WORLD WILD WEB DOMINATES CONTEST; GODDESSES LEAD CLUBS AT HALFWAY MARK.Byline: Deborah Adamson Daily News Staff Writer Technology stocks can be an investor's friend or foe. That's the lesson five investment clubs are learning halfway into the fifth Daily News Stock Picking Contest. Tech stocks certainly helped the portfolio of the Goddesses, a group of girlfriends who meet in Newbury Park. Since the six-month contest began Feb. 1, they have turned $100,000 into $165,789.83 - an astounding a·stound tr.v. a·stound·ed, a·stound·ing, a·stounds To astonish and bewilder. See Synonyms at surprise. [From Middle English astoned, past participle of astonen, 66 percent gain. ``We picked the right stocks at the right time,'' said member Judy Myers. ``We were very fortunate that Knight/Trimark and Netbnk surged forward.'' Indeed, the club made $35,000 on Netbnk and $37,000 on Knight/Trimark. They found the two stocks by applying the investment method espoused by William O'Neil
In doing so, the women have dumped dump v. dumped, dump·ing, dumps v.tr. 1. To release or throw down in a large mass. 2. a. the investment strategy taught by the National Association of Investors Corp., the preeminent pre·em·i·nent or pre-em·i·nent adj. Superior to or notable above all others; outstanding. See Synonyms at dominant, noted. [Middle English, from Latin prae investment club group. The NAIC's investment technique is used by thousands of clubs across the nation. O'Neil's method taught the women to buy ``the best of the best,'' Myers said. Three months ago, the Daily News Stock Picking Contest invited five investment clubs to compete against each other for six months. Each club was given a fictitious Based upon a fabrication or pretense. A fictitious name is an assumed name that differs from an individual's actual name. A fictitious action is a lawsuit brought not for the adjudication of an actual controversy between the parties but merely for the purpose of portfolio of $100,000 to invest in the stock market - shorting, options and margin trades aren't allowed. Then we set the clubs loose. From the start, all of them had a preponderance pre·pon·der·ance also pre·pon·der·an·cy n. Superiority in weight, force, importance, or influence. Noun 1. preponderance of technology stocks. Their rationale rationale (rash´  nal´),n the fundamental reasons used as the basis for a decision or action. was that technology stocks are more volatile and so would provide the greatest potential for profit in a short-term Short-term Any investments with a maturity of one year or less. short-term 1. Of or relating to a gain or loss on the value of an asset that has been held less than a specified period of time. contest. No sleepy sleepy characterized by sleep. sleepy foal disease see shigellosis. sleepy staggers see hepatic encephalopathy. utilities or food company stocks were found in their portfolios. But as the clubs have learned, tech stocks can go down as quickly as they go up. Several clubs deviated from their normal investing strategies to ``gamble'' in Internet stocks Internet stock The equity security of a company engaged primarily in a business associated with the Internet. Also called dot-com. . But one club found out that the volatility is not to its liking. It would rather buy and hold blue chips and stay away from the likes of Yahoo! and Amazon.com because these stocks need constant vigilance VIGILANCE. Proper attention in proper time. 2. The law requires a man who has a claim to enforce it in proper time, while the adverse party has it in his power to defend himself; and if by his neglect to do so, he cannot afterwards establish such claim, the . The Goddesses began with six stocks, all but one in technology. Their biggest winner was Netbnk and their worst was Infoseek, which drained them of $8,600. In second place is Divided Assets, a coed investment club that meets in Chatsworth. Midway Midway, island group (2 sq mi/5.2 sq km), central Pacific, c.1,150 mi (1,850 km) NW of Honolulu, comprising Sand and Eastern islands with the surrounding atoll. Discovered by Americans in 1859, Midway was annexed in 1867. A cable station was opened in 1903. into the contest, their portfolio stands at $105,710. Their best stock has been Yahoo! - they sold half of their holdings for a profit of $2,600 - while their worst is a loss of $1,500 on Microsoft. Founder Myrl Combs said the club experimented with a different investment strategy in the contest by buying volatile Internet stocks. ``What we were trying to do is take the fear out of buying stocks like that,'' she said. But the club didn't like the experience because ``they're so volatile. We just weren't making the kind of money we thought we'd make. It's really opening our eyes.'' Asked if she'd buy Internet stocks for with her own money, Combs replied with an emphatic ``No! I'll stick with the blue chips. I'd rather take slow growth than fast volatility because you could lose your shirt.'' In third place is Wall Street Women of Granada Hills, a group of hairdressers, a manicurist and an artist. Their portfolio after three months: $99,652.27. They started out with five technology companies and one health care stock. But as the contest progressed, they began to load up on Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the companies. Their best stocks are America Online See AOL. and CMGI CMGI Commonly Maintained Grounds Infrastructures CMGI College Marketing Group Information (Services) , which yielded profits of $5,700 and $4,200 respectively. Their worst stock is Dell, on which they lost $2,162. Co-founder Grace Odin said the club invests more conservatively with its own portfolio, preferring to buy companies such as Home Depot The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products and services. Headquartered in Vinings, just outside Atlanta in unincorporated Cobb County, Georgia, Home Depot employs more than 355,000 people and operates 2,164 big-box , Amgen and America Online to hold for the long-term Long-term Three or more years. In the context of accounting, more than 1 year. long-term 1. Of or relating to a gain or loss in the value of a security that has been held over a specific length of time. Compare short-term. . However, they can run wild with fake money. ``We've got to catch (the Goddesses),'' Odin said. ``We just might make a run for it.'' The group is thinking about selling all its contest holdings and letting the money ride on one stock in a boom-or-bust strategy. In fourth place is Fiscal Therapy, a group of teachers and their friends who meet in San Fernando San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. . Their portfolio stands at $88,300.36. Their best stock has been Lucent, which yielded $1,000. The worst was Compaq, which cost the club $4,900. President Judith Blane Goldwater said the club is learning a lot from investing in a short-term contest. ``We had to learn to take more risks,'' she said. For the contest, the club deviated from its buy-and-hold strategy Buy-and-hold strategy A passive investment strategy with no active buying and selling of stocks from the time the portfolio is created until the end of the investment horizon. Opposite of active strategy. to a more ``day trader-ish'' style of investing, Goldwater said. But Internet stocks ``really take day-to-day mothering or watching'' because of their volatility, she said. The club is about to get even more risky. ``We're thinking of selling everything and putting it on one stock'' to win the contest, Goldwater said. Coming up in last place is the Money Hungry Investment Club of Northridge. Its portfolio has a value of $67,770.50. Three of its five original stocks are in technology: Compaq, Dell and Oracle. Their ``best'' stock is Philip Morris, on which they lost $1,200. Their worst is Compaq, which has cost them a dear $11,100 thus far. The club stayed true to its buy-and-hold strategy throughout the contest, never making another trade after the initial portfolio of stocks was chosen. ``We made a decision to hold our portfolio,'' said president Jim MaGouirk. But the club acknowledged that it made some mistakes: They didn't look at the charts for these stocks, their portfolio was concentrated in one industry and they didn't cut their losses. ``We learned a great lesson with this,'' MaGouirk said. DAILY NEWS STOCK PICKING CONTEST THE GAME: Five investment clubs from aound the region are managing fictitious portfolios that stood at $100,000 on Feb. 1. Contestants can buy and sell daily, but each transaction costs Transaction Costs Costs incurred when buying or selling securities. These include brokers' commissions and spreads (the difference between the price the dealer paid for a security and the price they can sell it). $50. The portfolios are limited to stocks traded on the nation's major exchanges THE PAYOFF: Whoever has the largest portfolio on Aug. 1 stands tallest. FIRST PLACE NAME: Goddesses STOCK PORTFOLIO: America Online 194 shares, Knight/Trimark 464 shares, Netbnk 301 shares, Priceline.com 197 shares TRANSACTIONS LAST WEEK: Sold 203 shares of Infoseek at $44.9375, sold 362 shares of Lucent at $57.875, bought 197 shares of Priceline.com for $151.1875, sold 200 shares of Gap at $63.25, bought 87 shares of Knight/Trimark for $145.25 VALUE THIS MORNING: $165,789.83 (includes $61.18 in cash) VALUE ON APRIL April: see month. 30: $187,741.19 (includes $8.81 in cash) SECOND PLACE NAME: Divided Assets STOCK PORTFOLIO: Amgen 200 shares, Cisco 100 shares, DoubleClick 36 shares, E-Trade 100 shares, Excite 100 shares, Home Depot 200 shares, Lucent 200 shares, Microsoft 200 shares, Wal-Mart 100 shares, Yahoo! 50 shares TRANSACTIONS LAST WEEK: Bought 100 shares of E-Trade for $110.375 VALUE THIS MORNING: $105,710 (includes $3.38 in cash) VALUE ON APRIL 30: $107,964.75 (includes $11,090.88 in cash) THIRD PLACE NAME: Wall Street Women STOCK PORTFOLIO: Amazon.com 196 shares, America Online 174 shares, CMGI 136 shares, Yahoo! 150 shares TRANSACTIONS LAST WEEK: None VALUE THIS MORNING: $99,652.27 (includes $152.52 in cash) VALUE ON APRIL 30: $119,538.89 (includes $152.52 in cash) FOURTH PLACE NAME: Fiscal Therapy STOCK PORTFOLIO: Arco 109 shares, Citigroup 133 shares, Home Depot 73 shares, Nextlink 208 shares, Priceline.com 22 shares, Pfizer 112 shares, Time Warner 82 shares, Yahoo! 43 shares TRANSACTIONS LAST WEEK: Bought 22 shares of Priceline.com for $134, sold 67 shares of Biogen at $92.625, sold 138 shares of America Online at $119.75 VALUE THIS MORNING: $88,300.36 (includes $22,895.61 in cash) VALUE ON APRIL 30: $94,167.80 (includes $3,262.24 in cash) FIFTH PLACE NAME: Money Hungry Investment Club STOCK PORTFOLIO: Compaq 500 shares, Dell 500 shares, Philip Morris 138 shares, Oracle 750 shares, Pfizer 100 shares TRANSACTIONS LAST WEEK: None VALUE THIS MORNING: $67,770.50 (includes $127 in cash) VALUE ON APRIL 30: $68,592.25 (includes $127 in cash) CAPTION(S): 5 Photos, Box PHOTO (1) Wall Street Women (2) Fiscal Therapy (3) Divided Assets (4) Goddesses (5) Money Hungry Investment Club BOX: DAILY NEWS STOCK PICKING CONTEST (see text) |
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