View Full Version : REGN ~ Opinions?
My sister called me this morning and wants to know what I think about my Regeneron Pharmaceuticals stock. When she looked at the price this morning just before calling me, my gain was 47.4%. She said the company has been doing OK lately but still struggling. She talked to a couple of the financial advisors, who said they "might be tempted to sell." That response sounds wishy washy to me. Might be tempted? What do you people think about REGN?
I don't have any opinions from anyone here yet but I did receive a telephone call from my financial advisor. After taking a look at my portfolio, he recommended that I sell my Intel, Regeneron and Time Warner stock and use that money plus about half of the available cash in my account to put into mutual funds. He's putting some of the money into funds I already have in my portfolio. He's also adding a fund (with only 10% of my portfolio) called Hartford Capital Appreciation. He said the manager of this fund has averaged 17% growth a year even during the recent bad years in the market. He thinks the fund is "phenomenal" but that if it doesn't stay phenomenal, we can dump it. I took his advice and we'll see what happens. I'm keeping my eBay stock because I want to and because he said that's a good stock to keep. The reason for his recommendation that I get out of individual stock is because of the very limited knowledge I have of the market and the limited amount of time I have to study the market. Even he and his associates, as "experts," only spend a couple of hours a day looking at individual stocks. He said managers of mutual funds look at individual stocks and bonds for a living. Oh, and mentioning bonds reminds me that he's going to add a bond fund to my portfolio "for stability."
peanuts
11-03-2006, 03:51 PM
...She talked to a couple of the financial advisors, who said they "might be tempted to sell." That response sounds wishy washy to me. Might be tempted? What do you people think about REGN?
Mary, Q: Why else would someone so educated as a financial advisor sell a stock? A: It has become overvalued in stock price compared to the company's real value. Right? Q: Why would anyone not sell now, but be tempted to sometime in the future? A: They anticipate the market value per share to soon equal the real value per share or higher- making the shares they own worth more than the actual value. What this really means is that the advisor was basically saying, "I'm not selling now because the shares are still cheap. I'll be tempted to sell later because I think the price will go up and meet the price that I think the company is fairly valued" Get it? Not wishy washy, smart!
REGN's chart looks great with a breakout to new 52 week highs on a gap up with strong volume and price movement... You shouldn't have sold until technical reasons suggested a topping point. Also, if someone calls you, they are selling something.
With every sentence that I read in your second post, I cringed a little more. Sorry...
Mary, Q: Why else would someone so educated as a financial advisor sell a stock? A: It has become overvalued in stock price compared to the company's real value. Right? Q: Why would anyone not sell now, but be tempted to sometime in the future? A: They anticipate the market value per share to soon equal the real value per share or higher- making the shares they own worth more than the actual value. What this really means is that the advisor was basically saying, "I'm not selling now because the shares are still cheap. I'll be tempted to sell later because I think the price will go up and meet the price that I think the company is fairly valued" Get it? Not wishy washy, smart!
Except that the message I got was not that he would be tempted to sell sometime in the future but that he would be tempted to sell now were he in my position. At least that's how I understood the message.
REGN's chart looks great with a breakout to new 52 week highs on a gap up with strong volume and price movement... You shouldn't have sold until technical reasons suggested a topping point. Also, if someone calls you, they are selling something.
In just about every other circumstance I would agree with you. The reason I don't agree with you here is because my sister was the first to call me. I don't think she knows much more than I do about how to research stock prices and company strengths/weaknesses. The other thing is that the financial advisor who called me from my sister's office (because I said I'd like to talk to him) put me into funds where I don't have to pay a commission because I am the sister of an employee. In other words, he's not making any money off the trades he did for me today ... well, unless he's making a commission on the stock sales that were done. He isn't making a commission on the mutual fund stuff.
With every sentence that I read in your second post, I cringed a little more. Sorry...
You've nothing to be sorry for. You're being honest.
