Thanks to all...
Earlier this year I came into some money, and decided that the time had come to learn how to manage and invest it wisely. So I started following the market, reading the financial press, etc. I read books like Malkiel's "Random Walk," Graham's "Intelligent Investor," Bogle on Mutual Funds, and the like, and learned why not to buy standard mutual funds. But I was too much of a gambler at heart to simply put all the money in an index fund, and so I convinced (well, badgered) my wife to let me reserve some for an attempt to beat the average by picking individual stocks.
I started dabbling in various growth and tech stocks, and seemed to do ok. But I wanted to do better still, and kept looking. After reading the Fool's investment guide I checked out their website, and discovered the wonders of the online investment boards. One day, while checking the messages on one of my companies--I think it was JDSU--there was a nice personal exchange following some intelligent discussion, with one person signing off by writing, "see you in G&K!" I didn't know what that meant, but I was intrigued.
From the Fool I ventured deeper and ended up at SI, where the investors seemed more knowledgeable. One day, via a link from another post, I ended up in the Gorilla & King thread, and was entranced. I don't know all that much about technology, nor about investing for that matter, but I do know about argumentation--you could say it's my professional "core competency"--and I saw right away that this was something special. The more I read the more impressed I became, and eventually I went back to square one and read every single message from the beginning (no kidding!). And, of course, I got and RTFM (or rather, RTFRM, as it was by then).
The result has been that you have made not only a convert, but a missionary. I think I've turned at least four friends onto the Q already, in a matter of weeks, and find that I've become an obsessed fanatic. My wife claims not to care about what CDMA's prospects in China are, nor about how much Dr. J gave to Technion recently ($2 mil), nor about the possible reasons someone might not show up at a Cowen conference. I tell her the answers are critical to our--her!--financial future (well, not the Technion part, but it's still nice to know), and all I get is a smoldering look and a pillow on the couch.
Anyway, after lurking for a couple of months I finally decided I would join SI, not least to say thanks to all of you for the incredible community you have created. Uncle Frank put it best a few months back, I think, when he described the thread as "an investment club devoted to a common strategy," and I want to tell you all how much I appreciate being allowed to join.
So, with all that as introduction, I will now reveal just what I've learned. Here's the composition of my portfolio, as of COB 9/16/99:
QCOM 66%
JDSU 19%
PMCS 9%
SEBL 6%
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100%
A bit of commentary: part of the JDSU and all of the PMCS is a legacy of my earlier investments; I sold off some single-digit percentage holdings in EMC, NTAP, TXN, and RMBS in order to buy some more Q during the recent drop (ugh!); and I eagerly await the word from Merlin on when (if ever) to step into CTXS and GMST.
I will end this (over)long message here, and probably will not be heard from much again because I don't want to dilute the wisdom and information offered by those who really know. Just wanted to say personally, though--to Uncle, Mike B., Lindy, and all the rest--thanks.
tekboy
PS well, maybe I can add one little item. Uncle, you've been dying to know this for months, so here goes:
"Bluetooth's curious moniker was an internal codename that stuck--a tip of the hat to King Harold of Denmark, aka Harold Bluetooth, who unified his empire under Christianity in 986, between the reigns of Gorm the Old and Sweyn Cleftbeard (paging Monty Python!)." Nokia profile, Wired, Sept. 99, p. 146. |
