A little investment fun

[IGBT]

Back in ITCI and SGMO, 400 shares each.  $17,800 in cash in case the market drops a lot again.

Currently a tad over $30,000.  Consider that I funded this with $2500 not quite 2 years ago and that is a nice return!  Almost a new van in profit!

 

[sneaks]

Two things I have learned the hard way:

NEVER chase a penny stock as it drops

NEVER invest in a mining company

I opened an account just for sh**s and giggles with a small deposit, linked to an account that I dump Kindle sales income from a few cookbooks I authored years ago that generate about $100 a year at best ($0.51 cents at a time), disposable "fun" money. Got my "free stock." Wouldn't ya know, it is a mining company, lol.

 

[AutonomyCrusader]

Good for you, I often wonder why there are not more investors who are VanLifers. The missus and I mainly stay to dividend stocks and other passive investments. Our goal is to have Van Life funded entirely by our investments. Currently we have about 575 a month coming in, which I know we could live on right now, but the goal is 1500-1800 a month.  I was even thinking of doing like a workshop or ebook on the matter so that more people could live the life without having to worry about finances or jobs, basically only working when and if they wanted to. While I am sure our instagram and you tube accounts will be used, we don't want to rely on them for income only content and on our time frame. Anyways Kudos to your investment success, and I hope it continues.

 

[IGBT]

Took a big hit Friday because I bought back into SGMO as it was falling and it kept falling, closing under $9 (bought in at $9.70).

Now down to about $29,200, but holding the shares because it is volatile and should recover (they have many partnerships, 700m in cash and 1.2B market cap)

 

[Travelmonkey]

SGMO is back over $10.50/share. Up 7% today.

 

[barleyguy]

My biggest investment over the last two years has been XLY, which is a "consumer spending ETF". It's 25% Amazon plus Home Depot, Starbucks, Target, and a few others. It's up 32% over the last 3 months, and about 10% average since I bought it. So doing really well there.

My other good bet was buying a bunch of AMD stock at around $5, and selling it at $37. So about 7 times my money there.

On the other hand, I'm also invested in Small Cap Growth (VIOG), which has gotten hammered this year because of the rough conditions for small and medium businesses. I'm hoping if I hold that it will recover though.

As far as general advice, my biggest priority is low expense ratios. I try to choose things that are zero point two percent or less. If you match the market but pay one percent in fees, you're doing one percent less than the market. I also will never ever pay AUM (Assets Under Management). That's just a way for a stock broker to steal an annual percentage of your money, and there's not strong evidence that they'll do better than self management.

My two cents.

 

[ckelly78z]

Check out IBIO, it has help from IBM, will be getting government funding for Covid 19 vaccine production, and not from FDA approval. It's currently sitting at $2.25 a share and expected to go MUCH higher. They produced the vaccine for the swine flu in 2009, and again in 2014, and realized a highly elevated stock price of $55, and $32 respectively.

 

[ckelly78z]

https://investorplace.com/2020/07/big-catalysts-ibio-stock-buy-shares-now/

 

[IGBT]

I'll check that out thanks.

My SGMO recovered nicely and I am at an all time high near $32,000.

I am looking at writing some covered calls on ITCI if I can figure out how to do that as one transaction in Robinhood.  If not, I will have to leg into them which I don't like doing on volatile stocks (you can get in trouble fast).   Etrade lets you do a covered call as a buy-write in one debit transaction but I can't find this in Robinhood.

 

[Travelmonkey]

My biggest investment over the last two years has been XLY, which is a "consumer spending ETF". It's 25% Amazon plus Home Depot, Starbucks, Target, and a few others. It's up 32% over the last 3 months, and about 10% average since I bought it. So doing really well there.

As far as general advice, my biggest priority is low expense ratios. I try to choose things that are zero point two percent or less. If you match the market but pay one percent in fees, you're doing one percent less than the market. I also will never ever pay AUM (Assets Under Management). That's just a way for a stock broker to steal an annual percentage of your money, and there's not strong evidence that they'll do better than self management.

My two cents.

XYL was on my watch list at the end of last year. I thought a consumer ETF was a good defensive play but I never pulled the trigger on it.