Side note: I tried to insert my replies after each part of your message I was replying to in blue font, but the HTML code I was using didn't work ... so I made my comments bold. I know as little about HTML as I do about stocks. :confused:
New-born baby
11-03-2006, 08:38 PM
I don't have any opinions from anyone here yet but I did receive a telephone call from my financial advisor. After taking a look at my portfolio, he recommended that I sell my Intel, Regeneron and Time Warner stock and use that money plus about half of the available cash in my account to put into mutual funds. He's putting some of the money into funds I already have in my portfolio. He's also adding a fund (with only 10% of my portfolio) called Hartford Capital Appreciation. He said the manager of this fund has averaged 17% growth a year even during the recent bad years in the market. He thinks the fund is "phenomenal" but that if it doesn't stay phenomenal, we can dump it. I took his advice and we'll see what happens. I'm keeping my eBay stock because I want to and because he said that's a good stock to keep. The reason for his recommendation that I get out of individual stock is because of the very limited knowledge I have of the market and the limited amount of time I have to study the market. Even he and his associates, as "experts," only spend a couple of hours a day looking at individual stocks. He said managers of mutual funds look at individual stocks and bonds for a living. Oh, and mentioning bonds reminds me that he's going to add a bond fund to my portfolio "for stability."
Fire this dude ASAP.
First, if you have a question about a stock, go to HOT PICK OF THE DAY and I will throw up a chart for you. Then Runner, Spike, and all the excellent traders on this forum will critique it for you.
Now, REGN:
Here's the chart. The weekly says REGN is headed to at least $29, more likely to $31+. And he had you sell at $18 . . . .
By the way, do you know he had you trade into a mutual fund just at the time that you'll be responsible for all the taxes due for that fund for 2006? And yet you'll not reap all the rewards for the year. UGH.
http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/6329/chart1ia8.gif (http://imageshack.us)
Fire this dude ASAP.
First, if you have a question about a stock, go to HOT PICK OF THE DAY and I will throw up a chart for you. Then Runner, Spike, and all the excellent traders on this forum will critique it for you.
Now, REGN:
Here's the chart. The weekly says REGN is headed to at least $29, more likely to $31+. And he had you sell at $18 . . . .
By the way, do you know he had you trade into a mutual fund just at the time that you'll be responsible for all the taxes due for that fund for 2006? And yet you'll not reap all the rewards for the year. UGH.
OK ... frustration is beginning to set in already. First, I don't know how to read the charts that get posted around here. Second, my FA (financial advisor) admitted that he doesn't spend much time watching individual stocks, nor does he think many of his associates watch individual stocks.
As for what you said about REGN's weekly, that's not a sure thing, right? That's a projection that may or may not come true. Yes? I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm asking because I don't know.
Last, I don't know what you mean about being responsible for the taxes when my entire portfolio is contained in an IRA. I don't pay taxes on any of it unless I take the money out, right?
Runner
11-03-2006, 10:59 PM
Mary, nothing is a for sure thing in the markets. If your happy with your financial advisers performance then stick with him. just remember you and you alone are responsible for what happens. If you wish to learn trading you will need to find a methodology to trade. You will not get a true feel of it until you go through some good times and bad. I've said this several times here on this forum. Many will keep changing methods and never be in sync with the markets their trading. If you are trading use very few shares so if you mess up (and you will) then you wont worry about it. I personally think paper trading is a waist of time because the true emotions are missing.
I would not follow anyone's lead here on this forum especially my crazy approach. Determine what you wish to achieve and what type of trader or investor you wish to become.... Many awesome traders and investors have posted a lot of info here on this site. You might want to try the search feature and read some info. take in what you might use and discard the rest.
If anyone calls me and says that they are a Financial Advisor...The first thing I do is laugh uncontrollably...Then I hang up.
You need to learn to govern your own destiny...NO COMMISSION...That is Hogwash...Live 'n Learn...Best, Doug(IIC)
New-born baby
11-03-2006, 11:17 PM
OK ... frustration is beginning to set in already. First, I don't know how to read the charts that get posted around here. Second, my FA (financial advisor) admitted that he doesn't spend much time watching individual stocks, nor does he think many of his associates watch individual stocks.
As for what you said about REGN's weekly, that's not a sure thing, right? That's a projection that may or may not come true. Yes? I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm asking because I don't know.
