Small Time Blog

Portfolio Update 9/9/2013

by Bradley Voight on 09/09/13

KR 60 Shares @ $37.40 = $2244

HBAN 125 Shares @ $8.52 = $1065

STKL 85 Shares @ $9.30 = $790.50

SIRI 175 Shares @ $3.75 = $656.25

RVLT 175 Shares @ $2.22 = $388.50

Total.........................................$5144.25

Original Investment....................$5419.02

Performance..............................-$274.77 or -5.07%

After more learning about how to manage a portfolio from the master himself Peter Lynch, I did some pruning and buying. Here's what I did: I sold 15 shares of STKL @ $8.93 for $126.94 and I sold 125 Shares of RVLT @ $3.37 for $414.25.

I pruned 15 shares from STKL because it was reaching new highs. I reduced my exposure to RVLT because it is a volatile stock and it got hammered after its last earnings release, which was fine but not a knock out. I bought 10 shares of KR @ $37.55 for $382.50 and bought 50 shares of SIRI @ $3.68 for $191.00.

Lessons I've learned for this update: In pruning and adding I think I did well, but I could have left STKL alone and pruned RVLT at over $5.00 and I would have come out better. I still like the stories of both of these companies so I am not closing either position any time soon. When I began investing 2 years ago I was not interested in building and managing a portfolio of companies, not just their stocks, but now that is the sole aim of my investing philosophy. I am also tweaking ways to hedge and further diversify the portfolio to increase profitability and decrease risk. Always keep in mind while you are reading that I am a self admitted horrible mathematician and I have received no formal training in investing. I am not suggesting that anyone buy any security or other financial instrument. I hold no licenses or certifications in financial planning or accounting. My portfolio is real and it is only intended to serve as an example of what you can do with online stock investing account.

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Scrap Metal Options Trade

by Bradley Voight on 08/19/13

I went to the scrap yard last week just to make some room in the garage. I made $72 for some cans, insulated wire, and 200 pounds of iron. On Monday I bought 2 call option contracts for September on a company called Halcon Resources, an oil driller in the Bakkan shale in North Dakota. On Friday August 8 company insiders purchased 610,000 shares @ $5.10 worth over 2 million dollars. Even the human resources vice president bought 20,000 shares. I splurged, I bought 2 call option contracts for 30 bucks. Each contract represents the right but not the obligation to buy 100 shares of the stock at the strike price at a future date, which I chose as $6. You can click here to see the September options for Halcon on Yahoo finance. The options expire Septermber 21, which means they either have to be exercised or sold by that date. I plan to sell them before expiration as I do not have $1200 it would cost to buy 200 shares @ $6 apiece. The reasoning behind my purchase is that I think the insider buying and the large number of open call contracts in September, October, and beyond signify a coming move to the upside in the stock price. I just hope the move happens in September.

It took me 2 years to learn about options before I made a trade and I have had just one winner out of 5 but it was a triple and it covered 75% of the losses on the others. The first few trades were made before I should have been trading options. I don't trade options willy nilly but only if I think there is enough information to signify a large and sudden move in a given stocks price in either direction (you can buy put options if you think a stocks price is going to fall) I am not suggesting that anyone buy options until they fully understand them. I am not a financial professional and I am not a financial adviser and I hold no licenses or permits to sell or recommend any financial instruments. I am simply trying to illustrate an alternative way to take some of the money I earned from selling scrap metal and attempt to multiply said money. Stay tuned to find out if I am successful in my endeavor.

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Portfolio Update

by Bradley Voight on 07/16/13

Hello and welcome to my first portfolio update. It has been a good month for my stocks and I hope it is just the beginning. I chose all these companies based on their future prospects so the stories might not fully develop for a couple of years. I put links on all the stocks in the "Stocks are Risky" post so you can check them out on Yahoo finance if you wish. The original amount invested was $5419.02 The last update was on 6/11/13 and the total was $5382.73 -$36.29 or -.66%. The only change was I sold 100 shares of MVIS and bought 100 shares of CIM, a real estate investment trust that pays a 12.3% dividend. The total at the close of trading on Tuesday 7/16/13 was $6247.31 up $828.29 or 15.2%. Not bad for an amateur. I am taking a much needed vacation tomorrow to my wife's parents farm in Door County, Wisconsin. Time to rest up and prepare for the rest of 2013. When I return I am going to get the wheels turning on Smalltime's scrap yard. I want to start buying plastic bottles, glass bottles and aluminum cans only.

