Renewed Focus for 2014

I come into 2014 with renewed focus on my investments, and my strategies. 2013 was a very good year for my retirement accounts as well as my trading accounts. I finished the year with some "house keeping" that sees me rollover a net loss from a tax perspective. I also come into the year with a plan to realize some gains that are on the cusp of long-term.

I will put together a second post with details about my fixed income, ETF, and general retirement strategy later this week. For now, the early stock moves of 2014

From an individual stock prescriptive I used proceeds from my loss sales of 2013 to purchase American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL) at below book value. The airline industry has been hot, and started out 2014 even hotter. In a short week I already have +6% in gains on this long-term purchase. I intend to hold this stock through the integration of US Airways.

Holders of United Continental Holdings Inc (UAL) have been rewarded handsomely, to the tune of +71% gain over the past year (and +144% over the past 2yrs) as United completed its merger with Continental Airlines.

Clearly there is no guarantee that the economy or industry will do as well over the next two years, but as a frequent traveller it is not hard to see how these airlines are making their money. I believe this was a good buy, and even a value play in a high flying (pardon the pun) sector. Any stock trading below book value, even a forward book value, is either a bargain or on their way to bankruptcy. American is just emerging from bankruptcy and I don't believe creditors would have accepted a deal that would put them right back into it.

I am also stepping into an area that has never really been a success for me, retail. For the most part I have gotten out of every retail stock I have picked within a matter of months, and almost always for a loss. So far this looks like no exception.

Coming off a poor showing at the end of 2013, and lots of public gaffes, I took a stab at Lululemon Athletica (LULU). The stock hovered up for a day or two, before promptly rewarding me with a -16% drop today. I did not have a stop-loss in at 15% (which I sometimes do for these more risky plays), as I expected some fluctuation. I also only bought about 1/3 to 1/2 of what I would like my total stake to be. I do not plan to use this drop as an opportunity to buy the rest of my stake, as I would like to see how (if) it recovers from this latest news. If it shows an ability to recover over the next 10 days to two weeks, then I will consider doubling up on my stake (with a stop-loss order in place).

Other stocks squarely on my radar include tech stocks, many of which I already own. Atop that list would be Google (GOOG), Intel Corporation (INTC), and Apple (AAPL), all of which I have stakes in already. Also on that list would be Amazon.com (AMZN), QUALCOMM (QCOM), and Juniper Networks (JNPR). I would be looking to sell my remaining stake in Cisco Systems (CSCO) at or above $25. I will hold, but not add to, SolarWinds (SWI) which took a beating last year despite a great product.

For details on my preferred share plays, and other dividend stocks for 2014, catch my next post