The Tryptophan Edition

How wonderful it would be if we could help our children and grandchildren to learn thanksgiving at an early age. Thanksgiving opens the doors. It changes a child's personality. A child is resentful, negative—or thankful. Thankful children want to give, they radiate happiness, they draw people. - Sir John Templeton

Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then discover once a year is way too often.
– Johnny Carson

The fridge is stocked. The pies are made. The house is ready…and the Lions are still playing in the afternoon. This holiday, possibly more than any other is about tradition. The meal is staged specifically by the precedent set centuries ago. Some families may play with some of the peripheral side dishes, but it’s still all about the bird.

So what are you thankful for this holiday? Maybe you’re thankful that you still have a roof over your head and a paycheck coming in. Maybe you were one of the lucky ones that played the market to your advantage and are thankful for profits. It could be something simple yet powerful like being thankful that you and your loved ones are all healthy and safe. One thing to be especially thankful for this holiday is to be thankful to those men and women serving both home and abroad to keep us safe and secure. For those who have, still do and will defend our freedom, we at ZepInvest thank you for your sacrifices. 401k values mean little when you are in a foreign land putting your life in danger. We thank you all and pray you come home safe.

The Investment Advisory Service by Douglas Gerlach is a monthly newsletter for investors that use the “BetterInvesting Method.” Established in 1973, the publication offers commentary, a large list of trade recommendations and analysis of individual equities and profiles on specific stocks. The most recent release highlights Immucor Inc. (BLUD), PetMed Express Inc. (PETS) & Stanley, Inc. (SXE).

The Morningstar Dividend Investor by Josh Peters is a monthly newsletter that uses model portfolios to recommend dividend paying equities. In the latest, entitled “On the Demise of Buy-And-Hold Investing,” points out the recent struggles of this popular investment philosophy. There are several portfolios to review with Morningstar data and analysis provided.

I hope each and every one of you enjoy the holiday tomorrow. Remember to wear pants with elastic bands…

For more information, please go to http://www.zepinvest.com.

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Its All About the Ridges

The wise man puts all his eggs in one basket and watches the basket.
- Andrew Carnegie

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.
- Henry Ford

I’m not sure how the graduates from the “School of Diversification” would feel about Mr. Carnegie’s quote. Proper diversification and allocation has been a very popular philosophy in modern investing circles. For every person that follows the rules of diversification, there will also be somebody who will build their entire philosophy around one stock. I had a client who for 18 months made a considerable amount of money on Chevron (CVX). They had inherited a considerable amount in the stock and continuously sold somewhere between $80-90 and bought it back in the low $60’s. They repeated this four or five times all with some degree of success. For the record, I do NOT recommend this strategy.

Since I know we are all waiting with much anticipation for the Lions’ game on Thursday, I’m going to keep this blog as wild and crazy as I know that game will be. Originally “Bond Tuesday,” we’ll go with wild cards for the rest of the week.

The Cabot China & Emerging Markets Report written by Paul Goodwin is a monthly publication that recommends a portfolio of ADRs that are traded through US exchanges from China and other emerging markets. It uses a market timing strategy using both fundamental and technical analysis. Hurlbut Financial Digest has rated it the top newsletter for five years. In his recent release, “Nervous Thanks,” he talks about the “heightened anxiety” of investors in this market. He also offers a stock recommendation as well as updates on previously recommended stocks.

The US Sector Monitor Reports by Lubomir Pechala are monthly comprehensive reports that use technical analysis to make buy, hold and sell recommendations for stocks based on sector. Covering Healthcare, Industrials, Energy, Consumer Staples, IT, Financials, Telecom, Utilities and Materials, Pechala provides 12 month forecasts for each stock listed on these separate reports.

The Argus Vickers Research Weekly Insider by David E. Coleman offers market commentary as well as insider transaction data. It covers the most recent transactions as well as insider trends. According to this week's “Insider Index Rankings,” a popular stock right now is Consolidated Edison (ED) and losers include Carnival (CCL) & TD Ameritrade (AMTD).

