Tag Archives: alternative

Pareto Portfolio Update

Significant returns can be made even holding a small number of stocks. Avigilon is up 43% since December 24, 2014. 80/20 investing isn’t for everyone, but it is for those like me who believe that less is more. Choose a few great companies, watch your portfolio like a hawk, and you’ll do well. I first wrote about the Pareto Portfolio on December 26, 2014. My belief is that an investor does not need to have a large number of stocks in his/her portfolio in order to have significant market beating returns. In fact, I believe that having less stocks in my portfolio will help me to invest and make returns far better than many other investors based on the 80/20 principle. My portfolio is much easier to follow and control and this makes my life easier. To date, you’ll see how the portfolio has performed since December 24th. I also have some updates on selling, purchasing and dividends/interest received within the portfolio. Stock Shares Price at 2014/12/24 Price at 2015/02/13 Change Avigilon Corp. (OTCPK: AIOCF ) 290 17.25C 24.67C +43% Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO ) 125 32.89C 36.64C +11.4% Coach(NYSE: COH ) 100 42.9791C 49.61C +15% Dream Office REIT ( OTC:DRETF ) (T.D/UN) 811 24.76C 27.13C +9.5% Pembina Pipeline (NYSE: PBA ) 90 41.58C 40.39C -2.9% The portfolio has performed extremely well, led by Avigilon Corporation, which has gained 43% since its close on December 24th of last year. Following are the changes I made in the portfolio between then and February 13th. Sold all 100 shares of Coach on 2015/01/12 @ 45.3856C. In addition to the 33.38C in Coach dividends received on 2014/12/29, the total gain was 6%. Purchased 106 more units of Dream Office REIT on 2015/01/16 @ 26.72. Dream Office REIT Interest on 2015/01/20 of 130.66C, of which 129.14C of this was automatically reinvested through Dream’s DRIP for an addition of 5 units to my total, which now sits at 811 units. Pembina Pipeline dividend on 2015/01/16 of 13.05C. This was not reinvested. Cisco dividend on 2015/01/21 of 24.95C. This was not reinvested. I sold Coach on the news that the company was going to purchase Stuart Weitzman. I’m not convinced that purchasing this company with its cash is the best idea. So far, the stock price movement has proven me wrong. Time will tell. Cisco released its FQ2 results last Wednesday and beat analysts’ expectations. A number of analysts have increased their price targets due to the forward guidance by the company. I’m very comfortable to continue holding CSCO. The company also increased its dividend by 11%. Avigilon will release its FQ4 and 2014 full-year results after the close of markets on 2015/03/03. I’m expecting great results, as are many who are invested in and/or follow this company. This company is growing extremely fast and doing so profitably. Its cameras and video surveillance system was used to secure this year’s Super Bowl in Phoenix . Pembina Pipeline and Dream Office REIT continue to perform very well, and analysts have significantly higher price targets than the shares are trading at presently. Both also offer nice yields of 4.3% and 8.2%, respectively. If you’re going to invest using the 80/20 style, you need to make good choices, focus on just a few companies, and then watch your portfolio like a hawk. Don’t be afraid to take profits nor be afraid to sell if you think you have a valid reason to do so. I don’t believe you need 30, 40, or 50 stocks to significantly outperform the market. I believe that less is more. Have a great week everyone! Disclosure: The author is long AIOCF, CSCO, PBA. (More…) The author wrote this article themselves, and it expresses their own opinions. The author is not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). The author has no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Additional disclosure: I am also long T.D.UN (Dream Office REIT)

