What stocks/ETFs are you investing in?

[MilitaryToFinance]

How long are you planning on holding USLV? These levered ETF's don't work at all like people seem to think. They have daily rebalancing, the roll on the commodity futures will kill you. It is guaranteed over the long term to see this thing decline to $0(technically it won't hit 0 because they will keep reverse splitting the stock and starting the decline over again). If you're trading it over a few days or maybe a week then that's fine but nobody should be holding levered ETF's to express a long-term thesis.

Edited September 9, 2014 by mappleby

[BolterKing]

Brass, lead, gold and shelf stable calories.

What what are we talking about?

[Jmoo22]

Who's planning on getting in on the Alibaba (ABAB) stock IPO this month??

[MilitaryToFinance]

I won't touch any Chinese companies personally. When you're investing in a company stock you are making an inherent leap of faith in a couple of ways. First you have to believe that the corporate accounting is robust enough you can actually believe what is written in the reports. Then you have to believe the legal system will support the rights of shareholders in the company, and finally you have to believe that the political system is stable and at least somewhat aligned with private ownership. To me, China fails on all of those tests. I'm not saying you can't make money speculating on China but for a long-term investment I don't like the country. We know the government fakes all their data, they are actively hostile towards foreign investors, they don't particularly like their own citizens making money as investors and nobody believes their legal system functions properly.

[pittsdriver]

So if one had $40K to invest and looking for a safe but moderate return, where would you invest it?

[Slick]

So if one had $40K to invest and looking for a safe but moderate return, where would you invest it?

Depends on what you consider moderate. If 8-10% is good for you then look into "peer to peer lending". I put some money in it last year and am getting about 9% return, but the rate is expected to drop as some people will default. Overall seems safe if you spread out your loans though.

Edited September 17, 2014 by cdroz88

[Butters]

So if one had $40K to invest and looking for a safe but moderate return, where would you invest it?

80% in Booze

20% in Hookers

Tried and true

Also works in reverse.

[LockheedFix]

Depends on what you consider moderate. If 8-10% is good for you then look into "peer to peer lending". I put some money in it last year and am getting about 9% return, but the rate is expected to drop as some people will default. Overall seems safe if you spread out your loans though.

What website are you using? Lending Club?

[Butters]

What website are you using? Lending Club?

No, BODN.

[Slick]

What website are you using? Lending Club?

Yes. I have been with them for 1.5 years now. My return rate is actually hovering just over 10% right now and now 9% like I said earlier.

Edited September 23, 2014 by cdroz88

[ARIs 'R' Us]

Yes. I have been with them for 1.5 years now. My return rate is actually hovering just over 10% right now and now 9% like I said earlier.

Interesting, I've been looking at doing that for a little while now. What Cat loans do you usually pick up? Any defaults?

Posted from the NEW Baseops.net App!

[Slick]

Interesting, I've been looking at doing that for a little while now. What Cat loans do you usually pick up? Any defaults?

Posted from the NEW Baseops.net App!

I'm not sure what you mean by cat. People usually write a brief description for what the loan is for though. When I was starting out I would hand pick loans that I would lend to. If the loan is for something of convenience or luxury then I feel safer lending to them because it usually means that they have expendable income, but for whatever reason they want to finance their purchase instead of paying cash. So, I feel safer loaning to them because in my mind I think they are more likely to keep up with payments. Then there are some people who are applying for a loan to refinance a credit card or something similar. I was more hesitant to loan to them because it meant to me that they may have been financially irresponsible and I kinda worried that they are more likely to stop making their payments. There are other factors that you are allowed to look at as well. This includes things like credit score, monthly income, debt to income ratio, whether they rent or own, how long they have been employed at the same place, etc.

Lending club offers a service where they will automatically reinvest the money you make into new loans. All you have to do is set what you want your rate of return to be and they will start loaning your money back out as soon as its comes in from when people make their payments on their loans. Once I enrolled in this service I stopped checking all the borrowers that my money was going to so I'm not picky at all anymore. I did my research and Lending Club functions like any other creditor out there; they screen their borrowers very well and they make every attempt to collect a debt if for some reason the borrower misses a payment. Their website states that most people that apply for a loan through Lending Club get denied so that should tell you that they do screen their borrowers well. I have only had 1 person default so far but there are 3 other people that are late on their payments. Most of the people that do fall behind on payments have eventually became current again though. I have loaned money to about 250 people so far too.