So as you wait for Matt Stafford to hit the field on Thursday afternoon, contemplate two things:
1) How can I use these reports to enhance my own education and portfolio?
2) Which cranberry sauce is better, canned or fresh? (Hint, look at the title)

For more information, please go to http://www.zepinvest.com.

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I’m Sorry, Did You Say Turducken???

If we become increasingly humble about how little we know, we may be more eager to search. - Sir John Templeton

Humility about how little I know has encouraged me to listen more carefully and more wisely. - Sir John Templeton

As we begin week two, I realize this is a short week and people are probably more focused on turkey (or his cousin, the infamous Turducken), Black Friday and that one relative that drives everybody crazy and how you will survive. This week will consist of low volumes as most of Wall Street tends to extend their weekend in both directions.

There are people who will not be shopping on Friday and will make it into the office (including this person). So for those of you who are either dedicated or are trying to avoid the extra time with the in-laws, the first John Madden Turkducken Leg goes to you…

Roger Williams’ Hot Stocks Digest is a weekly report that recommends twenty small and mid-cap companies based on a quantitative computerized model. He also ranks the 100 hottest domestic stocks. As per Williams, each week’s picks are the best for the current market conditions. It is up to the investor to decide on an exit strategy. He does suggest “a 50% target and a 20% auto trailing stop.” Mining stocks are very popular this week. Which ones? Go take a look…

The Under the Radar newsletter written by Jeff Stone is a daily report that focuses on high beta stocks. The commentary is based on a combination of both quantitative and fundamental analysis. The 11/23/09 edition gives a quick synopsis of last week’s trading as well as indications for the upcoming one. It covers both domestic and foreign markets. They even throw in a speculative buy recommendation.

Eric Dany’s Stock Prospector is a monthly publication the finds under-valued companies that offer a substantial upside. Most of the companies found here are not covered by Wall Street analysis. The most recent release, entitled “All We Need Are Jobs!” focuses on the current domestic and foreign economies. He offers many stock picks for both core and non-core holdings and also offers a model portfolio to follow.

My five year old daughter is having surgery tomorrow to have her tonsils and adenoids removed and tubes put in her ears. While this is a simple and very common procedure, it is still my little girl…so while I don’t sleep tonight and wait all day tomorrow, I will be reading these three reports over again as well as a few others to help rebuild my retirement portfolio. Until tomorrow…

For more information, please go to http://www.zepinvest.com.

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The Wild Card

Man plans. God laughs. – Yiddish proverb

Why is the man (or woman) who invests all your money called a broker?
– George Carlin

So this post was supposed to be written yesterday, but sometimes life gets in the way. As we head into this holiday season, it will be like no other in recent history. In order to survive, retailers will try just about anything to create traffic in the coming weeks. Based on some of the leaked news coming out about Black Friday deals, many of these stores will be practically giving away merchandise. Considering unemployment is still extremely high and the housing market hasn’t seen much improvement, these stores may not have a choice.

Most families will try to make due with less this year, and like my family, they’ll try to hide the difference from the children. Like the retail markets, the stock market is still having a sale. While the product isn’t as cheap as it was a year ago, there are still many great deals out there for investors to take advantage of. ZepInvest has brought together a group of investors, analysts and money managers to help you uncover those hidden gems.

John Bollinger’s Capital Growth Letter is a monthly newsletter that applies technical analysis to value investing. It covers stocks, bonds, commodities, FOREX and the international markets. The current edition titled “New Bollinger Band Tool” discusses the current state of the market and uses charts to analyze the different indexes and sectors. Read about his opinion on gold, oil and some of the sector plays that he thinks are available as well as a new analytical tool he has developed.

The Spear Report by Gregory Spear is a weekly publication that uses over 125 sources of unbiased financial information daily and uses a performance-weighted ranking system. The current release, “Inflection Point,” they discuss disconnect between the consumer sentiment and the rally in the stock market. “Mom and Pop are not celebrating this rally.” Another point made is with the major surge in the deficit, “the U.S. will not be able to afford a tax cut, so the only recourse the U.S. has is to let the dollar slide.”

Jim Lowell’s Fidelity Sector Investor is a weekly newsletter that uses a highly technical and aggressive approach. This publication is designed for active and risk-tolerant investors. In the most recent release, “Betwixt and Between Recovering and Having Recovered,” there is a short market commentary followed by market data for many of the FSI portfolios. Lowell uses Fidelity sector funds to build his portfolios.

