Dividends Are Old and Boring. Why Does Apple Pay a Dividend?
Updated 10/16/23 One of my favorite stocks, and likely a favorite of many others, is Apple (AAPL). Apple just seems to be a company that everyone loves, but something that many people don’t know is that if you own shares, you’re actually collecting a pretty steady Apple dividend every quarter. Key Takeaways “But Andy, aren’t […]
3x ETF = 3x Gains? Evaluating the UPRO Stock Price History
I’ve found myself going down a bit of a rabbit hole lately with some of these leveraged ETFs and it’s really been taking up a lot of my time! I thought, “Ok, Andy – just sit down and do the math yourself”, so that’s what I did – let’s take a look at the history […]
What’s The ARKK Stock Holdings that Has Everyone Drinking the Kool-Aid?
I don’t normally spend an entire blog post just talking about a certain company or ETF, but I am making an exception to the rule to talk about this specific ETF. I have heard A TON of news about it lately and you all know me – I’m not one to just buy-in without doing […]
“Beating the Street” With Peter Lynch’s Investment Strategy – 25 Rules
Few investors have performed as well as Fidelity’s Peter Lynch. If you’re looking for key insights into the Peter Lynch investment strategy, look to his writing. There are few better options than the great book from Lynch himself, entitled Beating the Street. Inside this bestselling investing classic, Lynch shared what he called his “25 Golden […]
Tips for Conquering the Narrative Fallacy in the Stock Market
Every stock carries a narrative. Hopefully this narrative has been borne from numbers. But, two people can look at the same set of facts and come to opposing conclusions—this is the basis of the narrative fallacy. Narratives are intrinsically powerful to us mere mortals because we all want to make sense of the world. Seeing […]
How to Apply Scuttlebutt Investing as an Average Investor
Updated 5/5/2023 Scuttlebutt investing might not seem possible to average investors. After all, many of us don’t work in the industry. We can’t talk with management. But you can apply aspects of Philip Fisher’s scuttlebutt with the stocks you research. “Scuttlebutt” was a word invented by famed investor Philip Fisher in his bestselling Common Stocks […]
Traditional Overdiversification Wisdom is Bunk. 15-20 Stocks= Not Enough.
Everything you’ve ever heard about diversification, and overdiversification, is wrong! The conventional wisdom is that any portfolio over 20- 30 stocks is overdiversified. This is wrong! The traditional idea about stock portfolio diversification is that anything more than 20 stocks, and your portfolio will track the market. In other words, if you’re buying more than […]
Protective Put Options as “Insurance”
The markets are expensive at the moment and it might be time for investors to refresh themselves on the risk management benefits of options. Put options can be used as “insurance” to hedge a position in what is commonly known as a Protective Put option strategy. With a Protective Put option strategy, the investor stays […]
What’s a Good Portfolio Turnover Ratio for the Average Investor?
Portfolio turnover refers to the frequency of buys and sells in an investment portfolio. In general, a lower portfolio turnover ratio is better, if you are buying stocks to invest in good businesses over the long term. You can calculate the portfolio turnover ratio quite simply. It is the higher of: Buys and Sells in […]
How To Best Reduce Investment Risk – A Comprehensive Framework
Updated 4/21/2023 After much effort, you have finally mastered value investing. You now know how to identify good companies and value them. You also only invest in those that trade at a significant discount to the intrinsic value. But success in investing comes from a combination of skill and luck. To protect yourself against bad […]
