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Technology Stocks : CMGI What is the latest news on this stock? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: badon518 who wrote (5264)	3/8/1999 8:25:00 AM
From: PDL	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 19700

Badon: Sounds to me that you are a believer in and student of the internet... and that your instincts are to structure your portfolio around that concept. I think that makes sense, especially if you can consider your inheritance as "found money" -- not necessary for mortgage payments. In your shoes, depending upon the size of the inheritance, I would consider a group of stocks (I wouldn't call this terribly diversified because it will be concentrated in the internet and you have to be prepared for the ups and downs that implies). Some suggestions (these are my biases and current holdings): AOL, WCOM, QWST, LVLT, TGNT, CMGI, EMC, and MSFT. This is a blend of big caps that should do well with just the expansion and growing demand on the internet (WCOM and MSFT), a big cap King Kong (AOL) that could still face some volatility, some relatively "small or mid caps" who are providing huge/advanced bandwidth for the exponential growth potential (QWST, LVLT, TGNT), another "infrastructure stock" (EMC) and then the speculative, low cap potential grand-slam (CMGI). You may look like a hero if you "put it all" on CMGI and everything works out perfectly, but that is a highly risky move. With the above suggestion (or some variant), you are putting all your eggs into one rather narrow and specialized basket (the internet and telecommunications), and you should watch that "basket" carefully. But unless there is a major market and sector correction, you should be well served if your time horizon is 5+ years. Buy and Hold is far and away the best investment strategy if you can develop the discipline. JMHO.

To: badon518 who wrote (5264)	3/8/1999 12:32:00 PM
From: B. A. Marlow	Respond to of 19700

Urging a diversified portfolio, badon. "Restaurants" is exactly the reason. You wouldn't invest all of your money in a restaurant that you weren't running yourself (Planet Hollywood? Boston Chicken?) and the reason is that more than 80 percent of them fail. Now, CMGI isn't going to fail, but it won't be on a roll every day, either. Just look at the chart: clearstation.com Now, I'm not saying you can't be somewhat aggressive if you have the tolerance for risk and volatility, especially if you're young and your investing goals are long term. But "smart money" diversifies in order to even things out and protect itself from cyclicality, sector rotation, mood swings, economic disruptions and even, alas, "bad government." A couple of dividend payers can't hurt, either. So start with this model and play with it; of the amount you invest in stocks, which might be 80-85 percent of your investable assets: 25-30 percent Internet (80 percent "first-tier") 20-25 percent "old tech" 20-25 percent drugs/biotech/healthcare 20-25 percent financial/brokerage Remember, what you're trying to do is beat the averages, not be a "hero" or a stock jockey. For inspiration, you might enjoy reading Warren Buffet's letter to shareholders: berkshirehathaway.com Hope this helps. Let us know how you make out. BAM