After the first week of this newly established blog, we have covered 16 of the over 70 newsletters and publications available to you through ZepInvest. Whether it is daily, weekly or monthly information you are looking for, equities, mutual funds, ETFs, etc…the information is right here at your fingertips.

For more information, please go to http://www.zepinvest.com.

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Mutual Funds: The Other White Meat

I think you'll do as well as most professionals. Most professionals don't beat the market. Let's not over-rate my industry. But if you have time, you can be in good mutual funds that have good records. -- Jim Cramer

Mutual Funds and ETFs have become a tremendous asset to the investing public. They have given people an opportunity that they would not have had a generation ago. While there are many who take advantage of $7 trades and build their own portfolios, many people do not have the time, resources or interest in doing the due diligence it takes to effectively manage their own investments.

Armed with Morningstar snapshots and their Barron’s, these people dump cash by the barrel into the mutual fund industry. Not everything is crystal clear though. This is why people come to ZepInvest for knowledge. Let’s see what the wise ones have for us today…

The Moneyletter is celebrating 30 years in print. This monthly piece written by Walter Frank, provides market commentary, has a mutual fund scorecard as well as portfolios built into the newsletter. It also provides a mutual fund profile. The November 20th edition focuses on the PRIMECAP Odyssey Growth & Aggressive Growth funds.

Bob Carlson’s Retirement Watch brings a conservative approach to investing and focuses on using mutual funds. In the most recent release, there is some great information on estate planning, as well as information on annuities and the upcoming tax season. You will also see market commentary, graph comparisons of different mutual funds as well as updates on both mutual funds and ETFs.

The Mutual Fund Strategist by Holly Hooper-Foumier uses technical strategies to “capture mutual fund profits when the market is advancing and protect gains during times of uncertainty.” The newsletter provides six month charts showing both 50 & 200 day moving averages for many of the major indexes. A market timing strategy using ETFs with Buy/Sell recommendations are available as well as information on many mutual funds.

Three more great examples of what is available to you if you are willing to look for it. Of course every single analyst and money manager has a differing opinion and what is going to happen and how to take advantage of it. As you look through these newsletters, find the one that you connect with, that you believe in. Please remember that not every recommendation or idea has to be followed. Make sure you are making the decisions for the right reasons, not just because you read it somewhere.

Tomorrow will be the fifth and final post of the first week here. I’m going to leave it as a wild card for now and see what is interesting tomorrow. I hope the three of you that have actually read this have found some interest here. I’m just here as a guide to point you in a direction, but would love to know if there is anything specific you might want to see.

For more information, go to http://www.zepinvest.com.

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Commodities & Futures & Options Oh My!!!

The smarter the journalists are, the better off society is. For to a degree, people read the press to inform themselves-and the better the teacher, the better the student body.
Warren Buffett

A great quote from, arguably, the best financial mind in history. Mr. Buffett is dead on in his statements. An investor with little experience or knowledge can hit a home run every once in a while, but it is the educated investor that can make a career and/or life out of it. Here at ZepInvest, we have many teachers just waiting for you, the student body, to take advantage of their information.

Glen Ring’s View On Futures covers the futures markets (obviously). If you want to know about wheat, soybeans, cattle, gold, the dollar and many others, this is a publication you need to read. In his 11/16/09 update, he talks about the run in gold. Does the rally still have legs? Find out what Glen has to say…

Bernie Schaeffer’s Daily Bulletin features stock picks, commentary on the Fed & the markets, sector breakdowns and even an option play. In his 11/18/09 release, he discussed crude oil in his “Commodity Connection.” How much will the report from the EIA play on crude prices and inventories?

The Agri-Food Value View written by Ned W. Schmidt focuses on using a value approach to investing in the global demand for food production and commodities. In his most recent release dated November 17, 2009, he discusses how weather has had an effect on the U.S. Corn crop as well as rice and wheat. He also has created the Schmidt Agri-Food Stock Index.

