Fool Portfolio
Report
Wednesday, November
27, 1996
by Selena Maranjian (MF
Selena)
ALEXANDRIA, VA.,November 27, 1996 --This is the season to give thanks. And although Fools would do well to give thanks more than once a year, this is as good an occasion as any to pause briefly and consider all that we have to be grateful for. God-fearing Fools can give thanks to God, while God-doubting or God-disavowing Fools can simply thank their lucky stars. Or Oprah. Or any other ubiquitous, powerful force.
So on to the great Thanksgiving...
Fools are grateful for the fact that the sun rises and sets regularly -- and often spectacularly. This process nudges time along, and since Fools invest for the long-term, it's a good thing. Imagine being a long-term investor when each day never seemed to end -- yikes!
Fools give thanks that life offers so many wonderful little things. Like raspberries. Comic strips. Contact lenses. Growth stocks that grow. Shorted stocks that drop. TV financial gooroos whose prognostications give us all something to snicker at.
Fools are thankful for the Dow Dividend Approach, which offers us roughly 20% per year in exchange for pretty much no effort at all. Why do we love it so? Because it frees us from too-frequently focusing on our 'folio of investments, unfettering us so that we can follow our fondest desires. No more fretting and fuming for Fools!
Fools appreciate inexplicable good fortune. Like when, in a parking garage with very narrow spaces, you find a space next to a Volkswagen bug. Or when you get to the airport too late for your flight, but find that it was delayed and is still boarding. Or when you get to Stonehenge and find that it's closed to the public except on Tuesdays, and it happens to be a Tuesday.
Fools give thanks that the Fool Portfolio is now up 55.89% for the year, compared to 22.58% for the S&P 500. Such a performance reassures us, suggesting that perhaps there *is* something to this Foolishness, after all.
Fools give thanks that Iomega was up $3/8 today, for whatever reason. These little increases all add up to what we expect will be a handsome return, in the long-run. (AOL was also up, rising $2 1/4.)
Fools give thanks for 3Com's fall of $1/2 today. Why? Because we understand that no stock climbs up relentlessly, without ever looking back. In life, also, it's good to look back once in a while. And we're grateful that we occasionally think to do that.
Fools are happy that kismet, or serendipity, or the nudge of family or a friend led us to Fooldom, where we are taking control of our own financial future. We are learning how to find great companies, how to evaluate their potential, and how to invest in them for the long-term, through intermittent market crashes and occasional market surges. (And now that we think about it, maybe we should pass on the favor and give a friend or family member a nudge in the direction of Foolishness and financial freedom.)
Fools are grateful that...
There are so many things to be thankful for that we can keep naming them for hours and hours -- probably days and weeks, even. But since our time here is limited and something else for which we should be grateful is beckoning us, let's just run through a Foolish Alphabet of Thanks, giving thanks for:
Artichoke hearts, dipped in lemon and oil.
Boric Acid, a useful antiseptic.
Cupid, who often strikes when least expected.
Deductions, when tax season is upon us.
Etiquette, which makes life a little more pleasant.
Forks, without which eating would be difficult.
Grandparents, if we're lucky enough to still have them.
Horizons, which are always ahead of us.
Imaginations, spurring humor, science, literature and more.
Jonquils and all other flowers.
Kneecaps, which help us move gracefully.
Laser technology, which is making the impossible possible.
Meetings, because sometimes they offer donuts.
Nurses, who make hospital stays more bearable.
Oases, because deserts can get pretty darn hot and dry.
Parentheses (because they can come in handy).
Quirks, because they make life so much more interesting.
Raisons d'etre, so we can etre.
Seasons, which keep us from getting bored.
Toilets. 'Nuff said.
(The) Underground Railroad, for inspiring courage.
Veterinarians, when Fluffy or Sport fall ill.
Warthogs, just for being warthogs.
Xerography, giving us copies whenever we need them.
(The) Y-axis, for giving us a second dimension.
