their dividend 4x earnings? or that their share price has declined ~25% since start of 2012 where the dow has risen 29% over the same period of time?

If you want to pay yourself your own principle and call it a dividend, go ahead, but you hardly need them to do it for you.

I know it's backward, but again - I'm a risk-averse person. I realize I'm sacrificing returns, but it's worth it for me to not have to worry about large losses. Good points about the AGF & the dividend - I've only just begun to look at it. Analysts seem confident the dividend isn't going to be cut.

Concordia - I'm a tv producer, so I don't write about companies. Our anchors disclose conflicts, but I know CNBC doesn't allow their employees to own individual stocks. I see what you're saying, but no, there's no ban on us owning stocks. I'm sure that if I was found buying some penny stock and having our anchors/guests pump it up I'd lose my job.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

You have to look at where they are getting money to pay for their dividend when it is more than what the earnings are, and likely that partially explains the decline in pricing over time. Most companies are paying out of earnings and if it begins to approach 50% of earnings or more, I give it a very hard look. If its an industry which does not often see big fluctuations in earnings than I'm willing to take more risk that they will be able to maintain it than for companies in an industry with large fluctuations.

Income is one of my primary considerations when making a stock purchase, but I will never buy a stock that is declining in a good market in order to get that income. This hold-out eliminates the majority of stocks like AGF and their ilk, but its preferential to me because often times I am reinvesting my dividends so retaining and growing their value is important.