The CONSENSUS Bullish Sentiment Index by Robert E. Salva comes out weekly. Using data from analysts and contributors across the financial spectrum, everything from the stock indexes to coffee, T-bonds to the Euro is listed in this “sentiment index.”

Well, there you have it. Four for today. Come back tomorrow where we’ll take a look at mutual funds and ETFs.

For more information, go to http://www.zepinvest.com.

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The Day After...

Don't marry for money. You can borrow it cheaper.
- Scotts Proverb

The world of bonds can be as dangerous as the equity markets, especially for those who choose to play a game they don’t know the rules to. If the “average” rates a five for knowledge on the equity markets (just play along), that same average investor would rate a two on fixed income.

These people would argue that bonds just aren’t as exciting or have the same rewards and dangers of the equity markets. I’m sure there’s a room full of bond traders in Chicago, and many others around the world who would disagree with that. Fixed income can be just as “sexy” as its counterpart for the right people who know what they are doing. With some insight from some of these experts, you might just be able to learn something today…

At Action Weekly!, written by Michael R. Englund, you will receive updates and commentary on the bond markets, as well as equities, the dollar and a region by region breakdown. His November 16th edition titled “Holiday Doldrums Approaching,” states that the “bond market ran another gauntlet of supply…without the help of the Fed.”

The Financial Commentator by E. James Welsh is a monthly publication that gives insight to the Fed, monetary policy, the economy as well as the financial markets. His most recent edition, dated October 18, 2009, he states that “the high yield bond market often mirrors the stock market. If the stock market undergoes the correction I expect, high yield bonds will also sell off.” For information on the dollar and gold, check this one out also.

Systems and Forecasts by Marvin Appel is a weekly publication that focuses on stock and bond strategies using funds and ETFs. While his November 16th edition focused on the new highs inn the stock market, he also mentioned that high yield bond funds are on a two week rally and investment grade bonds have “jumped across the board.” His next release will be November 19th.

There are three more opportunities for you to help your portfolio. Tomorrow we’ll take a look at commodities, options and futures. As always, comments, questions, ideas and rants are always welcome.

For more information, go to http://www.zepinvest.com.

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The Beginning of an Era

Welcome!!! This is the first post of the new ZepInvest Blog and my name is Victor J. Alfieri. I am here to help point you in the direction of the over 70 newsletters we have at our fingertips. Each day we will focus on a different area of the financial markets and suggest several of our newsletters to help you make decisions in reference to your portfolio.

You will not read analysis or opinion from me. There are way too many people here much more gifted and intelligent than me that you should be paying attention to. To put you at ease as to whether I know what you want to read, have no fear!!! I have over eleven years experience in the financial services industry. I have worked for mutual fund companies, wirehouses and currently am employed at a small regional firm. I have been in client services, compliance, management and even worked as a financial advisor. I also have an English degree, which makes me slightly dangerous.

So where do we start? With equities of course!!! Richard Schwartz’s Principles of the Stock Market is in its nineteenth year of publication. Schwartz provides commentary on the economy, the stock market, the overall big picture and provides a portfolio strategy. This edition, “What You Believe About This Rally,” discusses how the eight month run in the market still seems to have legs despite the statistical data showing otherwise. 

The Common Sense Investment Newsletter written by Joseph Klock provides a “Common Sense” portfolio as well as insights and commentary. He has a list of “Common Sense Bullets for November 2009.” One piece of advice is “remember to do the opposite of what the masses are doing at the moment.” As simple as that advice is, it is truly amazing how we all tend to default to “herd mentality.” It is those that can separate from the pack that generally take advantage. 

The Direct Investing newsletter gives you a lot of great information in one piece. It lists M&A activity, corporate stock buyback programs, stock split info as well as commentary. Focused on dollar cost averaging, it lists several stock ideas for investors to diversify their portfolios a few dollars at a time. They have several stock picks as well as a portfolio to follow. Go take a look.

There you have it, three publications to start. Tomorrow I will look at the bond markets and find some insight for you. I hope over time this will help benefit each and every one of you and your portfolios. If you have any ideas or questions, please comment here. We’d love to hear from you. Until then, good luck.

For more information, go to http://www.zepinvest.com.

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