Tuesday, June 17, 2008

RRSP Purchase - General Electric

I just made a purchase of some shares of General Electric (GE) in my RRSP. Here are some of my reasons for buying GE.

The shares are currently selling at a multi-year low -- that last time its shares were that cheap was 5 years ago! As a results, it sports a dividend yield of 4%, it's highest in recent history. Better yet, the company is bringing in plenty of cash to pay for those dividends, and will keep increasing that dividend in the future (although the next increase may be modest).

This spring's surprise miss send the price of its shares into a tailspin. Many consider GE to be a proxy for the US stock market. People are talking of recession, which scares investors. That is usually the time to go looking for bargains. As Warren Buffet says, "Be greedy when others are fearful."

The company has a good position in green products. They are very much present in the alternative energy businesses, such as wind and nuclear power. Electronics, financial services, infrastructure. You name it, they are everywhere.

Many analysts complain that this company is too complex and too big to be easily analyzed. Me, I simply look at the results -- they make money for their (share)owners, and they keep increasing how much money they make. Maybe the company will restructure, sell parts of the business, or spin off some of it. As a shareowner, any of these will probably be positive. If nothing happens, I will keep collecting that 4% dividend. And the market will recover.

The position I initiated is modest -- I don't know if the price is the lowest it will go. If it goes down some more, I may decide to increase my stake in the company.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Net Worth Update

As of June 1st, my net worth is $69 366 (up 8.5% from $63 938). If I exclude house-related assets and liabilities, my net worth is $46 155 (up 4.5% from $44 187). Our insurer revised the value of our house this month, which caused a big jump in our global net worth. On the other hand, we also had a municipal tax payment to do, so our liquidities went down.

Assets ($142 117, up 3.1% from $137 779)
  • Bank Accounts $2 762 (down 23% from $3 614)
  • Emergency Funds $2 700 (stable)
  • RRSP Accounts $36 214 (up 4% from $34 815)
  • Non-Registered Investments $8 309 (up 7.3% from $7 742)
  • Home $86 100 (up 4% from $82 800)
  • Arbitrage $5 000 (stable)

Liabilities ($72 751, down 1.5% from $73 840)

  • Credit Cards $4 204 (down 12.4% from $4 799)
  • Student Loan $1 152 (down 18% from $1 408)
  • Mortgage $56 036 (down 0.2% from $56 145)
  • Heat Pump Loan $6 853 (down 0.7% from $6 904)
  • Arbitrage $4 310 (down 2.1% from $4 402)

Both my registered and unregistered investments performed well this month, which explains the increase in net worth even when excluding the house. Credit card debt alsodecreased significantly, as the car repairs from last month were paid off. Overall, a very good month!