I hope that was helpful. Please let me know if you have further questions.

Edited September 24, 2014 by cdroz88

[di1630]

Anyone out there trying to capitalize on these low oil prices. I just sunk some $$ into a variety of ETFs and stocks that are down about 50% on the year. Wondering if others were doing the same and if so, where. I looked at ETFs: USO, BNO, DBO, OIL and for stocks, NE, AXAS

[sqwatch]

Anyone out there trying to capitalize on these low oil prices. I just sunk some $$ into a variety of ETFs and stocks that are down about 50% on the year. Wondering if others were doing the same and if so, where. I looked at ETFs: USO, BNO, DBO, OIL and for stocks, NE, AXAS

Just bought HAL.

[StoleIt]

I've been on the fence with HAL.

Sadly, I misjudged the bottom on SDRL (more like didn't think they were gonna suspend their dividend) and that's dragging my entire portfolio down. But OAS has turned around enough to nudge me a bit of a profit.

[flyjetz]

I'd recommend NOT trying to catch this falling knife. Until the overall macro supply/demand dynamics of oil change, the price will continue to trend lower. With the US Dollar continuing to notch higher against all major currencies, you have another heavy force out there you are betting against. I'd recommend investing in growing industries where profits increase on lower priced oil.

Edited January 1, 2015 by flyjetz

[di1630]

I'd recommend NOT trying to catch this falling knife. Until the overall macro supply/demand dynamics of oil change, the price will continue to trend lower.

The dynamics will change and I'm in it for the long haul. Might be 2,3,5+ years but I'm betting oil goes up eventually and if it goes lower, I'll buy more.

[StoleIt]

I think airlines are decent short term buy right now, but sadly the best time to jump on those stocks was a little while back (yey for hindsight).

I wanted to get in on the Virgin America IPO or as close as I could to it going public but ended up getting side tracked and forgetting about it. Bah, story of my life.

[sqwatch]

I'd recommend NOT trying to catch this falling knife. Until the overall macro supply/demand dynamics of oil change, the price will continue to trend lower. With the US Dollar continuing to notch higher against all major currencies, you have another heavy force out there you are betting against. I'd recommend investing in growing industries where profits increase on lower priced oil.

I've tried catching the top, and I've tried catching the bottom. I fail every time. HAL and other oil tied industries are super cheap right now, so I'm buying. I'll let you know if it pays for my breitling or not.

[Kenny Powers]

What do you guys recommend for getting started in trading? I have always just invested with long term goals (retirement). Now I want to start making money in the short(er) term. I essentially know nothing about it but I am at the point where I am achieving all my financial goals thus far and am ready to start risking some extra money in the stock market. I'm a married 30 year old with no kids or debt, so I am willing to take on plenty of risk.

[flyjetz]

What do you guys recommend for getting started in trading? I have always just invested with long term goals (retirement). Now I want to start making money in the short(er) term. I essentially know nothing about it but I am at the point where I am achieving all my financial goals thus far and am ready to start risking some extra money in the stock market. I'm a married 30 year old with no kids or debt, so I am willing to take on plenty of risk.

Define short term. Multiple trades per day? A couple trades per week? Less often? I have found the best success with picking large-cap or mid-cap stocks that are already in a very strong (longer-term) uptrend, and waiting for a pullback that is around 3-4 standard deviations from the normal volatility before buying. These stocks usually rebound back to their trend-line. Sell the stock when it breaks out 3-4 standard deviations above normal volatility. This is not for everybody, as it takes work, basic statistics skills, Excel know-how, and a solid understanding of the difference between investing and trading (which you seem to understand). This technique usually yields a buy or a sell about once every 2-3 weeks on average. Despite what anyone tells you, there is no get-rich quick trading scheme that does not involve taking on substantial risk.

[Striper_WSO]

What do you guys recommend for getting started in trading? I have always just invested with long term goals (retirement). Now I want to start making money in the short(er) term. I essentially know nothing about it but I am at the point where I am achieving all my financial goals thus far and am ready to start risking some extra money in the stock market. I'm a married 30 year old with no kids or debt, so I am willing to take on plenty of risk.