I also agree with you on watching expense ratios. I've often wonder if I am better off ditching individual stocks completely and just dollar cost averaging into total market, intermediate bond funds, and international ETFs.

 

[AnonymousDog]

I'm having about the same kind of luck with the market as I have with the lottery.

 

[ckelly78z]

Check out IBIO, it has help from IBM, will be getting government funding for Covid 19 vaccine production, and not from FDA approval. It's currently sitting at $2.25 a share and expected to go MUCH higher. They produced the vaccine for the swine flu in 2009, and again in 2014, and realized a highly elevated stock price of $55, and $32 respectively.

This stock exploded yesterday afternoon with 44% gains, but looking to go much higher whenever the CEO decides to announce new news in a PR.
Currently at $3.28 a share.

 

[ckelly78z]

Still no official news, but hype, and internet news stories pushed the price to $6.75 today....I made $5000 just today......IBIO !

 

[wayne49]

USD heading for a crash. Everything priced in USD will be going up in price. No added value, just price inflation.
Search for "Weimar Republic".
Trillions of US Debt issued that will never be paid back with USD.

 

[barleyguy]

People have been predicting a national debt inflation crash for 30 years. It hasn't happened yet. Granted, it will happen someday. But it could be this year, it could be next year, it could be another 30 years from now.

 

[IGBT]

We are nowhere near the debt level needed for a crash.

Weimar republic, the debt to gdp was above 250%

The USA is something around 110%

So they can run the printers for awhile longer.

 

[barleyguy]

We are nowhere near the debt level needed for a crash.

Weimar republic, the debt to gdp was above 250%

The USA is something around 110%

So they can run the printers for awhile longer.

Also, the US Dollar is a world standard for currency, whereas the Weimar Republic whatever is something most people have never heard of. That makes it a different situation.

 

[wayne49]

People have been predicting a national debt inflation crash for 30 years. It hasn't happened yet. Granted, it will happen someday. But it could be this year, it could be next year, it could be another 30 years from now.

"How did you go bankrupt?" Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly." ― Ernest Hemingway.

USA has been on this path since 1971, when spending on the ultimately useless war in Vietnam required creating more USD than the USA had Gold reserves. Nixon closed the Gold Window as a result of France demanding gold for USD. [Strange coincidence. The war in Vietnam was a result of the split of Vietnam in 1954, after the Vietnamese defeated the French colonial forces.]

30 years was up, what a coincidence, in 2001. What paradigm shifting event happened in 2001?

The Petrodollar, created in 1974. was a fudge to maintain global demand for USD. The Petrodollar is backed by USN carrier fleets and economic sanctions. Nations that dare to sell or buy oil in currencies other than USD, suffer the wrath of the USA MIC and the Banks.

Since 2001, Iraq and Libya were destroyed as nations as a result. Venezuela, Iran, China, and Russia are considered mortal enemies.

A strange thing is that US corporations rely on China for highly profitable, low cost goods, with billions in trade annually. At the same time the USA spends billions annually to other US corporations for the US military to confront and contain China. No one talks about this dissonance. China is both a major partner and a mortal enemy. Schrodinger's nation in a box with nuclear weapons. A dangerously dysfunctional relationship.

 

[Travelmonkey]

Regarding SGMO, I don't typically buy small cap so I'm not use to the erratic rise and falls. I did sell Aug $12 covered calls on my position but to be honest, I'm not sure of an exit strategy... I bought b/c of the amount of cash relative to its market cap and since it still looks good, I am holding but not sure of this strategy.

 

[IGBT]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Big update today!   I woke up this morning and checked the market, to see that ITCI was trading at $33 a share pre-market!   I had purchased 1400 shares at $22 in July and sold August calls against them for $4 and change, only to have the stock drop to $18.50 (calls expired worthless though so I net made money).  I didn't sell any September calls thank goodness and bingo, made over $18,000 today.[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Currently at $45,868 in cash and 200 shares of ITCI I am still holding.[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]From the initial $2500 I started with in this one man contest, I now have over $52,000.   A 1979% gain so far.  Happy!  Almost 2 new vans (maybe with no air conditioning)[/font]

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