Zealots, for their unwavering passion.
On a final note, we here at Fool Intergalactic Headquarters want to thank *you* for becoming Foolish. We are grateful for the opportunity to help run this amazing interactive forum, and we have not forgotten that it only exists because Fools like you and your family are interested and participate.
So here's to many more years of Foolishly investing, after which we'll all meet at a Fool retiree retreat, sipping Metamucil from glasses with umbrellas, our belled caps jingling in the breeze.
Have a Foolish Thanksgiving....
**Please note: The stock market will be open a half-day only on Friday, until 1:00 pm EST. Tom will be here to provide a recap of the day soon after the close.**
BOUNTIFUL FOOLISHNESS:
Thanksgiving, Industry Decathlon Style
As your thoughts drift towards family, holiday and "home" this season, join MF Bogey this week as he examines the home construction industry. Home building has been one of the biggest turkeys this year, ranked amongst the worst performing industry groups. Is it time to "gobble" up some of these stocks? Bogey runs through all the valuation numbers and serves them up on a platter with all the holiday trimmings for you to enjoy over the long weekend. Relative strength, target prices, industry overview, it's all there for you to pick apart.
Industry Decathlon is a weekly newsletter delivered to your e-mail box or
fax machine each
Wednesday morning. You can order it today at FoolMart
for yourself or as a gift for a friend.
For dessert, you'll also receive the Stock of the Week, a different report each week on some of the most interesting companies in the world. It's like the icing on the cake! Have a Happy Thanksgiving, Fools!
TODAY'S NUMBERS
Stock Change Bid ------------------- AOL +2 1/4 34.88 T + 3/4 39.13 ATCT --- 15.38 CHV -1 1/4 66.63 GM -1 1/4 57.13 IOM + 3/8 22.38 KLAC +1 1/4 36.00 LU - 3/4 51.13 MMM - 3/8 83.38 QDEK + 15/16 6.06 COMS - 1/2 75.25
Day Month Year History FOOL +0.52% 7.43% 55.89% 191.08% S&P 500 -0.13% 7.05% 22.58% 64.70% NASDAQ +0.48% 5.39% 22.35% 78.75% Rec'd # Security In At Now Change 5/17/95 2010 Iomega Cor 2.52 22.38 788.26% 8/5/94 680 AmOnline 7.27 34.88 379.52% 8/13/96 250 3Com Corp. 46.86 75.25 60.58% 8/11/95 125 Chevron 50.28 66.63 32.50% 8/12/96 110 Minn M&M 65.68 83.38 26.95% 9/27/96 -890 Quarterdec 7.08 6.06 14.42% 8/12/96 280 Gen'l Moto 51.97 57.13 9.91% 10/1/96 42 LucentTech 47.62 51.13 7.37% 8/12/96 130 AT&T 39.58 39.13 -1.14% 8/24/95 130 KLA Instrm 44.71 36.00 -19.48% 10/22/96 600 ATC Comm. 22.94 15.38 -32.97% Rec'd # Security In At Value Change 5/17/95 2010 Iomega Cor 5063.13 44973.75 $39910.62 8/5/94 680 AmOnline 4945.56 23715.00 $18769.44 8/13/96 250 3Com Corp. 11714.99 18812.50 $7097.51 8/11/95 125 Chevron 6285.61 8328.13 $2042.52 8/12/96 110 Minn M&M 7224.44 9171.25 $1946.81 8/12/96 280 Gen'l Moto 14552.49 15995.00 $1442.51 9/27/96 -890 Quarterdec -6304.75 -5395.63 $909.13 10/1/96 42 LucentTech 1999.88 2147.25 $147.37 8/12/96 130 AT&T 5145.11 5086.25 -$58.86 8/24/95 130 KLA Instrm 5812.49 4680.00 -$1132.49 10/22/96 600 ATC Comm. 13761.50 9225.00 -$4536.50 CASH $8801.62 TOTAL $145540.12 Transmitted: 11/27/96