Stock pick question

[robby]

If you could only purchase one stock (no mutual funds), what would you pick and why? Does anyone here pick their own stocks?

[34saving]

It sounds like we're in a similar position. (I have my Roth IRA with e*Trade -- mostly I like mutual funds, but have been dabbling a little bit with stock picks.) I would appreciate any advice from experts out there, because I'm certainly not one! However, lately I've been watching Corillian Corp (CORI). Its fundamentals look good and it appears to be very oversold as well as at a relative low. Of course, sometimes there are reasons for that, but . . . I can't find any. Any other picks out there?

[Russell]

I'm definitely not an expert but I have heard the experts advise that its always a good idea to consider stocks of the companies who's products you use yourself and then decide which have the most potential. Just as an example, if you or your family drink a lot of coke then you should consider buying their stocks (and read the label on the cans for the amount of sugar they contain but that's another topic ).

I think money.msn.com usually has a column in which they pick stocks every month or so that they think *should* do well.

[PRICEPLUS]

If you can't explain in one or two sentences what a company does then you should think long and hard about buying its' stock! I believe in index funds and diversification as well as dollar cost averaging.

Very few folks can time the market. Slow and steady wins the race. Singles win more games than home runs.

Well that is my .02 cents on investing.

[terry1156]

I would highly recommend reading two books.

<b>Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in the Markets and in Life</b>: This book is by Nassim Nicholas Taleb and I believe it was published in 2001. As a hedge fund manager, he makes some great arguments against "experts" who claim to understand markets. His argument is that they see patterns that don't really exist. In reality, what it all comes down towhen investing is good fortune.

<b>The Intelligent Investor: A Book of Practical Counsel</b>: Don't let the date it was published fool you. It came originally came out in 1949 by Benjamin Graham, but has been updated. It remains around because it's one of the best basic investing books that has ever been written.

[coffeebreak]

Originally Posted by robby

If you could only purchase one stock (no mutual funds), what would you pick and why? Does anyone here pick their own stocks?

Starbucks Coffee (SBUX) Why? Good steady growth over the years.

If you want to test your stock selection skills, create a phony portfolio in Quicken or get Medved Quote Tracker and start buying stocks based on things you here. I still do this. About 80% of my portfolio is based on things I heard/hear on Cavuto.

I started with $1 million and since 2002 I have increased the value by about 22%. Keep about 15% in cash so you have money to buy when something pops up. You don't want to have to sell a stock just so you can get cash to buy something else. It's a lot of fun. I just lost $6000 on MSO (Martha Stewart). I jumped ship at $30.75.

KB Home, Halliburton, Dell, Starbucks, JC Penney and nVidia have done well. Merck, Microsoft and Home Depot have been real losers. I am still holding out hope. I have too much invested to sell those now.

I also add a fee of $7 to each transaction.


coffeebreak likes Starbucks