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If It Is Metal, It Is Losing Value

by Bradley Voight on 06/24/13

All metals are in a sell off since the Federal Reserve Bank signaled an end to it's stimulus efforts. The base metals are at multi-year lows and gold is under $1300 for the first time since October of '10. Silver is under $20 dollars for the first time in over three years. Smalltime has been sounding the alarm about weak prices in the base metals. This signifies weak demand in the industrial sector worldwide. This does not bode well for job growth which could prompt even more central bank help worldwide. It seems that the debt load, both private and public is remaining a drain on growth despite record low interest rates.

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Stocks are Risky but so is Life

by Bradley Voight on 06/11/13

I have stated on here before that I am just an average guy with some college and no degree, or career for that matter. I'm just a courier who picks through the trash after delivering my packages to small towns throughout Indiana and surrounding states. It started with cans and progressed to smalltime scrapping. I would love to open a scrapyard of my own someday but the barriers to entry for me and my wife's best financial interest are just too large. Owning a website is a manageable expense but promoting it is a different story. Owning small slices of public corporations allows me to own a business that others are managing for me. There is always a bull market somewhere are the famous words of Jim Cramer of Mad Money fame. Well it turns out he is right. With over 15,000 companies listed on US stock exchanges, there is always one going up somewhere and with the free information on the internet an average person can find an opportunity, risk a small amount of money (I typically put up $1000 or less) and make a tidy sum with just a little extra time investigating.

I learned a valuable lesson about stocks just recently when Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana. I had two stocks MJNA (15,000 shares) and GRNH (10,000 shares) I nearly tripled my money turning $1200 to $3400 on the election results in November. I sold MJNA, took a nice profit and kept GRNH. MJNA dropped and I re bought 10,000 shares @ 11 cents each. As MJNA ascended towards 20 cents I thought I should set an order to sell at 14 cents with the price at 15 cents. A dip below 14 cents sold me out then the thing went to 50 cents! Meanwhile my $600 was still riding in GRNH which I had bought in several different purchases at an average cost of 4 cents per share. GRNH went to 20 cents making $600 into $2400. As I danced around the room patting myself on the back I returned to the screen and looked at the $2400 on the screen and told myself, "you should sell and take that profit." The next day my wife and I decided to hold 5 marijuana stocks and wait till the big announcement that was sure to come from Washington, D.C. that marijuana prohibition has been lifted nationwide. It did not happen and bad news came out about marijuana nearly every day for the next 3 months. I stopped the bleeding after a 40% loss and I took the money out of all five marijuana stocks and began assembling a portfolio of more stable stocks with actual earnings.

Since I have been trading online I have heard the phrase, 'pigs get fed, hogs get slaughtered.' I got slaughtered by, first being to greedy and not thinking a 400% gain was good enough, and second by turning a news-hyped trade into a buy and hold investment. I also broke the diversification rule by buying 5 companies in the same industry. I will not repeat these errors.

Here is my new portfolio

1. 50 shares of KR (Kroger) a stalwart in the grocery business

2. 300 shares of RVLT (Revolution Lighting) an led lighting company

3. 125 shares of HBAN (Huntington bank)

4. 100 shares of ATRS (Antares Pharma) makers of self injectible meds

5. 100 shares of STKL (Sun Opta) an organic foods producer

6. 100 shares of MVIS (Microvision) a tech company

I chose these stocks based on research, as I did with the Marijuana stocks, but the marijuana stocks were a trading opportunity that I botched, not an investment. These companies are established businesses with real earnings. As of 3pm on 6/11/13 the value of my portfolio is $5382.73 the amount invested is $5419.02. I will be updating these numbers periodically.

Now get out there with $500 and learn about investing on the fly. Wages are not rising and the Fed stimulus money is only reaching the stock market and not main street. You have to learn to play with the big boys and you might take a few lumps but I still believe that there is no other place on earth where a little research can literally change your economic fortunes. I recommend that you read One Up On Wall Street: How To Use What You Already Know To Make Money In The Market, by Peter Lynch BEFORE you invest anything. Don't wait til 4 years into investing to read it like I did...Big mistake! I am not endorsing these stocks nor am I soliciting anyone to buy any securities as I am not a certified financial planner nor do I hold any licenses or permits to sell or recommend stocks or other financial instruments.

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