David D’Amico of Braver Wealth Management, bought iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Value Index Fund (IJS) in his Diversified model this week. This model has an ETF allocation strategy with no more than 20% invested in fixed income. D’Amico uses computer models for analysis to decide what ETFs to add to the model. The IJS fund mirrors the performance of the S&P SmallCap 600/Citigroup Value index. As of July 15th, 2010 the fund was trading slightly below NAV, giving it a small discount.
We’ve discussed Covestor model manager Michael Arold’s Technical Swing model in detail in the past. This week, Arold bought shares of Priceline.Com Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN). In these cash-strapped times people want to take vacations, but can they afford them? With Priceline, consumers can often create an affordable vacation if they are willing to fly a red eye flight and keep their hotel a mystery until the transaction is finalized. This usability during tough economic times has helped Priceline consistently increase stockholder equity and net income over the last three years. Their price to earnings ratio is not very competitive, which means the stock may actually be overpriced. Over the past 12 months their stock price has increased by over 100% (according to CNNMoney.com, as of market close on July 15, 2010).
Another interesting purchase in Arold’s model this week was Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc (NYSE:DPS). DPS has a higher price to earnings ratio than competitors and a 2.56% dividend yield as of July 15th 2010. Their cash flow took a big hit in 2009. The stock’s price has more than recovered from its March 2009 lows.
