Results of 3 Portfolios: Cheap Growth Ready to Breakout (July 16, 2007)

In a previous article, I described the Cheap Growth Ready to Breakout Screen.

In this post, we will continue to track the performance of three portfolios. We are taking the snapshot as of Monday, July 16, 2007.

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Portfolio 1: February 23, 2007     
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# Symbol Start  End     Return
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1 AMX 47.15 64.87 37.58% 
2 TSM 10.91 11.68 7.06% 
3 VIP 85.18 112.50 32.07% 
4 IPR 74.30 89.00 19.78% 
5 AYE 47.90 55.10 15.03% 
6 WCRX 14.45 19.17 32.66% 
7 BRP 43.42 72.89 67.87% 
8 SCS 19.76 18.72 -5.26% 
9 MLHR 39.54 33.37 -15.60% 
10 AIR 30.61 34.10 11.40% 
11 GRT 27.59 24.32 -11.85% 
12 DVR 12.49 16.70 33.71% 
13 TGI 55.02 70.25 27.68% 
14 CRAI 53.88 49.08 -8.91% 
15 TLF 7.99 7.10 -11.14% 
16 APH 33.89 37.07 9.38% 
17 GIL  26.80 35.24 31.49% 
18 MIDD 58.88 62.79 6.64% 
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= Total   15.53% 
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 SPY 144.10 154.83 7.45% 
 IWM 81.64 84.48 3.48% 
 EFA 76.68 83.37 8.72% 
=========================================

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Portfolio 2: March 14, 2007
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# Symbol Start  End     Return
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1 TSM 11.06 11.68 5.61%
2 DISH 42.50 43.92 3.34%
3 WFR 55.05 63.04 14.51%
4 ASX 5.95 7.23 21.51%
5 SPIL 9.18 11.64 26.80%
6 BRP 44.00 72.89 65.66%
7 LAUR 59.28 61.93 4.47%
8 KSU 33.65 40.67 20.86%
9 BEAV 30.73 43.09 40.22%
10 CVO 24.50 23.42 -4.41%
11 IART 43.45 50.30 15.77%
12 KNL 23.00 22.71 -1.26%
13 AIR 30.25 34.10 12.73%
14 MYE 18.24 22.16 21.49%
=============================================
= Total   17.66%
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 SPY 138.13 154.83 12.09%
 IWM 76.91 84.48 9.84%
 EFA 72.83 83.37 14.47%
=============================================

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Portfolio 3: May 16, 2007    
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# Symbol Start  End     Return
=============================================
1 ESV 58.45 60.86 4.12%
2 GSF 65.98 72.07 9.23%
3 TDW 64.90 75.62 16.52%
4 KB 93.35 91.96 -1.49%
5 FCX 71.29 92.94 30.37%
6 VLO 72.03 76.08 5.62%
7 NBG 11.59 12.54 8.20%
8 ACGY 21.35 26.72 25.15%
9 AYR 35.98 38.78 7.78%
10 FTI 73.68 88.97 20.75%
11 HXM 62.29 61.50 -1.27%
12 SZE 57.58 57.11 -0.82%
13 SLB 76.50 90.54 18.35%
14 CLB 92.77 106.41 14.70%
15 CKR 20.38 19.51 -4.27%
16 CEPH 80.14 82.28 2.67%
17 TDK 87.55 92.02 5.11%
18 SNDA 26.65 33.04 23.98%
19 LKQX 24.30 25.38 4.44%
=============================================
= Total   9.96%
=============================================
 SPY 150.95 154.83 2.57%
 IWM 81.26 84.48 3.96%
 EFA 80.14 83.37 4.03%
=============================================

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SPY is an ETF that represents that S&P 500 US Large Cap Index.
IWM is an ETF that represents the US Small Cap Russell 2000 index.
EFA is an ETF that represents the developed international market index covering Europe, Japan, and Australia.

Based on this, the three portfolios performed (until July 16, 2007)

1. February 23, 2007: 15.53% return, outperforming all three indices by 8.94% to 14.19%.
   
2. March 14, 2007: 17.66% return, outperforming all three indices by 3.19% to 7.82%
   
3. May 16, 2007: 9.96% return, outperforming all three indices from 13.63% to 15.09%
   

So far, this screen seems to be performing very well. Let us continue to monitor.

Simplest Buy and Hold Portfolio

So you have some discretionary money that you can risk, don't need the money within five years, and want some growth. But you may not know too much about individual stocks and you don't have the time nor the inclination to follow individual stocks.

Here's a very simple and easy Buy and Hold Portfolio that you don't have to monitor often, and offers good performance and diversification. (Do know that while the stock market averages 10% per year over a long time, that during any individual year, you could lose or gain 40%?)

The strategy is based on buying and holding certain ETFs, or Exchange Traded Funds. An Exchange Traded Fund is essentially a mutual fund (mostly indexed to a particular index. The ETF company just mirrors the index, and doesn't make active stock decisions) that trades on the major exchanges just like a regular stock. You normally buy and sell them and pay commissions. For example, the stock symbol "DIA", isn't really an individual company. The "DIA" ETF represents the Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF. It holds the 30 stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. However, from your point of view, you are buying and selling "DIA" directly, a single trading instrument. You lose money and profit just as if you were holding a single stock.

The Portfolio

Here's the recommended simple buy and hold portfolio that you do not have to monitor that often:

• SPY -- The S&P 500 ETF representing 500 of the US biggest and most influential companies.
  
• MDY -- The Midcap US ETF representing the middle size US companies.
  
• IWM -- The Small Cap US ETF representing some of the smaller companies in the US
  
• EFA -- The iShares Developed International Market ETF representing investments in Europe, Japan and Australia
  
• EEM -- The iShares International Emerging Market ETF which covers international emerging markets such as Taiwan, Korea, China, Mexico, Brazil, Russia and India.
  

That's it! You are diversified throughout the US and the world. You can monitor your portfolio once a year, or twice a year.

If you don't have that much money, you can start with one or two ETFs first. I suggest SPY and EFA as your first two ETFs. The third ETF should be IWM. The fourth should be EEM, and the last MDY.

If you wish to learn more, or even start learning about individual stock investments, you might have to do some studying. You can read the books recommended here, or start browsing some good investment sites on the internet.