Arkad's Log

Educational resources for the intelligent investor.

[arkadslog]

Self-directed IRA tracker - post 2

Date: 11/18/2014 IRA: SELL 271 shares AAPL @ $114.95 / share Roth IRA: SELL 103 shares AAPL @ $114.96 / share

Motivation: Approx 16.7% gain in just over 2 months makes me happy, and given the market cap of AAPL and my gut feeling, I decided to take my winnings off the table for the moment. A 16% gain is nice for a year, let alone a few months, so I am choosing not to be greedy here. I will take a break for a few days and collect my thoughts about what to do next. I will most likely identify another company out there that I consider very solid and likely to gain 10-15% in the near term to double down this year, but we'll see.

[arkadslog]

Self-directed IRA tracker - post 1

So, I've decided to start tracking some of my investment decisions on this blog for all the world to see. This series of posts will only cover the activity in my self-directed IRA. I started this IRA in 2014 as an account to roll my various old 401(k)'s from previous employers into. I am excited about having full control over this account, and have decided to take a lot more risk on in the early years, and taper it down as I get closer to retirement. I currently have no plans to contribute more money to this account unless it's from future 401(k)'s that I roll into it.

To begin, I am going to backfill my first and currently only transaction so far, and going forward I'll detail all of them around the time I make them. The IRA is actually 2 accounts, a traditional IRA and a Roth (I only have the Roth because of the tax status of contributions from one of my previous employers).

Date: 9/04/2014 IRA: BUY 271 shares AAPL @ $98.43 / share Roth IRA: BUY 103 shares AAPL @ $98.48 / share

Motivation: I like Apple for a number of reasons. First, compared to other popular tech companies right now, the P/E is very reasonable. Second, Apple is launching Apple Pay this year as well as the larger screen iPhones and the Apple Watch. Apple as a company is very good at getting implementation right where others have failed, and I have high hopes for Apple Pay. The simplicity of being able to wave a device like the watch or your phone by a reader and pay for something should be very compelling, and hopefully secure :P. Apple also has a very zealous fan base, and the brand has a good reputation for quality. Finally, interest rates are still terrible and the stock market remains pretty much the only place a person can grow his or her wealth, so strong brands with good leadership like Apple should act as a safe haven for smart money in the event the market gets jittery.

[arkadslog]

THUNK

THUNK is a video series for people who like to talk about interesting things with knowledgeable people. Each week, I'll give you some relevant background inf...

Each video serves as an excellent primer on a subject, well made and thought provoking.

[arkadslog]

Ultra-rich man's letter: "To My Fellow Filthy Rich Americans: The Pitchforks Are Coming"

By NICK HANAUER | politico You probably don’t know me, but like you I am one of those .01%ers, a proud and unapologetic capitalist. I have founded, co-founded and funded more than 30 companies acro...

This is really important for everyone, rich and poor, to understand.

[arkadslog]

Super durable, generate power for the grid, configurable LED markings for easy adjustments to lanes, signage, etc. Estimates suggest if the US used these on all roadways it would generate many times our current energy use. This technology could create a ton of new jobs, deliver green energy and make driving much safer. This would also be a highly disruptive technology, so watch out for the backlash.

[arkadslog]

Possible solution to overfishing problem

What if there was a solution to the overfishing of our oceans that would benefit everyone and protect the environment. Who are the stakeholders? Let's take a look. We have at the macro level, everyone, obviously. Now let's drill down. We have the fishermen. Their concern will be a maintainable and comfortable livelihood. I propose they form a global fisherman's guild. Independent scientists are hired to evaluate fish populations for health and sustainability. Based on the number of humans alive at the time, certain maximums are placed on the number of fish of a species that can be extracted per month. Fishermen get credits based on what they can fish in their areas. These credits may represent a substantially lower amount of fish than the fishermen are used to harvesting, however, because of the guild and an imposed scarcity of resource, the fishermen will have a price control mechanism to employ. Now on to the consumer. Consumers will want fair access to fish, while preserving them for future generations. Consumers will be granted credits that give them an allotment of each type of available fish per month. These credits can be freely sold and traded on the open market. This ensures that those who desire fish can have it for a fair market price and those that don't desire it can make a profit off of selling their shares. Now, in order to control arbitrary price inflation, if costs become too high for certain species of fish, and consumers begin to purchase less than the extracted amount of a type of fish per month, fishermen will be required to reduce the amount of that type of fish that they extract per month to compensate and not waste fish. This will keep prices in check, while still allowing the fishermen to make a good profit by giving both sides the ability to partially regulate pricing. Thoughts?

[arkadslog]

Don't be in the 80%

Don't be a sucker :D. We are at the end of a 5 year bull run. Don't be in anything that widely tracks the market. Take 10% of your net income each month and apply it to companies like Johnson & Johnson. Relax, don't let market jitters get to you. Keep it up to retirement and you can live very comfortably off the dividends. Look at US and first world demographics and see that with an aging and wealthy population, companies like J&J will continue to prosper, grow and pay healthy dividends. The US is still the best option for quality of life in the world, and I expect a lot of powerful folks have a vested interest in keeping it that way for a long time to come. Remember you can sell a primary residence in retirement and keep $250-500k in profits tax free depending on marital status (I imagine this number will grow in some pace with inflation). Even with a modest income that 10% will add up to a lot of money by retirement if you start now. Go go go!

[arkadslog]

An excellent article on population demographics around the world and what they can tell us about future economic growth.