John Ballard’s Mid-Cap Fundamentals model focuses on the best companies in under-capitalized sectors. Ballard uses a fundamental approach and looks for strong balance sheets and high returns on capital. Recently, he added Sirius XM Radio Inc (NASDAQ: SIRI) to the model. SIRI’s total assets dropped slightly in 2009, going from […]
The first trading day of October laid a good foundation for the month after the release of some positive news from the Institute of Supply Management via their September 2010 manufacturing report. The report showed that economic activity within the manufacturing sector grew in September, although it had dropped from […]
This week we have two new Covestor model managers to introduce to you. The first is Ryan Leggio, a research analyst in the financial services industry. His Intrinsic Value model is focused on investing in above average companies that are at a below average price. The long-term model generally is […]
The Domestic Dividend model from Harvest Financial Partners is comprised of high quality companies that pay dividends and are well managed. The top position in the model, MasterCard Inc (NYSE: MA), had a dividend yield of .27 percent on September 29th, 2010. In 2009, the company’s net revenues grew to […]
There was good news on the unemployment front this week. The Department of Labor’s weekly unemployment claims report (which you can read here) reported a 16,000 claim decrease for the week ending September 25th. Unfortunately, the good news from the Labor Department did not do enough to allay investor’s fears […]
Family Dollar Stores Inc (NYSE: FDO) announced their 2010 fiscal year financial results today. According to the report, the company’s sales increased by 6.3 percent in 2010. Net sales in the fourth quarter of 2010 rose 8 percent over the results of the same period during the year prior. Their […]
Did you miss yesterday’s Secrets of a Top Performer webinar with Dan Plettner? Watch the video here Dozens of atendees joined us as Dan explained Closed End Funds and the various strategies he employs in his Covestor models. In addition, Dan discussed four specific holdings from his models during the […]
As of September 27th, 2010, manager Mark Holder’s Opportunistic Arbitrage model has enjoyed a 22.56 percent return since its inception in February 2010. Holder uses a variety of strategies to achieve this return, including investing in IPOs and beaten down sectors. We talked to him this week to get some […]
week when he added some new positions. This week, he’s added another, Credit Suisse High Yield Bond Fund (DHY). DHY is a fund that works to create income but
Despite a negative shift in consumer confidence, U.S. markets were up today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 46.10 points to 10,858.14—almost erasing the losses experienced on Monday. The Nasdaq climbed 9.82 points to 2,379.59 while the S&P 500 gained 5.54 points to 1,147.70. The Conference Board released their consumer […]
Author: Michael Arold Disclaimer: Michael Arold owns AVB in his Covestor Technical Swing model. September 16, 2010: Avalonbay Coummunities (NYSE: AVB) is a residential REIT, focused on rental apartment communities. I believe that AVB is currently in a sweet spot of the market: – More and more individuals are choosing […]
Limiting portfolio sizes to 20-30 stocks allows for diversification without getting to levels of diworstification. Hence, I have always had a few 'risky' biotech stocks. Based on the results of Savient Pharma (SVNT) the rewards have clearly outweighed the risks. Additionally, Rigel Pharma (RIGL) and Cephalon (CEPH) have seen bullish trading of late. Not being predisposed to investing in this sector, I just found the valuations too compelling.