I'm still amazed that there are guys that want to do this. It's extremely difficult to beat the market. There are professionals managing mutual funds making millions per year that do not beat the market. 85% of managed mutual funds did not beat the broader market this year. You've admitted that you know nothing about the market, so why not just take that money and put it on black? Cause that sounds like what you are doing.

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/20/your-money/who-routinely-trounces-the-stock-market-try-2-out-of-2862-funds.html?_r=0

[Kenny Powers]

I'm still amazed that there are guys that want to do this. It's extremely difficult to beat the market. There are professionals managing mutual funds making millions per year that do not beat the market. 85% of managed mutual funds did not beat the broader market this year. You've admitted that you know nothing about the market, so why not just take that money and put it on black? Cause that sounds like what you are doing.

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/20/your-money/who-routinely-trounces-the-stock-market-try-2-out-of-2862-funds.html?_r=0

1. I'm not trying to "beat the market" day in and day out

2. I'm not looking to get rich quick

3. I don't know anything about trading, that's why I asked a simple question on where to start learning (though it may have been confused with strategy)

4. I don't live close enough to a casino to put it on black

I simply started thinking to myself that, instead of stacking more cash in other investment vehicles that I am already satisfied with (from a funding standpoint), why not learn a little something about trading and buy some actual stocks vs. mutual/index funds (which I am already investing in). I have zero strategy now but I'm sure I can learn. It seems that if you buy low and sell high, dollar cost average when you have to and not actually realize negative swings in the market, you could end up making some money (I know that's simplified).

[Mark1]

I'm still amazed that there are guys that want to do this. It's extremely difficult to beat the market. There are professionals managing mutual funds making millions per year that do not beat the market. 85% of managed mutual funds did not beat the broader market this year. You've admitted that you know nothing about the market, so why not just take that money and put it on black? Cause that sounds like what you are doing.

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/20/your-money/who-routinely-trounces-the-stock-market-try-2-out-of-2862-funds.html?_r=0

Some sanity. Good to see.

And you should note that the 15% of managed funds that did beat the market did so through sheer luck of the draw, not skill or knowledge of the managers. They will, on average, not beat the market next year...and in the long run their returns will approximate market return minus their exorbitant expenses. Its been conclusively shown over an over that the 'brightest investment minds' in the world do no better than would a monkey choosing investment vehicles by throwing shit at a dartboard. The investment managers make their millions by taking a percentage of their clients money in exchange for providing a sham service.

What do you guys recommend for getting started in trading?

Read this:

https://www.amazon.com/Four-Pillars-Investing-Building-Portfolio-ebook/dp/B0041842TW/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1420257749&sr=1-1&keywords=the+four+pillars+of+investing

When you're done, go back and fix anything that is costing you return on your retirement investments.

After that, if you still want to gamble in the market (and that's fine, just as long as you understand that it is a straight gamble, and you seem to), open a separate account with whatever dollar amount you're willing to lose, and start throwing your shit at a dartboard. If you lose it all, you're done, until such time that you feel comfortable throwing away another chunk of change for the entertainment value of betting on the market.

Personally, I'd just hold on to the money and wait until you're TDY to Vegas.

[Kenny Powers]

Well I appreciate the advice. I certainly understand it's a gamble, I guess I thought if you did it right it could be more of an educated guess with the most likely result being you make a little money or break even. Also, it would be like Mark1 said, investing money I am willing to completely lose, sort of like planning a trip to Vegas (only I don't gamble much in Vegas, that would take money out of the booze and stripper fund).

So, I guess my question now is, do you guys invest in anything other than long term retirement planning? I am not interested in real estate at the moment but that's a possibility in a few years.

ETA: To answer your earlier question Flyjetz, short term for me would be less than 5 years and ultimately whatever it took to realize gains (if possible) on any specific stock. I also don't know much about the fees involved with trading but I have no specific time frame in my mind of how long I would be investing, simply do it until the stock makes me money, sell, reinvest, repeat. I am also not expecting large gains on any specific stock either, maybe using more of a lower return/higher volume approach, if you could call it that (which I understand could be costly with fees).

If it was that easy though I am sure everyone would do it...

Edited January 3, 2015 by Kenny Powers