Coca Cola or PepsiCo shares

Linton

gkerr4 wrote: »

fair enough - and you have done well to find those funds, 17% a year isn't great though, and even that isn't indicative of most funds.

each to their own though, right enough.

Interesting to note your final para - clearly you research your funds, similar to researching individual stocks - and i congratulate you for that but this research is exactly what i mean.

but it isn't fair to assume, or indicate, that anyone can dump money in any fund and come out with 120% in 5 years!

I assume from your comment that you must be getting more than this. It would be interesting to know your secret. I would be ecstatic if my investing over the past 5 years averaged that sort of return.

simarks

gkerr4 wrote: »

fair enough - 17% a year isn't great though

You just lost any credibility. 17% would do nicely.

grey_gym_sock

you can pick a north-american large-capitalization actively-managed fund which beat the index over the last 5 years, but can you pick 1 which will beat the index over the next few years? persistent outperformance is rare, especially in NA large-cap. a tracker is the obvious way to go.

you could pick your own individual shares, but you need a lot of cash to invest to be able to buy a decent number (perhaps 20) at a reasonable cost. and buying overseas shares tends to be more expensive when you're based in the UK. and since NA should be only part of a portfolio, your total portfolio needs to be even bigger (perhaps a few £100k) before it's cost-efficient to buy a portfolio of individual NA shares.

ruperts

gkerr4 wrote: »

IMO - Most people, with a little study, can happily take on their own financial future and do reasonably well.

Not really. When it comes to growth in the share price of individual companies, you can't have a winner without a loser, so it is certainly not possible for "most" people to be winners, much less winners to the tune of more than 17% per year.

merlingrey

Buy Berkshire Hathaway B shares (warren buffet holds a large amount of Coca-cola along with other companies) instead.

Berkshire is a bit like a fund except the management doesn't keep swapping about, it's more like you are splitting the money between stuff and having it stay there for good.

It's not something i personally would do because they will struggle to make the returns of days past but i believe it is better a bet than sticking it all on just Coca-Cola.

Linton

grey_gym_sock wrote: »

you can pick a north-american large-capitalization actively-managed fund which beat the index over the last 5 years, but can you pick 1 which will beat the index over the next few years? persistent outperformance is rare, especially in NA large-cap. a tracker is the obvious way to go.

you could pick your own individual shares, but you need a lot of cash to invest to be able to buy a decent number (perhaps 20) at a reasonable cost. and buying overseas shares tends to be more expensive when you're based in the UK. and since NA should be only part of a portfolio, your total portfolio needs to be even bigger (perhaps a few £100k) before it's cost-efficient to buy a portfolio of individual NA shares.

If you were seeking broad NA exposure I would agree with you.
However, the GAM fund highlighted invests predominantly in midcap shares so its very different to a NA tracker.

gkerr4

Linton wrote: »

I assume from your comment that you must be getting more than this. It would be interesting to know your secret. I would be ecstatic if my investing over the past 5 years averaged that sort of return.

There's no secret - it just takes a lot of research and work - read a lot of books on investing and trading. I think that books like "the naked trader" are great for new and experienced traders alike and can help people turn in good profits.

I also think that the US markets are better equipped for private investors - the resources that a site like CNBC help investors stay connected to the markets and help try and explain the connection between interest rates and the markets and wider economic decisions. It's all interesting.

I've been trading and investing for years - mostly with small sums, its only recently (last few years) i've started to grow it properly and start to take it seriously. I'd like to make a full time effort of it, but understand that is very difficult.

Like most, i have good years and bad years, but turned a genuine 33% last year on my portfolio. The main thing i am focussing on this year to improve is financial management - when to take losses and setting targets - to plan a trade and trade a plan.

gkerr4

simarks wrote: »

You just lost any credibility. 17% would do nicely.

thats a fair comment - i shouldn't knock 17%.

certainly, we'd all take it if it were guaranteed.

IronWolf

bigfreddiel wrote: »

In his most recent shareholder letter, Buffett said that Berkshire’s ownership interest in all four companies (American Express (AXP), Coca-Cola (KO), IBM (IBM) and Wells Fargo (WFC)) is likely to increase in the future. At yearend, they have a total unrealized gain of $26.7 billion. Berkshire received $1.1 billion of dividends from those shares.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gurufocus/2013/03/07/warren-buffett-mentions-top-4-companies-to-shareholders/

Because of share buybacks though, not because he is buying more shares.