Last, I don't know what you mean about being responsible for the taxes when my entire portfolio is contained in an IRA. I don't pay taxes on any of it unless I take the money out, right?
REGN: nothing sure in the market. Charts are 70-85% accurate.
IRAs are tax-exempt until you take the money out.
REGN: nothing sure in the market. Charts are 70-85% accurate.
IRAs are tax-exempt until you take the money out.
Not ROTH IRA's
I have both types of IRA. The largest portion of my money is in a tax exempt IRA. I have a much smaller amount in a Roth IRA but that one is growing now because at the time when I was given a raise last spring, I decided I should start saving more for my future, so I set up an automatic deposit ... a set amount of money that goes into my Roth IRA account from each pay period. There are mutual funds contained within both IRA accounts.
I used to do my own taxes but started having them done for me when I bought a house. Way back then (about 8 years ago), I had also taken some money out of my IRA, not realizing just how steep the early withdrawal penalties were. My accountant helped me save a HUGE amount of money because when I met with him, there was still time for me to find another source for the money I needed then and deposit the money back into my IRA and not be charged the early withdrawal penalty.
Since that time, I have given my tax professional the information about my IRA and Roth IRA but don't know if I've paid any taxes on it, perhaps because of the relatively small amount of money that's in the Roth. I expect this year things will be different since I've been making regular deposits into that account every pay period.
If anyone calls me and says that they are a Financial Advisor...The first thing I do is laugh uncontrollably...Then I hang up.
You need to learn to govern your own destiny...NO COMMISSION...That is Hogwash...Live 'n Learn...Best, Doug(IIC)
I completely understand what you're saying, Doug, about "no commission" being hogwash. However, in this instance, it's not that there is no commission. It's that the commissions on the mutual funds he's putting me into are waived because my sister is an employee.
... If your happy with your financial advisers performance then stick with him. ...
The jury is still out on the performance of my current financial advisor. I wrote a post in another thread awhile back where I said I felt like I was being ignored because of the comparatively small amount of money in my account. The man who was my FA back then has since retired and my portfolio is now being handled by someone else. Yesterday's telephone call with the new guy was my first contact with him. He made a few changes (I wrote about some of them in my second post in this thread). Now I get to watch and see what happens and decide if I'm happy with him or not.
Runner
11-04-2006, 11:06 AM
The jury is still out on the performance of my current financial advisor. I wrote a post in another thread awhile back where I said I felt like I was being ignored because of the comparatively small amount of money in my account. The man who was my FA back then has since retired and my portfolio is now being handled by someone else. Yesterday's telephone call with the new guy was my first contact with him. He made a few changes (I wrote about some of them in my second post in this thread). Now I get to watch and see what happens and decide if I'm happy with him or not.
You may want to find out this new guys track record.
You may want to find out this new guys track record.
How do I do that?
Runner
11-04-2006, 11:09 AM
How do I do that?
Talk to him and ask questions. If he starts stumbling you will have your answers.
Runner
11-04-2006, 11:13 AM
His main goal might be to please the people with deep pockets. He should not make you feel bad regardless of how large your account is. If he fails in this area would you want to deal with this person? If your getting mixed feelings about him you may reconsider your options. The bottom line is that you will need to make the decision.
Runner
11-04-2006, 11:16 AM
I'm not going to speak down about an advisor as it is not my place to do so. If your interested in the game then you will put in the required work.
peanuts
11-04-2006, 11:43 AM
...If your interested in the game then you will put in the required work.
Well said!
Mary,
I'm glad you didn't take my post too hard. I think that mutual funds are a "safe" way to invest. They take you out of the daily game, but offer somewhat stable investments over time. The thing is, is that you'll never make more than average returns. The reason why we all look at charts, study the company's background, scour news reports, compare competitors, track sectors, project earnings, and all the other research we do is to help us to get an edge on the average return that mutual funds offer us. We have the same options as everyone else, but we choose to take on the added risk and responsibility to manage our own wealth. We are, in effect, our own financial advisors.
I haven't seen the type of behaviour from the mass of people here that I saw in you while reading your post. I was cringing because I thought you made a fast and rash decision with your future wealth. Financial Advisors are human (not Vulcan) so they are just like you and me and are susceptible to errors. If it were me contemplating to put my future wealth into someone else's hands, I would do more research than a phone call to my sister.
