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Strategies & Market Trends : Gorilla and King Portfolio Candidates -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: darbyc who wrote (29765)	8/10/2000 5:48:28 PM
From: TigerPaw	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 54805

CSCO, GMST, INTC, JDSU, QCOM, SEBL and SUNW. ... perhaps up to 7 new stocks. My first reaction is that is way too many stocks for a $6,000 investment. Actually I think it's a good idea to start out with mutual funds until there is enough money to buy more than a couple shares of each company. That said, if you already own some I would just add to them over time. TP

To: darbyc who wrote (29765)	8/10/2000 6:15:34 PM
From: MarkR37	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 54805

<<INTRODUCTION AND SEEKING ADVICE>> Warning! Uncle Frank may come by and slap you down for seeking advice. (I'm joking UF don't hurt me :)) Personally I would add to the ones I wanted most and disregard the discount. Assuming that you are going to hold these stocks for years and not months, 15% is not that big a deal. Good luck at your new job! Mark

To: darbyc who wrote (29765)	8/10/2000 10:13:52 PM
From: Mike Buckley	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 54805

Stan, There's probably nothing more that I like than when someone like you shows up and announces that they're investing their first $10,000. Making that initial commitment to a savings and investment plan is sometimes the most difficult and, as a result, the one to be most admired. Congratulations! I hope others have already given you some ideas to mull over. Mine would be to alert you to the idea that adding other companies to your portfolio puts you at risk of becoming overly diversified. Naturally, picking up a stock such as Intel on an employee plan is a reason to make it an exception. But when considering others, remember that statistics show that 8 stocks provides 90% of the diversification of 20 stocks. (Don't ask me to provide evidence of that because I can't. :) So there is no need for you to own more than ten stocks in my opinion. The theory about that is that if you bought all ten stocks in equal dollar amounts and if one of them went completely out of business, your portfolio would be hurt to the tune of "only" 10% if the other stocks simply remained un changed and never went up. In these recent months, most all of us would be grateful for only a 10% year-to-date paper loss so that's a real-life perspective. Understanding all of that, from this point going forward I think you need to concentrate on re-evaluating your application of GGaming ideas to your personal portfolio. Fine tune them. Become comfortable with them. Explain them to your wife and children. (Even the young ones like stories about gorillas. :) Become even more comfortable with them. I realize this isn't the sort of detailed recommendation you might have been looking for, but I hope it helps! --Mike Buckley

To: darbyc who wrote (29765)	8/11/2000 12:08:26 AM
From: Bruce Brown	Respond to of 54805

Welcome to the thread, Darby. I enjoyed your introduction to all of us about your new 'family' and career. Glad to have a new Intel employee on board. Your questions were all appropriate. It's good to see that you've taken a stake in some fine companies already this year. I, as well as many others, can hearken back to many 40% drops or more (QCOM) of my investments over the years. It didn't stop the companies from growing and tossing up great numbers quarter after quarter, but the dips or zigs and zags are all a reality of investing. I currently own CSCO, GMST, INTC, JDSU, QCOM, SEBL and SUNW. Over then next year, my plan had been to invest 20-25% of my income into some of these and/or perhaps up to 7 new stocks. I would decide on a monthly or quarterly basis as the money became available. That's a fine portfolio with solid diversity in technology. You have some rapidly growing revenue companies, some in the middle of the pack and some at the slower end of the growth curve that are more mature and massive in size. From the standpoint of the manual, your positions are right on target. Certainly you should take advantage of the employee plan at Intel. You don't have to max it out to the full 10%, but can use some to go into Intel so that you use the added benefit of the discount advantage and then put the rest of your monthly savings to build up your cash position to invest on a quarterly or appropriate basis in your established positions - especially in the younger, faster growing companies based on your age. I'm anti-mutual fund outside of an Index fund because of the fees and the sad fact that the majority of mutual funds can't beat the index. I prefer your approach to owning individual shares that you are in charge of and manage. You probably could have had the same diversity and growth rate with 2 to 4 of those from your list without getting all six, but that's water under the bridge at this point. Build up the positions that you do have. You mentioned my favorite next generation networks as an area for possible investment, but you are holding Cisco and JDS Uniphase - two companies that are certainly involved in that technology adoption life cycle. So don't feel like you are not 'covered' in that area. You are. Best of luck with your position at Intel (which location?) and family. The investments will do fine compounding over the years. Just use a disciplined plan of taking advantage of the Intel employee plan and save what you can from your income to build up your nest egg over the next few decades. BB

To: darbyc who wrote (29765)	8/11/2000 6:48:28 AM
From: Apollo	Respond to of 54805

Welcome to G&K darbyC. We usually try not to give advice here, because the DD is up to each of us. But what the hell, as one Stan to another. My thoughts are: 1. You have 7 strong stocks; investing in 7 more would seem to be a large number, not including all of the others you are "watching" for possible investments in the future. Plus you have a new job, plus, you're a father and husband, plus, you have a life. I would stick with the 7, and determine which to reinvest in amongst them. Adding many more would make it impossible to really follow each company very well. 2. Which company to reinvest in depends entirely on your "risk tolerance", and your goals. I love INTC, but realize that it is in my portfolio because I see it as a conservative investment, as a steady dependable anchor in a stormy sea. Last year, INTC was a drag on my portfolio; this year, INTC has been a big mover and a ray of sunshine. So I think you have to ask yourself, what % of your portfolio do you want to be steady and conservatively apportioned, and of that, how much should INTC represent. 3. If your goal is to be fabulously wealthy and retire early, then you have to invest in riskier companies with potentially explosive futures. The best valued young gorilla in the world, as far as I can see, .............is Qcom. Best of luck, and we expect you to keep us advised from your perspective on INTC. thanx again, stan

To: darbyc who wrote (29765)	8/11/2000 9:06:33 AM
From: DownSouth	Respond to of 54805

Darby, you have all the makings of a successful investor. I commend you for your sound gg decisions and ability to hang on in the bad times. I like your portfolio, and congrats on your new job with a great company. My advice is to treat INTC now as you would have before you joined the company, with one twist: Invest as much of you paycheck in the ESOP plan as you are comfortable. In fact, invest the full 10%. That means you must invest an additional 10-15% to meet your 20-25% goal. 1. Decide how much of INTC you wish to own, either in $'s or as a % of your portfolio. At the end of each 6 month ESOP period, immediately sell the excess above your INTC bogey. You just made 15% profit. Invest the proceeds, but not in INTC. 2. Contribute the max to the 401(k) plan to get the tax and company matching benefit. I can tell you from my experience that investing a large percentage of your savings in your employer's stock can be dangerous. You are emotionally tied to your employer and cannot be objective. I can also tell you that 401(k) is a great investment vehicle. You cannot control the investment as you can your own portfolio, but when you leave your employer, you can roll the 401(k) money into a self-directed IRA and have complete control of it and maintain the tax sheltered nature of the account.