jim,
i have been using riskgrades.com instead of beta in evaluating risk. or i should say i use them both but give riskgrade more value. you may like them, too, as they are more up to date.
what i focus now is on beaten down companies but they are very short-term, in most cases up to two weeks, in which case after that i may never see them again (i can't follow too many stocks and am forced to drop them).
i wish i can spend more time on the long-term side, as i used to in the past. i like the idea of picking a losing stock, then talking to emplyess and visiting stores, etc, to look for a turnaround. but it involves time and it'll have to be as part of a research team.
as to the Qs, i like them not only because there's less risk, but also because they are very liquid; you can trade with $1K or $1B and still have about the same returns.
it's interesting on how you're testing the 12 most dollar price. i'll try the dollar volume instead, since i believe it may be more accurate when given results (1 of the stocks may split more often than others), but i'm sure you have your own reasons. but if anything, i try to find reasons to think completely different than most. and since you only need a few home runs to really make money, this might be a better approach to dealing with something like the Qs.
the past few days had been strong for the economy, and i see a qurter % cut in interest rate in the next meeting, not before. the nasdaq is stil trading very high (historical levels), and i think it's better left for trading. but many small stocks have suffered much more and i'm looking into them.
i realized that you like aapl, as does my past professor, who bought them long ago and haven't lost (even after the drop). he still likes them, because of their cash position @ $12/sh (stock closed @ $15). if i buy aapl it'll be a long term (over a year), and only shortly before coming out with a product i believe will be successful (such as the operating system OX10 coming out soon). we'll see if i buy it after all.
happy holidays, marty |
