Can’t Bring Myself to Buy Anything

12 Comments so far

1. Tyler January 20, 2007 1:10 pm

   Hey,
   I really enjoy your blog because you have roughly the same philosophy as me.
   Have you thought about exposure in international (Non-north american) dividend payers?
   I prefer the International Dividend ETF symbol PID, but you could easily find individual companies that fit your style in other countries.
   Domestically, looking at your notes, I would prefer Telus because it is a strong company with growth potential and it gives you exposure to the Telecom sector.
   Just my $0.02.
   Have a good day,
   Tyler

2. Dom January 20, 2007 1:36 pm

   Nice article.. I like how you structure your portfolio by industries and see the potential companies as puzzle pieces to fill in the whole picture. For insurance, I suggest that you take a look at ING Canada (IIC.to), a P&C insurance company with leading market share, superior ROE and combined ratios vs. competitors. At $52, it trades at around 9.5x P/E, 2.1x P/B, and 1.9% yield, although earnings seem to have peaked in the cylical P&C insurance market. Not many analysts cover it, so it may be a hidden gem.

3. Cdntrader January 20, 2007 6:28 pm

   was having the same thoughts as you for
   international exposure. If you buy companies like Mcdonalds, or Kellogs you get multinational companies without leaving N.A. markets.But there is always the currency risk too.

4. Smarty January 21, 2007 10:42 am

   I’m still holding on to Pfizer. The last drop provided a very good opportunity to buy or add. I think J&J and Amgen are good candidates. For tech, I would have suggested Cisco three months ago. You can stay on the side line and wait until an opportunity arises.

   Could you update my URL on your links.

   Thanks,
   Smarty
   http://www.growingmoneyblog.com

5. Tyler January 21, 2007 11:16 am

   Cdntrader,
   It is funny that you mention currency risk. I think that it is often overlooked by many investors (myself included). I will be publishing a short article on this topic at my site on Monday.
   I agree with your philosophy on large multinational companies. The big Canadian banks are also working on their international exposure.
   I like Scotiabank’s progress in latin america and BMO’s little move into China for the long term.

6. Canadian Capitalist January 21, 2007 10:38 pm

   There is a risk that you might end up with too many names. You already have at least 12 stocks to keep up with. Part of the reason that I am moving to an indexed portfolio is that I just don’t have the time to keep track to more than 5 names anymore.

7. Tim January 22, 2007 10:59 am

   My first choice for long term dividend payout and growth would be Canadian Oil Sands Trust. Especially if I was in Canada. It is a bit of a pain to buy here in the states.

   Tanker stocks: NAT, VLCCF, FRO. Dividends fluctuate wildly, but when they make money so do you.

8. Cdntrader January 23, 2007 9:45 am

   Have to learn more about ETF’s myself, maybe a alternative for that international exposure without resorting to mutual funds.

   Im also looking at canadian oilsands for a small position. It is coming down to a good entry point, and from what I have read,it does have a 30+ year reserve life. Still have some reading to do.

9. The Dividend Guy January 23, 2007 5:16 pm

   Thanks everyone for the comments.

   Currency risk is something that absolutely needs to be considered. If things go the wrong way then that could wipe out any gain an investor may have seen in a stock.

   As Canadian Capitalist mentioned, having too many names can be a problem. Adding some index exposure is an option that I am always looking at. I am fine right now from a time perspective, but as my kids get older that may need to change.

   Thanks again everyone.

   TDG

10. Everyday Investor January 23, 2007 10:53 pm

    Hello TDG

    Great blog. I’m in a similar situation, have a bit of cash sitting around. Everything seems a bit expensive right now.

    MFC looks good to me. It’s not cheap, but taking a long term approach, I’m thinking that timing my purchases now would make a very small difference over the long term.

11. Middle Class Millionaire February 7, 2007 8:18 am

    We seem to be in the same predicament. I’m also sitting on a bunch of cash with nowhere to put it. Value seems to be a hard thing to come by these days. Although, I’ve recently taken a small position in MMM. I agree that there is some currency risk out there but I believe that MMM has a natural hedge against the US dollar due to their international exposure (60% of revenues outside of the US). If your interested I’ve posted a few items about diversification and currency on my blog.

    P.S - I really enjoy your blog and have added it to my list of 4 blogs that I link to.

    Cheers,
    MCM
    http://middleclassmillionaire.blogspot.com/

12. The Dividend Guy Blog - One Guy’s Journey to Passive Income Through Dividend Investing » The Dividend Guide Asset Allocation February 10, 2007 12:04 pm

    […] Can’t Bring Myself to Buy Anything […]

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