I honestly think you would have been better off asking for some help here from the membership. If we had known that you were looking to unload some stocks, we could have helped with an exit strategy. Also, there is a wide base of knowledge here and people could have offered alternative mutual funds or advisors for you. And, I'm sure the membership would be more than happy to explain any reasoning behind their suggestions.
We just want the best for Rob's little sister :)
I hope you don't think that I'm trying to discredit your actions in any way. I'm sure you are very capable of handling yourself. I just want to help you to realize the scope of the investing landscape, and the resource of knowledge that Rob has introduced to you.
I completely understand what you're saying, Doug, about "no commission" being hogwash. However, in this instance, it's not that there is no commission. It's that the commissions on the mutual funds he's putting me into are waived because my sister is an employee.
There's a fee somewhere...I guarantee it...Doug
billyjoe
11-04-2006, 12:06 PM
Mary,
A wise man once told me that if the person who wanted to handle my money wouldn't tell me how he made his , don't trust him. My wife's hospital was bought out by another. A financial planner for the new hospital wanted all new employees to liquidate their 403b accounts and transfer them to the new hospital's plan. I think he got up to 2.5% of everyone's money who did that.
----------billyjoe
Tatnic
11-04-2006, 01:08 PM
I don't have any opinions from anyone here yet but I did receive a telephone call from my financial advisor. After taking a look at my portfolio, he recommended that I sell my Intel, Regeneron and Time Warner stock and use that money plus about half of the available cash in my account to put into mutual funds. He's putting some of the money into funds I already have in my portfolio. He's also adding a fund (with only 10% of my portfolio) called Hartford Capital Appreciation. He said the manager of this fund has averaged 17% growth a year even during the recent bad years in the market. He thinks the fund is "phenomenal" but that if it doesn't stay phenomenal, we can dump it. I took his advice and we'll see what happens. I'm keeping my eBay stock because I want to and because he said that's a good stock to keep. The reason for his recommendation that I get out of individual stock is because of the very limited knowledge I have of the market and the limited amount of time I have to study the market. Even he and his associates, as "experts," only spend a couple of hours a day looking at individual stocks. He said managers of mutual funds look at individual stocks and bonds for a living. Oh, and mentioning bonds reminds me that he's going to add a bond fund to my portfolio "for stability."
mary....he sounds ok to me. I don't know anything about the hartford funds but that return does sounds a little high and not only is past performance no guarantee of future results, there may be some hefty managment fees and front end loads he hasn't told you about. Most of those guys will not recommend vanguard funds because they don't get a kickback on them. But other than that he sounds legit....u.s. treasury bonds are important for income and stability just like he said. A corporate bond fund is not IMO. Make sure you know which one he is talking about..tell him you want a us treasury bond fund, preferably no-load and low yearly fees. In fact you should insist that you want vanguard funds and see what he says. I bet he says he can't.
But a corporate bond fund is not stable...it may pay a higher yield but its not stable.
I don't know anything in particular about rgen, but if it is a biotech, then you should expect alot of volatility if you keep it. With volatile stocks your position should be small so it doesn't keep you up at night worrying about it. And if you already have a nice gain then selling is not so bad either.
Timing is another issue all together. The longer your time framing the less important it is but I think its better to buy stocks and bonds when they're on sale, and sell when they're expensive. But you can also do just fine by buying and holding for a long period of time and making periodic adjustments to fit your current situation....ie Portfolio mixture. You look pretty young so the rule of thumb is to subtract your age from 100, and that number should represent the percentage of stocks in your portfolio. If you're 30, then 70% of your port should be in stocks. If your age gets stuck at 39 then I don't know what to tell you.;)
mary....he sounds ok to me. I don't know anything about the hartford funds but that return does sounds a little high and not only is past performance no guarantee of future results, there may be some hefty managment fees and front end loads he hasn't told you about. Most of those guys will not recommend vanguard funds because they don't get a kickback on them. But other than that he sounds legit....u.s. treasury bonds are important for income and stability just like he said. A corporate bond fund is not IMO. Make sure you know which one he is talking about..tell him you want a us treasury bond fund, preferably no-load and low yearly fees. In fact you should insist that you want vanguard funds and see what he says. I bet he says he can't.
