Posted by Leon_CO on 2/18/07 8:37am
Msg #176232

Investing for the future.

Rarely does anyone discuss what notary signing agents are doing with the money they make. Is anyone investing? Saving for retirement in a retirement fund? Etc.?

Several years ago I was heavily involved in the market. A lot of short-term swing trading. Buy today, sell next week. I don't have the time to do the kind of research it takes to keep up with stocks on a daily basis anymore. Too busy printing out documents. etc. Now most of my investing is for the long term. But I still do the homework before buying them, and I pick stocks that will be good long term investments. Solid stocks such as IBM and Microsoft. Lately I have been investing in financial and real estate stocks.

One of them is an exchange traded fund and real estate investment trust (REIT). It's the Vanguard REIT Index ETF. Ticker symbol: VNQ. I bought shares in it last year. The performance has been very good, and it pays a dividend. For those of you interested in investing in real estate stocks, this is one to consider. Vanguard's expenses are also relatively low.

I'm also invested in Wells Fargo. It's a dividend paying stock, and a good long term investment. Very solid company.

Now for a bit of speculation. Stocks in the sub-prime mortgage industry have taken a big hit. One of them is New Century Financial. Ticker symbol: NEW. Take a look at a chart of it. You can pull up one on any of the popular financial sites. Notice that in September of last year it was trading at around $40 a share. Now it's trading at under $20. However, the one-year target price of this stock is $30.75. It's too late to short this stock (buy high, sell low). But if you believe there will be a rebound, and if you trust the analyst opinions on this one, this is something to consider.

I don't own it, but I'll keep it on the radar screen to see if it goes any lower. I don't think all of the dust has settled. Take a look at some of the other stocks in the financial and real estate sector.

Use your best judgement, consult with someone knowledgeable about stocks, and do your homework. All stocks involve risks. But nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Good luck.

Reply by Stuart Posner on 2/18/07 11:13am
Msg #176237

Re: "I'm also invested in Wells Fargo"...oh, so you are one

of the people who don't care about WF giving mortgages to "ILLEGAL" immigrants...just like Bank of America who gives credit cards to "ILLEGAL" immigrants. What part of ILLEGAL don't you understand? or is it a case of "Money trumps everything".

While I agree that we all need to take care of ourselves for the future, (for myself, I am investing in real estate)...but we need to do things which benefit not only ourselves, but our future, our country, and our morality. And if you feel that investing in companies, like WF and BofA which contribute to the ILLEGAL invasion...then sleep well...and don't be surprised by the future.

Reply by Leon_CO on 2/18/07 1:43pm
Msg #176248

... oh, so you are one of the people who don't care ...

Mr. Posner, I wonder if you're in the right business.

If I were a title company who has a closing assignment that involves Wells Fargo, I doubt that I would call you to do the closing. And I doubt that you'd want to work with any of the other myriad lenders with whom my title company does business.

I close loans everyday, for many different lenders across the country. That's how I put food on the table. I don't bite the hand that feeds me.

I don't question or criticize where the money goes for every loan transaction that I'm involved in. That really doesn't concern me. And it would boggle my mind if I did know. I just close the loans.

I mention this because it relates directly to your comments. People are invested in a lot of things, and contribute money to a lot of efforts. And they don't even realize it. Anyone in this country who has a savings or checking account is contributing to a lot of things that the bank does with their deposits. It would totally amaze you if you knew all of the ways that your money is being used, if you took the time to research where it goes. You don't really believe that the bank stuffs the money under a mattress, do you? And if you're concerned about sleeping well at night, then perhaps under the mattress is where you should put your money.

Many people don't support the war in Iraq, and the thousands of other things that the government is involved in. But they still contribute to them. Either directly ... or indirectly.

Peace be with you, and good luck.

Reply by Stuart Posner on 2/18/07 4:06pm
Msg #176263

I don't bite the hand that feeds me either....(long) the

choices I make are for me and my opinion alone. If I go to a closing and it is a BofA or a WF...I will NOT interject my opinion pro or con...because I don't inject my opinion on ANYTHING having to do with or about the signing. I am an impartial witness to an act of which I have taken an oath to perform. As the notary laws of my state say "...a notary public shall not influence a person to enter or not enter into a LAWFUL (capitalization mine) transaction involving a notarial act performed by the notary public." (NRS 240.075) If a person comes to me asking for a notary stamp on a document which supports/does not support something I am aware of...it is none of my business to tell the person MY opinion. My job is to perform notarial act(s) which is further defines by "...any act that a notary public of this state is authorized to perform, including taking an acknowledgment, administering an oath or affirmation, executing a jurat or taking a verification upon oath or affirmation, witnessing or attesting a signature, certifying or attesting a copy, and noting a protest of a negotiable instrument." (State of NV Notary Handbook 2003). To make a long story short, I give no opinion, no practice of law, no nothing. I perform my duties as required by the state of Nevada, the company that hires me and that is all (basically). If I disagree with what my government is doing, I file a complaint either with my senator, member of congress or write to the President him/herself. I might even support a boycott, a letter writing campaign, or just talk to my friends and neighbors and encourage them to go what 'little' they can to show THEIR displeasure with the way things are going. That, sir is called Democracy. It is very easy for anyone to sit back, click their tongue with disgust and do nothing....sometimes you need to do like the character in "Network"....go to your window, lean out and say....
"I'M MAD AS HELL!!! AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!" Believe in something...even if no one else 'seems' to agree with you. If we had people back in the 1700's with the mindset of many of the people today, we would STILL be a British colony, sipping tea at 4pm and singing "G-d save the Queen", instead of "...O'er the Land of the FREEEEEEEE....and the Home of the BRAVE"

I'll get off my soapbox now, and yield the remainder of my time back to the gentleman from Colorado.

Reply by Sharon Taylor on 2/18/07 12:47pm
Msg #176246

Tiny investment club, husband's 401K and retirement

which aren't much. We and another couple started a tiny investment club 4 years ago. They put in $100 a month ($25 each of them and their 2 kids) and we put in $50 a month, giving us a total of $150 per month to invest. There were 2 other couples, but they dropped out after the first year, saying they "couldn't afford it" or were "too busy", so we bought out their shares. So far we have Conagra, Home Depot, Lowes, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, TJMax, Southwest Airlines, Microsoft, eToys (worthless, which one of the dropout couples had badgered us to buy until we did at which point it dropped like a stone), and a couple of shares of Knight Trading Group (which another of the dropout couples had insisted we buy, and which has lost half it's value and will probably never do any better). So far we've made enough to pay the $6.99 monthly Buyandhold.com fee which includes up to 2 trades per month, plus a little extra. ROFLMAO But it's fun, and we had all agreed to stay with it for at least 10 years, so there's still hope for the future.
Other than that, we have my husband's 401K plan at work, where his company matches up to 6%. He can put in up to 6% of his paycheck, and they will match up to 6%. He can put in more, but they won't match the additional amount. That's mostly in Vanguard and some in company stock, which has done well the last couple of years. And there's a small vested retirement account too.
As you said, Leon, all stocks involve risks, but you can study, read, talk with more knowledgable investors, and buy conservatively. Buy, buy, buy, buy slowly and steadily, a little at a time, and it does add up over a period of years. Having a long-term goal is the key.
Which reminds me that I need to call the other couple and discuss this month's stock purchase.