Sell Apple stocks now? Or wait?

Fiftyshades

I have done very well with my Apple investments last year, It looks very high to me, or will it go even higher?

Will apple lose the smartphone war or remain topdog?

Fiftyshades

Even if Samsung fails to overturn the ruling, it only applies to the US market in any case. And it doesn’t even apply to Samsung’s latest popular model - the Galaxy SIII.

In Asia for example, lots of people can’t afford iPhones. But mobile phone makers can use Android to give them cheap smartphones. This is why the Android operating system is on 60% of the world’s smartphones right now.

And other phones increasingly have features that make them more attractive than the iPhone in their own right. Samsung and HTC make phones with bigger screens and replacement batteries. They don’t tie customers into their software either (unlike iTunes). Throw in the fact that these phones are cheaper than the iPhone, and it looks like Apple’s moat has lots of leaks.

Giving away Android to mobile phone operators strengthens this position, which is why Apple wants to stop it in its tracks by the back door. Apple is trying to move away from Google by removing YouTube and Google Maps from its operating software.

But can it do without Google search? More importantly, can Apple keep charging high prices to tie people to its products? We don’t think it can. That’s why it may be time to sell Apple shares and buy Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) instead.

http://www.moneyweek.com/investment-advice/share-tips/apple-shares-and-the-smartphone-wars-60300

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But Google also looks high to me. Almost everything looks too high at the moment, I want to sell and wait for something to look cheap and better value.

DiggerUK

I have not held any type of equities since 2007, preferring gold. many say gold is in a bubble.
But when you consider how many companies are in the 'apple' type of product, then it is only a matter of time before some new company knocks them off their pedestal.
Gambling on stocks means you can't expect the same old nag to keep on winning.

I suspect that the high apple price has more to do with desperate investors piling in to the latest hot share, turbo charging the price.
That is a similar charge leveled against gold holders, difference is, gold has no competitors.
..._

grey_gym_sock

DiggerUK wrote: »

gold has no competitors.

what about tins of baked beans?

both are a store of value.

but only 1 of them could be eaten in an emergency.

gadgetmind

I've done very well with a number of players in the smartphone arena, some of them big names and others much more "behind the scenes".

I've been taking profits on AAPL for some time and will continue to do so. This isn't because I think they are heading for a fall but simply because this sector represents too much of my total holdings and I need to diversify.

Fiftyshades

grey_gym_sock wrote: »

what about tins of baked beans?

both are a store of value.

but only 1 of them could be eaten in an emergency.

How could I invest several thousands of pounds in tins of baked beans? I haven't got the storage space for a start, and even if I did in 10yrs time I would most probably have to throw them away because no one would want to buy them and they would be too old to eat. So maybe not such a great store of value after all.

Fiftyshades

DiggerUK wrote: »

I have not held any type of equities since 2007, preferring gold. many say gold is in a bubble.
But when you consider how many companies are in the 'apple' type of product, then it is only a matter of time before some new company knocks them off their pedestal.
Gambling on stocks means you can't expect the same old nag to keep on winning.

I suspect that the high apple price has more to do with desperate investors piling in to the latest hot share, turbo charging the price.
That is a similar charge leveled against gold holders, difference is, gold has no competitors.
..._

Thanks DiggerUK, you have got me thinking. I never thought about gold before. But the more I look into it the more I wish I thought of it years ago.

Gold also looks high to me, but then again everything I look at does.

If I was to sell out of my entire Apple position which I want to when I decide somewhere better to put it, then how would one go about investing just under £10K in gold?

Voyager2002

Fiftyshades wrote: »

Thanks DiggerUK, you have got me thinking. I never thought about gold before. But the more I look into it the more I wish I thought of it years ago.

Gold also looks high to me, but then again everything I look at does.

If I was to sell out of my entire Apple position which I want to when I decide somewhere better to put it, then how would one go about investing just under £10K in gold?

Gold and Apple are both things to have bought a few years ago.

The gold price always rises in a recession because it is attractive to investors who want safety and security. Conversely, it falls at a time of economic recovery as those same investors put their capital into companies that are recovering and making money in the economic conditions. So unless you are really on the ball, able to see what is coming and respond ahead of the market, you are likely to lose by investing in gold at the moment.

The article linked above makes an interesting case that the future lies with Google, rather than Apple. Personally I think that Apple is a good company with enormous strengths in product design and marketing, so even if they lose a lot of the smart-phone market and their share price falls, there would be a price at which it would make sense to pile into them.

gadgetmind

Fiftyshades wrote: »

Gold also looks high to me, but then again everything I look at does.

What method are you using to value good and "everything" else?

Note that comparing to past trading range has proven to be a *very* unreliable metric.

Fiftyshades

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Gold and Apple are both things to have bought a few years ago.

The gold price always rises in a recession because it is attractive to investors who want safety and security. Conversely, it falls at a time of economic recovery as those same investors put their capital into companies that are recovering and making money in the economic conditions. So unless you are really on the ball, able to see what is coming and respond ahead of the market, you are likely to lose by investing in gold at the moment.

The article linked above makes an interesting case that the future lies with Google, rather than Apple. Personally I think that Apple is a good company with enormous strengths in product design and marketing, so even if they lose a lot of the smart-phone market and their share price falls, there would be a price at which it would make sense to pile into them.

Yes I wish I bought Google earlier as well as gold.

The new Iphone5 is trying not to use Google which I think is a mistake. Everyone uses googlemaps, and even if they use another search engine not having youtube will be a big mistake for Apple.

Google was very smart to buy youtube.

Your reasons for not buying gold seem to be along the lines of you think a recovery is expected soon so gold will decline. I can see no recovery but things getting worse, so am seriously thinking about getting a little gold, I haven't got any. Everyone always used to put 10% into gold and hope it didn't go up. Well it is going about 20% per year for over a decade now.

Found a place looks reputable enough, but don't know which coins or bars to get. Also how much to buy so I get the cheapest price per gram of gold?

grey_gym_sock

Fiftyshades wrote: »

How could I invest several thousands of pounds in tins of baked beans? I haven't got the storage space for a start, and even if I did in 10yrs time I would most probably have to throw them away because no one would want to buy them and they would be too old to eat. So maybe not such a great store of value after all.

storage is an issue, i agree.

they're not too old too eat after 10 years. tinned food basically keeps for ever. pay no attention to the "use by" date.

i am perfectly serious in suggesting that tinned food has similar investment properties to gold. neither produces an income. both have inherent protection against inflation. if you look beyond the short term ups and downs (which could make you win or lose - who knows?), neither is likely to appreciate in real value. 1 difference is that there is a more developed secondary market in gold. i'm not sure which is more volatile (in price ). neither is a sensible investment for more than a tiny percentage of a portfolio.