Wednesday, February 26, 2014

What Influenced my Investing

When I first started investing the place I went for information was Metro Library on Yonge Street just north of Bloor Street. Here I could look at "Financial Post Cards", some investing newsletters, files on specific companies and company annual statements. I stopped going to the library a long time ago. All the data I currently get now is all online.

The Financial Post Cards were basically cards on each stock the paper covered with current and historical information on them. At that time the Financial Post was a newspaper. It was later taken over by the National Post. The files at the library were a collection of articles from newspapers and magazines that staff cut out and put in files for each company covered.

One of the earliest newsletters I read was the Investment Report by MLC Communications. I still look at their stuff today. Their website is here. I still get their two free email newsletters, one is Advice Hotline E-mail and the other is The Daily Buy and Sell Advisor. For this second newsletter I do not currently see where it can be signed up for but they are in the midst of revising their website for this email. If you want independent advice, I would still recommend this company and their newsletters.

There were a couple of organizations that put out lists of Canadian dividend stocks. The dividend lists that I follow are Dividend Achievers and Dividend Aristocrats. They both have moved around over the years. The Dividend Achievers is now at Nasdaq OMX and is called NASDAQ Select Canadian Dividend Index (NQCADIV) and is here. The stocks in the list are here (see weighting tab.) Also see NASDAQ Broad Canadian Dividend Achievers Index (DACA) here. The Dividend Aristocrats is part of TSX site. Go to the "TSX Market Activity" and click on "Indices and Constituents" tab. I still look at these lists for stock ideas.

One of the earliest magazines I looked at was Canadian Shareowners magazine. It has changed tremendously over time. There is a write up on this organization on a blog. This blog also offers you the ability to click on an old magazine (dated 2005). When I was looking at this magazine it just reviewed big blue chip Canadian stocks and US stocks.

Their main theme was that you want to invest in companies that grow their revenue. Only these sorts of companies could grow earnings. So you looked for companies with revenue growth and earnings growth. Now this origination is an investment firm that you can buy stocks through and get investor education. There site is here. There is a discussion of this origination at Financial Wisdom Forum. The earliest entries are in 2005, but there are later ones at the bottom dated in 2013. This organization has changed beyond all recognition since I was first reading their magazine. I have not looked at this organization for quite a number of years (like over 20 years).

One early website I used was one run by a guy names Mike Higgs. He had a list of almost 50 companies he called dividend growth companies. He thought investors should only buy dividend growth stocks and then only when they were cheap. He put out a monthly list of his stocks and said whether they were cheap or expensive at that time. Unfortunately, Mike dies a few years ago from cancer and his website went with him.

On my other blog I am today writing about Home Capital Group (TSX-HCG, OTC-HMCBF) ...continue...

This blog is meant for educational purposes only, and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. See my site for an index to these blog entries and for stocks followed. Follow me on Twitter.

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