No. of Recommendations: 2
Thank you all - I'll give it a whirl next time I trade.
In answer to why I own so many different stock - well, it's been my style since I was a kid. I generally feel that the rah-rah stocks everyone are following are already too expensive by the time I get into gear. I'm more likely to try to identify a shift that will take place "sometime in the future". It has worked numerous times for me - the major drawback is that sometimes I lack the patience to outwait my convictions.
But why so many issues? While I can guess what will happen pretty well, I find it more comfortable to lay bets on all the likely beneficiaries than to try to pick a single winner. If the dynamics off the shift is world-wide, then it makes sense (to me, at least) to place bets on the leading firms in multiple countries. One of the "themes" I've been covering for years (and which is rapidly moving towards general recognition) is that, because of the combined effects of the growth in the number of EV's, cryptocurrency generation and AI, electrical grids-world-wide will have to be beefed up. This will positively affect both electrical infrastructure companies as well as utilities (but utilities are frequently held back from maximizing their profit by regulators).
The stock I picked up today was a one-off (don't take this as investing advice, because it's a long shot). It's a French aircraft engine manufacturer by the name of Safran SA (epa:SAF). I feel that there is enough bad feeling towards the US to cause commercial airlines to favor Airbus over Boeing and to use European engines on military aircraft rather than US ones and Safran fits the bill nicely. While I'm ashamed to say that I missed the rather obvious bump in arms manufacturers, this may be a late bloomer.
Another example of how the list gets longer happened I guess a few months ago when I halved my ownership in Berkshire Hathaway, but bought shares (on the Tokyo exchange) in the five Japanese trading companies they own. Frankly, they have way outperformed Berkshire itself. (The challenge I have with Japanese shares is that they are described by four digit numbers and the ones these use are similar to other Japanese shares I own in completely different fields.
So, I guess, I own in the high double-digits of different shares. So people ask what I don't simplify my life and just buy an ETF or two. First of all, this is more fun and second of all, each company was chosen for a reason, where as in a mutual fund or ETF I'm stuck with whatever the fund management feels they want to throw into the bucket.
Jeff
