Ford

[gsganzer]

Homebrew,
Yeah, I guess that sounded confusing. I was actually refering to taxpayer dollars being used to bail out a company that's unable to be competitive due to mismanagement, among other issues. Not specifically the Chrysler turn around. I bet Ford and GM are frantically looking for their own "Iacocca's".

I believe the tariffs imposed on imported vehicles is one of the reasons that companies like Toyota are building some assembly plants in the US. I believe that if the vehicle is "assembled" in the US, then it's not subject to the tariff. Go figure that one out, even if a vehicle is made of 90% foreign manufactured components, as long as they put it together here then it's alright.

 

[hazmat]

Buying any stock is a gamble, with Ford you have to believe that they will rebound and you know the White House will help bail them out if things get too bad. It may take one year or five years but they will rebound.

Robert - if it's a gamble then why do it? 80% of the professional stock pickers can't beat the overall market - so why should we mere mortals with real day jobs even try? If you are doing it for entertainment purposes, then go ahead, gamble a few bucks (although a casino might be more fun) - If you are trying to save for your future retiremet, education etc, I'd suggest a more conservative approach ie a broad index mutual fund.

vanguard education center is a good place to learn more.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I look at it like this, I feel confident that Ford will rebound and would not think twice about buying stock now. But that does not mean that they won't go under and I would lose what I invest. I don't play the stock market much unless I feel comfortable with a stock like I do right now with Ford.

I invest a lot of money in land and farm it knowing that when I decide to sell out I will be able to make a lot of money on my investment. I have been lucky finding good deals on land locally and that is a much better investment in my mind. But I am still thinking of buying some stock in Ford just to see what happens. If by some chance they go under maybe I can trade the stock to some bum for a few empty beer cans and get the nickles back at the redemption center. Have fun.

 

[HomeBrew2]

Robert - if it's a gamble then why do it? 80% of the professional stock pickers can't beat the overall market - so why should we mere mortals with real day jobs even try? If you are doing it for entertainment purposes, then go ahead, gamble a few bucks (although a casino might be more fun) - If you are trying to save for your future retiremet, education etc, I'd suggest a more conservative approach ie a broad index mutual fund.

vanguard education center is a good place to learn more.

Well, I for one, am sure interested in the long version of your post. I guess it's a matter of where to start. So, I'd like to start with the notion that performance of any investment in equities can be reduced to "beating the market". There's an old saying that goes like, anybody can make money ... it's not losing money that's the trick. Your 80% quote is most certainly based on certain parameters. Please disclose them. There are index funds for just about everything a man could gamble on. Which one do you recommend we buy, as a "conservative" investment? My personal interest is, how do index funds mitigate the effects of a bear market. Obviously they don't. By definition they only strive to mimic the benchmark on which they are ... indexed. At best, a "broad market" index fund is a "core fund" that must be, by all accounts that I have researched, further diversifiied by holdings in international equities and bonds as well as domestic bonds and real estate, weather dirt realestate or traded or non-traded REITS. Again, just my personal preference based on my age, financial position, and risk tolerance, I look to actively managed funds (because I am not a stock picker) that have a high alpha and a beta less than 1, with very limited down draws in a negative environment. In short, I'm having difficulty in figuring out what exactly you are recommending for a "conservative" portfolio. I suggest you allow some time to evaluate OAKBX and HSGFX ... just for grins and giggles.
Cheers!

 

[bmaxwell]

I would like to know what the majority of the people talking in this thread drive brand wise. Personally, on the 6.0 liter Powerstroke which I own and drive everyday, I have no complaints. In fact, I haven't owned a Ford or any other American made vehicle that I had a lot to complain about. If people knew how to maintain their vehicles nowadays, this might not be as big of a problem. As for me I will never buy a Kia or whatever other foreign brand vehicle mentioned above much less a truck. My father worked in the plant they are closing down in Hapeville, and I will stand by Ford until the day they close all the doors. Buy American and quit feeding the masses overseas.

 

[BillyP]

I would like to know what the majority of the people talking in this thread drive brand wise. Personally, on the 6.0 liter Powerstroke which I own and drive everyday, I have no complaints. In fact, I haven't owned a Ford or any other American made vehicle that I had a lot to complain about. If people knew how to maintain their vehicles nowadays, this might not be as big of a problem. As for me I will never buy a Kia or whatever other foreign brand vehicle mentioned above much less a truck. My father worked in the plant they are closing down in Hapeville, and I will stand by Ford until the day they close all the doors. Buy American and quit feeding the masses overseas.

It's sad but if everyone felt as you do, how would the US survive? There's no way the US can consume all we produce. We rely on exports just like any other country.

 

[hazmat]

Well, I for one, am sure interested in the long version of your post.... There's an old saying that goes like, anybody can make money ... it's not losing money that's the trick. Your 80% quote is most certainly based on certain parameters. Please disclose them....

You are right it's not losing money that is the hard part. Being that I am relatively young (31) and already own a home (OK the bank still owns most of it) I have a fairly long term investment horizon - college for my daughter in 17 years, and retirement in 25-35 years (25 if I can). So I'm in it for 80% equity, 20% bonds / cash.

The basic portfolio would be 80% wilshire 5000 (mimics entire US market) & 15% bond fund, 5% CD/short term treasury.

The "next level" would be to add some foreign exposure - EAFE for example - 30% of your equities.

Going further is to overweight towards small and/or value indices vs large and/or growth as well as adding small foreign & emerging markets. The idea being that (assuming you believe in effecient market theory) the small and value indices are more volatile than large and/or growth thus will return more over the long term. Granted the lows likely will be lower, but the highs will be higher as well.

US Large "core" (somewhere between growth & value) 14%
US Large value 14%
US Small "core" 14%
US Small value 14%
Foreign Large 12%
Foreign Small 12%
Emerging Market 3%
Bonds 15%
Cash 5%

I got the overweighting idea from my finacial planner - they sell dimension fund advisers (DFA) funds - not available to the "general" public (unless you are loaded) I approximated the "core" by blending vanguard large and midcap funds.

Note -the small & Large seem to be equally distributed, but I am actually overweighting in the small as the large stock indices dwarf the small stocks in market capitilization.

I've only started the overweighting part mid this year - to early to tell if I'm doing any better than I was.

A side note about actively managed funds - watch the management fee - it can be real high (3% +) and is not subtracted out when the funds publish their results. "Low cost" funds are typically ~1%. Also - if you have any funds in a taxable account (non retirement or education plan) you get to pay taxes on any short term gains as the manager churns the fund. The index funds by design have minimal churn and thus low tax costs (unless you sell).

Lastly - my father in law (retired investment adviser) says follow the fund manager, not the fund. - Just one more thing to watch as "Bob Smith" moves from vangaurd to fidelity etc.