Portfolio X-Ray: A Preview

As part of an effort to write more in August, I have been trying to think of what I could fill some of the days on the calendar. While I haven’t been as proficient thus far this month, this should be the first of at least 12 posts in this series.

In the time since I stopped writing for The Motley Fool, I have actually missed writing about stocks and investing. So in an effort to keep an investor’s eye on the market, as well as give me something to write about, I will be spending the next few weeks examining my own portfolio holdings, taking a look at what led me to purchase the company, as well as any reasons why I might sell my holding in the near future.

I don’t have tens of thousands of dollars invested, but my modest holdings have performed pretty well since I really became serious about investing early last year. As of the close of the market on Tuesday, my portfolio has returned an annualized 18.1%, beating the performance of the S&P 500 by just over 2%. This isn’t super great in the annals of professional investing, but it is still pretty good regardless.

I have written before about my general investing philosophy, and I like to think that a lot of what I wrote there still holds to this day. As I go through my portfolio, however, I might expand and change some of what I have previously written. Currently, these investments represent the beginnings of my retirement portfolio, and once I return again working again, I will begin adding to it again. As it grows, I’m sure it will expand beyond the ten companies listed below, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Without further ado, this is what to expect over the next few weeks as part of this series. As I add the future entries, I will add links below, and I will be covering the companies based on their respective size in my portfolio. Finally, the last entry will cover my watchlist, or the handful of companies that I plan on looking at further when I have funds available to make future purchases.*

*I currently have about 7% of my portfolio held in cash, waiting for the next opportunity, whatever it may be.

Upcoming entries:

• Portfolio X-Ray: LinkedIn
• Portfolio X-Ray: Waste Management
• Portfolio X-Ray: Berkshire Hathaway
• Portfolio X-Ray: Ford Motor Company
• Portfolio X-Ray: Amazon.com
• Portfolio X-Ray: Starbucks
• Portfolio X-Ray: Tesla Motors
• Portfolio X-Ray: Under Armour
• Portfolio X-Ray: Zillow
• Portfolio X-Ray: SodaStream International
• Portfolio X-Ray: My Watchlist

Until next time…