Get Him To The GREK

The Global X FTSE Greece 20 ETF is a great way to leverage a favorable resolution between Greece and the euro-zone. The GREK is far off its 52-week high of $25.76, largely due to the political developments that have led investors to speculate about Greece leaving the euro-zone. The security is up from its low of $10.44 recently because of an increasing understanding that a favorable resolution is likely. Opportunity exists for near-immediate appreciation on the announcement of a favorable resolution as early as next week. Over the course of this year, the GREK ETF should gain further as it reflects the benefits of ECB actions like Greece’s peer markets have. Investors interested in leveraging the prospect of a favorable Greece resolution, but hoping to limit risk to any one individual Greek security, can look to the Global X FTSE Greece 20 ETF (NYSEARCA: GREK ). The security has come off its highs on fear that Greece could leave the euro-zone. Though it has also come off its lows on the prospect of a favorable resolution, it still has a way to go higher because of the ongoing absence of that event. I think investors can buy it here for immediate upside to $15 on a quick fix and longer-term gain to $17 to $20 this year. 5-Year Chart of GREK at Seeking Alpha As you can see here in the long-term chart of the Global X FTSE Greece 20 ETF, it has recently fallen precipitously. The reason for the decline should be obvious to anyone who has not been on a deserted island for the last couple months, save for a Greek island. When the popular Syriza party was elected into power in Greece, and before that when the polls showed it could be, Greek securities started to sell off. That was because of the tough talk against austerity that emanated from the party and its leaders. Fear rose that Greece could leave the euro-zone or be ejected from it due to the change in political power. But as time has passed, investors have become aware of what I already knew. Tough-talking Greek leaders do not have the backing of the Greek people to leave the euro-zone, as polls show a great majority of Greeks would vote against it in a referendum. That was known even before the elections, and Syriza indicated it was not interested in leaving the euro-zone, ensuring its election. However, Syriza still wanted an alteration to the bailout deals Greece had previously agreed to, due to the great damage austerity has done to many Greeks. The medicine while beneficial for the long-term economy was administered too much too soon and it made a good deal of Greeks sick, if not, unemployed. Over recent weeks, the emergence of a somewhat free-speaking Finance Minister, and Greek Defense Minister’s demands for Nazi war reparations have only stirred up more concern among the global investment community. Greek demands were met with tough talk from the Germans and other EU partners, so it got scary for some investors, who then bid the GREK security down to $10 and change. When the fear was palpable, I went long National Bank of Greece (NYSE: NBG ) at approximately $1 using long-term call options. Thanks for telling us now Greek , is what you are saying, but for your information, I just went long GREK Friday and it’s not too late still. I never had concern about the future of Greece, and was long GREK a few months ago at around $17. If Greece agrees to continued currency relations with its euro-zone partners, however altered the structure of the deal could be, much fear currently priced into the security must go away. Greece said today it will do whatever it can to reach a deal to keep it in the euro-zone; it has until February 28, but there is talk that a deal could be consummated as early as Monday. And it is in Germany’s interest to keep Greece in the euro-zone, because the presence of weak partners limits the upside of the euro, which serves Germany’s exports. 1-Month Chart of GREK GREK currently trades at approximately $13.63, after rising about 5% Friday. It was up Thursday too, and as you can see here, it has come off its low of $10.44. But GREK has upside from here, because before Syriza was elected, the security traded upward of $15, and before it was a concern altogether, it traded even higher with a 52-week high of $25.76. Now some of the security’s decline has been due to the general weakness of the European economy and that of Greece over the last 12 months, but Greek stocks should be benefiting year to date from the actions of the ECB, like its peers are. The iShares Europe ETF (NYSEARCA: IEV ) is up 4.8% year to date while GREK is down 5.5%. The Global X FTSE Portugal 20 ETF (NYSEARCA: PGAL ) is up 2.2%; the iShares MSCI Spain Capped ETF (NYSEARCA: EWP ) is only down 2.8% year to date because of Greece and Spain’s own similar political issues. Thus, given European shares seem to be finding bids here, there appears to be room to grow for GREK beyond just the immediate gain that should occur once it is clear Greece will remain in the euro-zone. I’m not anticipating a quick recovery to the 52-week high, but an immediate move to above $15 on a positive resolution seems likely to me. From there, I see no reason why the security that marks the Greek market cannot approach $16 in short time and $17 to $20 before year-end. So I say, get him to the GREK. I have been following these Greek developments, so interested parties may find value in following my column . Disclosure: The author is long GREK, NBG. (More…) The author wrote this article themselves, and it expresses their own opinions. The author is not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). The author has no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Income-Oriented ETF Provides Exposure To Infrastructure Boom

By DailyAlts Staff Investors seeking exposure to global infrastructure assets have a new and attractive option, thanks to the February 11 launch of the Guggenheim High Income Infrastructure ETF (NYSEARCA: GHII ). The new ETF is the first infrastructure ETF to weight its holdings according to 12-month trailing dividend yield, rather than market capitalization or some other measure. The result is an investment vehicle that provides exposure to public services, toll roads, airports, water, pipelines, utilities, and other essential services around the world, with a focus on generating current income for its investors. Global Exposure The Guggenheim High Income Infrastructure ETF tracks the S&P High Income Infrastructure Index, which is composed of the S&P Global BMI’s 50 highest-dividend-paying companies in the energy, transportation, and utilities sectors. The fund and its underlying index have a global footprint, with only about one-fifth of components domiciled in the United States. The fund’s top holdings include investments in Australia (14%), China (9%), Spain (8%), and Italy (8%); and it also has significant exposure to infrastructure assets in Britain, Canada, Singapore, and France. “The infrastructure asset class offers investors the opportunity to realize enhanced return and capital appreciation,” said a Guggenheim spokesperson. “Offering strong cash flow potential, assets with typically long life spans, as well as relatively low volatility and significant barriers to entry, infrastructure provides investors with access to an emerging segment of the market aligned with the global recovery.” Continued Infrastructure Spending The launch of the Guggenheim High Income Infrastructure ETF appears to be well-timed, as governments around the world – despite fiscal and monetary woes – are planning ambitious new rounds of infrastructure spending. Oxford Economics and PwC project global infrastructure spending will total nearly $78 trillion between 2014 and 2025; with about 60% of that attributable to the Asia Pacific. In the U.S., the White House says that infrastructure investment will continue to be needed even after the economy reaches full employment, but that “time is running out to make these needed investments under ideal economic conditions.” Shares of the Guggenheim High Income Infrastructure ETF face an expense ratio of 0.45% – two basis points less than the 0.47% charged by the rival iShares Global Infrastructure ETF (NYSEARCA: IGF ).