As an investor, I have found the mental part of investing is the toughest pill to swallow. I can be disciplined about investing in dividends companies. I realize that dollar cost averaging reduces my exposure over the long term. However, watching your portfolio drop like a rock over the course of a few weeks really takes a toll on you. My first instinct is to sell it all and put all the money in a savings account. It is at these times I refer to my favorite quote from Dune by Frank Herbert.
I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
The Thoroughbred Folio fell to another record low. The talking heads on television will tell you that July should be a rebound month. We really need something to turn this train around. Nevertheless, we can (nearly) always depend on our dividends. This week Bank of America (BAC) and Stanley Works (SWK) doled out $1.14 and $0.49 respectively.
We only had three Thoroughbred’s in the black last week. This week that number doubled to six, which I suppose is something to hang on too. Wrigley leap-frogged Nucor for the first time to take the lead. Anheuser-Busch maintains a strong third spot.
There is no change at the bottom. The regional banks have a firm grip on the losers bracket. Bank of America is not far behind. I often wonder at times like these, how the next year will unfold. At this time next year, how will the bank have dealt with their meltdown?
Thoroughbred Performance (Week 28 of 52): $-442.82 (-14.76%) Dividends To Date: $46.19
Top 3 Stocks
- WM Wrigley $22.20 (29.61%)
- Nucor Corp $21.07 (28.09%)
- Anheuser-Busch $14.04 (18.72%)
Bottom 3 Stocks
- Fifth Third Bancorp $-44.43 (-59.24%)
- Regions Financial $-39.93 (-53.24%)
- KeyCorp $-36.34 (-48.45%)
Stocks used in this post:
- (BAC: 26.25, +15.18%, Yield: 11.23%)
- (BUD: 62.51, -2.22%, Yield: 2.13%)
- (FITB: 13.01, +19.69%, Yield: 10.86%)
- (KEY: 11.93, +53.74%, Yield: 16.79%)
- (NUE: 34.47, -12.27%, Yield: 5.52%)
- (RF: 11.43, +29.30%, Yield: 14.03%)
- (SWK: 36.45, +0.25%, Yield: 3.44%)
- (WWY: 0.00, N/A, Yield: N/A%)
July 5th, 2008 at 9:12 am
[...] Brain Games have no place in investing [...]