But a corporate bond fund is not stable...it may pay a higher yield but its not stable.
I don't know anything in particular about rgen, but if it is a biotech, then you should expect alot of volatility if you keep it. With volatile stocks your position should be small so it doesn't keep you up at night worrying about it. And if you already have a nice gain then selling is not so bad either.
Timing is another issue all together. The longer your time framing the less important it is but I think its better to buy stocks and bonds when they're on sale, and sell when they're expensive. But you can also do just fine by buying and holding for a long period of time and making periodic adjustments to fit your current situation....ie Portfolio mixture. You look pretty young so the rule of thumb is to subtract your age from 100, and that number should represent the percentage of stocks in your portfolio. If you're 30, then 70% of your port should be in stocks. If your age gets stuck at 39 then I don't know what to tell you.;)
What if you are 101?
Mary...maybe you already mentioned this...But what is your goal (besides making as much as you can)???
Big difference if you are looking for a 10% annual return vs. 30%...Obviously, the higher your goal the more risk there is (generally speaking anyway). ...Doug(IIC)
Tatnic
11-04-2006, 01:20 PM
....u.s. treasury bonds are important for income and stability just like he said. A corporate bond fund is not IMO. Make sure you know which one he is talking about..tell him you want a us treasury bond fund, preferably no-load and low yearly fees. In fact you should insist that you want vanguard funds and see what he says. I bet he says he can't.
But a corporate bond fund is not stable...it may pay a higher yield but its not stable.
one thing to remember is that buying us treasury bonds is the absolute safest investment you could ever make, but bonds do fluccuate in price, and bond funds even more so. If you buy the u.s. treasury bonds (not the fund) your principal is guaranteed. If you buy a us treasury bond fund, your principal, ie your initial investment is not protect by the full faith of the us government, but it is considered pretty darn safe. What I'm trying to say is that if you buy a 5 year us treasury bond for $1,000 and hold it until maturity, you will get your $1,000 back (this is in addition to the interest you've rec'd over that 5 year period). You won't get any capital appreciation like you can get from the bond fund. So that's the trade off... there is a risk to owning a bond fund even if it invests in us treasury bonds, but you get some capital appreciation in addition to the yield. And again, as long as you don't sell it at the worst time then you'll probably do just fine, but you have to be aware that bond funds do fluccuate in price just like stock funds and you can lose money on them if you sell them at the wrong time.
... You look pretty young so the rule of thumb is to subtract your age from 100, and that number should represent the percentage of stocks in your portfolio. If you're 30, then 70% of your port should be in stocks. If your age gets stuck at 39 then I don't know what to tell you.;)
Thank you, kind sir. I was 44 when that picture was taken and am 45 now. This is why I would like to grow my IRA accounts. Based on what I hear in the news these days, it would not be wise to depend on Social Security to support me when I reach retirement age.
In response to Doug's latest post, I don't have a specific percentage set as a goal. My first goal (hopefully short term) is to grow my portfolio back to the worth it had when I first began investing in the stock market. After I reach that goal, my next goal will be to continue to increase my portfolio as much as I can without risk that keeps me awake at night fretting about it.
Tatnic
11-04-2006, 05:21 PM
What if you are 101?
you're probably senile and wrinkly.
Thank you, kind sir. I was 44 when that picture was taken and am 45 now. This is why I would like to grow my IRA accounts. Based on what I hear in the news these days, it would not be wise to depend on Social Security to support me when I reach retirement age.
In response to Doug's latest post, I don't have a specific percentage set as a goal. My first goal (hopefully short term) is to grow my portfolio back to the worth it had when I first began investing in the stock market. After I reach that goal, my next goal will be to continue to increase my portfolio as much as I can without risk that keeps me awake at night fretting about it.
