Introduction: I start a new blog series titled "40 For 40." I share moments and experiences I lived in my 40 years. The ESPN 30 For 30 inspired me to create my 40 For 40 blogs. The sport documentary series detailed people, sport teams, moments, events, and controversial situations. The same ideas apply to my 40 For 40.
My fifth 40 For 40 blog is one of my memories during the economic dot com boom.
My first investment education was at San Jose State University. Principles Of Investment was a required Economics class. The professor taught us investments including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and metals. We also learned the investment principles from the book "A Random Walk Down Wall Street" by Burton Malkiel. And we learned the buy and hold stock investment method.
One of my first purchases when I started working full time was buying stocks. My first stock I purchased was my company's stock via my company's stock purchasing program in 1998. I opened my online stock account in 1999. I bought stocks from startups dot com to blue chips. Some of the companies included Starbucks, Ask Jeeves, Abgenix, barnesandnoble.com, Disney, Broadcom, Cisco, and Wal-Mart. I doubled my money. All my stocks went up regardless of their quarterly financial reports. All my dot com stocks went up. I was happy. Everyone was happy everyone made money on the stock market--on paper of course.
I lost everything beginning in March 2000. The stock market crashed. I didn't sell any of my stocks. I continued believing in the buy and hold method. I lost more money the longer I hold. Bad move. I sold my entire portfolio for tax write-offs. I should have followed the common investment advice buy low and sell high.
A co-worker told me to sell when the NASDAQ reached 5,000 for the first time. He listened to an investment advisor on a radio interview. He said the stock market reached the peak. I should have taken my doubled money and run. Paying the capital gains tax was lower than losing my entire stock portfolio value.
I read two investment books written by Peter Lynch in 2003 and 2004. They were "One Up On Wall Street" and "Beating The Street". I learned research is important when considering buying stocks. I purchased three stocks in 2005. They were Toll Brothers, Florida Rock, and Patriot Coal. I sold Toll Brothers and Florida Rock at losses in 2007.
To Be Honest
I own a small portfolio of stocks today. I choose not to disclose my stock portfolio and not to disclose my stock wish list. The reason is I follow an out of the ordinary stock strategy. My stock buying plan and selling plan are unorthodox. I learned my stock investment lessons in 1999-2000. I don't want to be sued if someone loses money following my advice. I'm not a certified financial planner. I'm not a licensed stock broker. However, I agree with Peter Lynch regarding advice from the stock professionals. His advice is don't listen to them.
Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com
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