LONDON -- In this Ask A Foolish Question article, I'm going to outline how my first-ever shares are doing -- and what I plan to do, having been asked this question numerous times.
For my first foray into the stock market, I bought shares in Vodafone (VOD +1.41%) (VOD +1.03%) in late October 2012, only to see the share price fall soon afterward -- and continue to fall, hitting a low of 154 pence. The shares then spent the rest of the year wavering between 154 pence and 163 pence, but they put on a spurt at the beginning of 2013 to regain some value and looked like they were heading back to my buying price and beyond.
However, with tomorrow's trading update approaching, some prominent City analysts downgraded Vodafone from "buy" to "neutral," and the shares suffered another dip in the process.
At an average cost per share of 180 pence per share with trading fees included, my Vodafone holding is currently down 5.5% at the shares' current price of 170 pence. I'm standing firm, though. I'm not tempted to cut my losses or wait until the moment the shares reach the price at which I bought and then immediately sell.
The reason for this is I hold Vodafone, a classic defensive share, for income. On a prospective yield of 5.8%, it's one of the best yields in the FTSE 100. In fact, I almost expect a bit of wavering in the share price -- nothing too drastic, mind, but I'm not worried if it doesn't look like ready to double its value anytime soon. If I wanted that, I'd look for a growth share, which Vodafone is certainly not.
When that time comes, I'll be taking a look at the share revealed within our latest free report, "The Motley Fool's Top Growth Share For 2013." Just click here to get your copy delivered to your inbox immediately.
And when I look to increase my income options, I'm going to consider a share that offers a 5.7% income and might be worth 850 pence versus a current price of about 700 pence. Simply click here to download TMF's "Top Income Share For 2013."