Mary...I would feel "naked" w/o my Sharp EL-733A Financial Calculator in my pocket...But here here some handy calcs on the net: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/easysurf/vfpt2.htm#rra
I've used Financial Pocket Calculators since the early 80's...And the one I mentioned above is the easiest (and cheap too...$35) that I have ever found. Unfortunately, it isn't in any stores I can find anymore...But I just bot my 7th one at http://staples.com ...It is funny...The last 2 times my wife got a new car...2001 and 2003 I went outside real quick and calc'd the payment...Both times I went back in to meet w/ the financial guy at the dealerships when we had decided to go ahead and buy...While they were putting in all sorts of numbers in their computers I scratched my head and blurted out the monthly payment...I was within 2 bux both times...I confessed the first time...But the second time I let the guy think I was RainMan...LOL
Mary...I would feel "naked" w/o my Sharp EL-733A Financial Calculator in my pocket...But here here some handy calcs on the net: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/easysurf/vfpt2.htm#rra
I've used Financial Pocket Calculators since the early 80's...And the one I mentioned above is the easiest (and cheap too...$35) that I have ever found. Unfortunately, it isn't in any stores I can find anymore...But I just bot my 7th one at http://staples.com ...It is funny...The last 2 times my wife got a new car...2001 and 2003 I went outside real quick and calc'd the payment...Both times I went back in to meet w/ the financial guy at the dealerships when we had decided to go ahead and buy...While they were putting in all sorts of numbers in their computers I scratched my head and blurted out the monthly payment...I was within 2 bux both times...I confessed the first time...But the second time I let the guy think I was RainMan...LOL
Sounds like a cool tool to have handy but I'm not sure why you're suggesting it to me. If I buy one, what am I supposed to use it to calculate?
Sounds like a cool tool to have handy but I'm not sure why you're suggesting it to me. If I buy one, what am I supposed to use it to calculate?
I don't know...But I sit out on the deck and figure a lot of stuff...Like I put X dollars in per month and get Y % after 60 months, 120 mos etc...How much will I have?
Guess I'm different...lol...I love to figure stuff out. Like...Say I win the Super Lotto tonight...$13 mil...my lifetime budget is already done...LOL...Just kidding...However, a financial calc is good for figuring out your projected return on different types of investments...Hey...I just had an idea...Maybe I can be your FA?... ;)
I don't know...But I sit out on the deck and figure a lot of stuff...Like I put X dollars in per month and get Y % after 60 months, 120 mos etc...How much will I have?
Guess I'm different...lol...I love to figure stuff out. Like...Say I win the Super Lotto tonight...$13 mil...my lifetime budget is already done...LOL...Just kidding...However, a financial calc is good for figuring out your projected return on different types of investments...Hey...I just had an idea...Maybe I can be your FA?... ;)
How much commission would you charge? ;)
Whoever is keepin' score, put me in VIAC long this coming week.
I just thought of one thing I could use such a calculator for. I am currently having work done on the pool in my back yard. Just got the first installment bill today ($4,000). With a financial calculator, I can figure out how much the monthly payments will increase on the home equity line of credit I'm using to pay for this project. Gotta make sure I don't screw up and forget to change my automatic payment so the bank is getting at least as much money from me per month as they require.
How much commission would you charge? ;)
Whoever is keepin' score, put me in VIAC long this coming week.
I never charge...That way nobody can ask for a refund.
Actually, I do have an offer to compete with SharkTraders that charges about $500 a month...You send me $500...I send you a stock...If it doesn't go up...I refund your $500...YOU CAN'T LOSE... ;)
VIAC...wrong thread...Need to click Portfolio of the Week...Best, Doug
VIAC...wrong thread...Need to click Portfolio of the Week...Best, Doug
Dang! I did that last week too. Why is it so easy to forget that I'm in the wrong thread? Sheesh. I'll go over there now and put in my pick.
