The Current Top Ten

August 2022 Investment Portfolio Update

In July I shared our top ten investments. At that time the top ten were: VYM, AVGO, PFE, STX, MAIN, F, HPQ, ARCC, O, and ABBV. VYM was the largest holding, and it still is. However, there have been some shifts in market value. AVGO, F, PFE, and MAIN are now part of the top five. STX has dropped in value due to what I believe are unwarranted fears about that sector.

Asset Allocation by Security as of 08/26/2022 and the TOP TEN investements we have at Fidelity.
I invest very much like Paul Merriman recommends in the training video link shown below.

Asset Allocations Matter

I recently watched a video by Paul Merriman. It was an excellent training video called, “How To Teach a Teenager to Invest.” The 53-minute video explains why I have almost $0 invested in bonds, CDs and cash. It also helps you understand why I have a higher allocation of our investments in small cap stocks. The following two images show our current holdings according to the Quicken software. If you want to watch the video, here is a link: Paul Merriman

Top Ten Shifting Sands

One of the reasons I might see some shifts in the top ten is that I trade covered call options. For example, I have an open option trade on my 1,600 shares of STX. The ticker symbol for that trade is STX220923C86. This means that my shares will be sold if they reach $86 per share on or before September 23, 2022. This is not as risky as it sounds. If the shares are called away, I can repurchase some or all of them at the then current price.

Because STX share prices have been volatile, I might actually be able to buy them at a lower price. If they are called away, I make a profit on top of the options and dividend income I already received. For example, for STX alone I have received $3,579 in YTD options income and $2,940 in YTD dividends.

How Options Trades Can Shift the Top Five

I currently have 39 open covered call contracts. These contracts have resulted in some amazing income for the month of August. The total MTD income from options trades is $13,859.97. This is an above-average month. July’s total was only $2,405.66. I stopped trading most options in July due to the market’s volatility. The following graph shows options income before my trades this week.

Actual August Options Income has increased since I created this graph
Options Trades Per Week. This is about 4-5 hours of work each week.

Full Disclosure on Open Covered Call Contracts

The options contracts currently open are for the following ticker symbols. Note the format of these is very simple. The letters at the beginning of the ticker is the match to a stock. So “WM” is for Waste Management shares we own. The next six numbers is the contract expiration date. For WM, the contract expires today, August 26, 2022. The “C” means “CALL” and the last digits after the “C” show the dollar amount my options contract. For WM, therefore, if the price reaches $175 by the close of the market today, my Waste Management shares will be called away.

WM220826C175, MAIN221021C45, MSFT221118C295, ORCL220909C79, PFE220826C50.5, SAVA220826C28.5, ABBV220902C141, ICHR221021C45, MAIN221021C45, OXY221021C72.5, PFE220902C50, R220916C90, SAVA220826C35, TECK220916C38.5, AMZN220826C139, AOSL221021C45, AVGO220902C547.5, BGFV221021C25, CCRN220916C30, CM220916C55, DKS220826C126, DRI221021C150, F220826C17, GILD220902C63, HD220826C325, HPQ220826C36.5, HPQ220826C37, LTHM220916C35, MPW220916C17, PRPH221021C14.7, PSTG221021C31, R220916C90, RIO221021C64.38, SAVA220826C29.5, STX220923C86, TD220916C70, TITN220916C35, VLO220916C125, VST220916C26