Franz -
You seem to be a long time holder of CPQ
Much of the CPQ and MSFT stock I hold has been in my portfolio since 1992 or 1993, which surely qualifies as long term. I have a group of core assets including CPQ, Dell, and MSFT which I rarely touch (the play yesterday on CPQ was an exception based on the unusual market). These comprise about 80% of my holdings.
There is another group, consisting of shorter term plays and stocks which I may decide to hold long based on performance. Currently this group contains LU, CSCO, INTC, SCI, HBOC, and SAP. Earlier this year I did some short term plays on CYCH and MANU. Sometimes I make money on this group, sometimes not - currently I am up in this group a little on the year even with the recent downturn.
As I work the second group, I occasionally pull out a little cash, and I usually hold some cash in reserve. If I need cash for personal reasons I pull it out of this group or the cash account.
I have occasionally done option plays but as far as I can tell the tax consequences of either options plays or short term holdings are about the same - it all ends up as ordinary income.
There are probably better strategies for managing personal income out of a portfolio. Most of my day to day needs are covered by my 'real' job (what I'm doing when I'm not on SI!) so I don't have a good reason to dip into my core portfolio unless I'm doing something unusual.
Hope that helps. |