spikefader
11-04-2006, 09:37 PM
....What do you people think about REGN?I think it's going to $40.00. I base that on a bunch of technical mumbo jumbo :D
Tatnic
11-05-2006, 07:21 AM
Mary...I would feel "naked" w/o my Sharp EL-733A Financial Calculator in my pocket...But here here some handy calcs on the net: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/easysurf/vfpt2.htm#rra
I've used Financial Pocket Calculators since the early 80's...And the one I mentioned above is the easiest (and cheap too...$35) that I have ever found. Unfortunately, it isn't in any stores I can find anymore...But I just bot my 7th one at http://staples.com ...It is funny...The last 2 times my wife got a new car...2001 and 2003 I went outside real quick and calc'd the payment...Both times I went back in to meet w/ the financial guy at the dealerships when we had decided to go ahead and buy...While they were putting in all sorts of numbers in their computers I scratched my head and blurted out the monthly payment...I was within 2 bux both times...I confessed the first time...But the second time I let the guy think I was RainMan...LOL
some pretty simple calc's...but a spread sheet is even more simple.
mp=AB*(i)*((1+i)^n)/(((1+i)^n)-1))
where mp = monthly payment
AB = amount borrowed
i= monthly interest rate (yearly rate divided by 12)
n=number of months, ie 240 for a 20 year loan
if you put this in a spread sheet its easy to change the variables and see how the output changes. Set up a column for each variable and the last column for MP.
You can also figure payback periods that way...you know, if you want to figure out how long it takes an investment to pay for itself in the savings it generates. The savings would be MP; i would be the rate you borrowed or the opportunity rate for a similar investment if you paid cash; then you keep changing n until MP equals the known savings per month for the investment.
keep all the numbers similar...ie make sure you're using monthly rates and payments or yearly/yearly. An example...say you want to buy a Prius because you think it will save you $50 a month on gas, how long will that take to make the extra $3500 worth the investment? The answer is 85 months...hardly worth the investment. But if you also get a tax credit of say 2000 so your investment is only 1500, then the payback is about 33 months (using a 6% interest rate or 0.5% monthly rate) so if you plan to own the car for 3 or more years and the price of gas does not go down from here its a good investment. Paybacks of less than 3 years are pretty decent.
some pretty simple calc's...but a spread sheet is even more simple.
mp=AB*(i)*((1+i)^n)/(((1+i)^n)-1))
where mp = monthly payment
AB = amount borrowed
i= monthly interest rate (yearly rate divided by 12)
n=number of months, ie 240 for a 20 year loan
if you put this in a spread sheet its easy to change the variables and see how the output changes. Set up a column for each variable and the last column for MP.
You can also figure payback periods that way...you know, if you want to figure out how long it takes an investment to pay for itself in the savings it generates. The savings would be MP; i would be the rate you borrowed or the opportunity rate for a similar investment if you paid cash; then you keep changing n until MP equals the known savings per month for the investment.
keep all the numbers similar...ie make sure you're using monthly rates and payments or yearly/yearly. An example...say you want to buy a Prius because you think it will save you $50 a month on gas, how long will that take to make the extra $3500 worth the investment? The answer is 85 months...hardly worth the investment. But if you also get a tax credit of say 2000 so your investment is only 1500, then the payback is about 33 months (using a 6% interest rate or 0.5% monthly rate) so if you plan to own the car for 3 or more years and the price of gas does not go down from here its a good investment. Paybacks of less than 3 years are pretty decent.
It is easier to use the calculator...Now, give us the formula for annual % gain on a stream of irregular payments...e.g. At the beginning of the year my account has $70,000 in it...I deposit $5,000 on March 10th, $3,000 on May 25th, $4,500 on August 3rd, $6,000 on October 19th...At the end of the year my total account value is $130,000...What was my % gain on an annualized basis? I can figure it out on my financial calculator...but even then I have to read the instructions and have a pencil handy.
Actually, if you really do know that formula I would like to have it...because even on the calculator it takes a long time because you have to input all the periods...I just round off that I put the money in at the closest 1st of the month so I only have to use 12 periods...But if I knew the formula I could set up 365 periods and be more accurate...Doug
spikefader
11-07-2006, 02:48 PM
....I did receive a telephone call from my financial advisor...he recommended that I sell my .. Regeneron REGN
I'd be calling him up and telling him you're disappointed in his timing SssSssSss
Kidding of course, but shoot, you missed some nice % points there...
The chart since your post on Friday..... and feelin' pretty peppy about my prediction for $40.00.
http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/9268/regnnov7zs3.gif (http://imageshack.us)
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