I was thinking yesterday and decided to get back into the stock market. I’ve got my 401k set up and participate in Microsoft’s employee stock purchase program and I get MSFT stock for bonuses, etc. But I don’t really have a diverse portfolio. About half my investments (everything not in my 401k basically) is in MSFT.
I figure that I’ve got a long way to go before I need to retire, so I’m pretty ok with high risk investments. I figure I’ll put between 20% and 50% of my portfolio into high risk stuff and keep the rest in my relatively diverse 401k, which is weighted towards tracking the S&P 500.
With that in mind, I opened up a new Roth IRA account with a bit of money in it. Not sure if I’ll actually qualify for Roth or not, but we’ll see. In any case, I bought some shares in the Harris & Harris Group (TINY) with this money. They’re a venture capital firm which invests solely in nanotech startups and is publicly traded. I’ve long been a fan of nanotech so I figure this’ll get my feet a bit wet in the nanotech world.
Then I sold a few shares of MSFT and with that money bought some Biosante Pharmaceuticals (BPA), Shanda Interactive (SNDA), and Netease (NTES).
Biosante is a small drug company that is working on hormone therapy delivered by a gel you apply to your skin. They have something in the pipeline for female sexual dysfunction, which is something that could be bigger than viagra.
Shanda and Netease are both Chinese companies traded in the US. They both make and sell MMOGs (massively multiplayer online games) which are very popular in China. The sad thing about Shanda is it’s already had quite a run up, but China’s a big country with a very small portion of its populace online. They’re getting online though and they’re the sort that like to play computer games. Netease has not had the same runup as Shanda this year (though it did very well last year), but has only recently gotten into the gaming business.
And no, I didn’t just come up with these picks out of the blue. I went over to fool.com and read up on the industries I was interested in and made a few picks. We’ll see how they do. I figure every once in a while I’ll cash out some MSFT and diversify a bit more.
Bigger than Viagra? Had the insurance companies entertained the demand for Viagra, the demand was HIGHER THAN FOR ANTIBIOTICS, which I find a little silly, particularly when the insurance companies are reluctant to pay for a) birth control, and b) maternity care. I\’d also wager that female sexual dysfunction is more likely to be psychological than physiological (because in the US, only Beyonce gets to be the naughty girl).
You weren\’t kiddin about high risk. I love the fool. I have fun making pretend portfolios and seeing how they do.
Yeah, but Amy there are plenty drugs that effect psychology as well as physiology (and this is one).And yes, risk is great, but note to self: don\’t buy stocks when they\’re about to go down for a couple days. Instead, buy them a couple days later.I plan to diversify some more in a couple weeks. What will I get?! Who can say!!