Do You Believe Everything You Hear?
As I continue this series, I want to highlight a tool to help you avoid garbage and check the quality of your investment portfolio. Garbage investments are prone to disappoint and reduce your overall retirement fund returns. I learned the hard way that even “expert” advisors can recommend junk investments. I’ve seen this in my past in dealing with a Milwaukee broker and I have seen it in the accounts of family members and friends. While it is true that most social media and “investment” sites have many voices, and some of them recommend some good ideas, there are many that are just appealing to our inclination to greed. Naïve investors are fertile ground for hype, scams, and poor choices.
Number Four: Hype, Social Media and “Experts”
There is no lack of noise for investors. You will find noise in the financial media, social media, podcasts, sources like “Fox Business” and multiple investment services. I get regular mailings in our mailbox from some “wealth management” services. How do I steer clear of the noise? By focusing on a tool that provides proven value. It will come as no surprise that I am talking about Seeking Alpha. However, I have not, as far as I recall, talked about one aspect of Seeking Alpha’s service.
Seeking Alpha Morning Alerts
Seeking Alpha sends me email messages about positions I care about or that I am considering for future investment. This morning I saw four email messages. They were for GTY, F, CSWC and DGRO. By clicking on “View Details” in the GTY email, I can see the changes to the holdings of interest to me. GTY dropped from Strong Buy to Buy, Ford dropped from Strong Buy to HOLD, CSWC went to Buy and DGRO did as well. I did not have to open the other three email messages. They could be deleted.
Shares of GTY
Cindie and I own 2,200 shares of GTY. That translates into $4,235 in estimated annual income. If you hold shares of the same investment in multiple accounts at Fidelity Investments, you can quickly see those on the web by typing the ticker symbol in the magnifying glass. There are also multiple positions views. So, for example, the following two are the “OVERVIEW” view and the “Dividend view” summary.
Seeking Alpha Settings: Alert Preferences
You can modify your alerts on Seeking Alpha. You should consider reviewing the alert options for Content Alerts, Ratings and Price Alerts, and General Settings. Here is a view of my “General Settings.”
Digging Deeper
After I get an alert, if I am considering adding to a position or buying a new investment, I can quickly drill into the Summary page for that investment. I also want to see the “Revenue” trend and the “Funds from Operations” trend. FFO is one way to gauge the ability of the investment to continue to cover the dividend with real cash. I’m also interested in an investment’s Profitability, Momentum (for options trading), and the dividend information like the “payout ratio.”
In general, you won’t get this level of information from most of the financial media, social media, podcasts, or even good resources like “Fox Business.” You can pay your advisor, or you can learn to navigate the investing world using a much lower cost solution like Seeking Alpha. If you link your investment accounts to Seeking Alpha you can also check up on the choices your financial advisor has made. You might be shocked to see that the results are not what you expected.
Funds From Operations
GTY is a REIT. REIT is the abbreviation for “real estate investment trust.” It is important to know the FFO for a REIT.
“Funds from operations (FFO) serve as a key metric for evaluating REIT performance by offering insights into cash flow and operational efficiency. Unlike traditional corporate metrics, FFO includes adjustments for depreciation and amortization, providing a transparent view of REITs’ income-generating capabilities.” Investopedia
Summary
Ignorance is not bliss. Having more than one advisor is a prudent way to handle many of life’s decisions and choices. I think Seeking Alpha offers a range of options for you to get the information and advice you need.
Proverbs 27:23-24 “Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds, for riches do not last forever…”
Seeking Alpha Subscription Information
Of all of the resources I use, the most helpful is Seeking Alpha. The Seeking Alpha QUANT rating is a huge factor in my investment success. If you decide to explore a Seeking Alpha subscription, please use the following link. Seeking Alpha
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All scripture passages are from the English Standard Version except as otherwise noted.
Know Your Flocks & Herds 