This is the second week in a two-week stretch in which I am abstaining from the usual $250+ investment into the portfolio, thus maintaining the $250+ per week average. Of course, because I would hear about it from an untold number of readers, I will go through the motions as if an investment were being made this week.
This week, five of the portfolio holdings ranked in the Top Ten: FMCB, MMM, MO, and TDS.
Ticker
Account Value
FMCB
2,895.00
MMM
2,404.65
MO
2,536.34
QCOM
2,636.03
TGT
1,310.50
The lowest amount belongs to TGT. However, an investment into any sector other than Materials will only continue the imbalance in the portfolio, created largely by the outperformance of TDS. However, there are no companies from the Materials sector in the Top Ten. The highest ranked Materials stock would be an existing holding, PPG, coming in at #20. I’d have been tempted to simply go with TGT this week, because they announce earnings on August 16th, and I have a good feeling about that announcement. Next week, when I have to put my money where my mouth is, the decision is likely to be equally difficult.
Given the surge in TDS to above $17, I have chosen to roll up and out once again.
In the same, two-legged, GTC option order:
Buy to Close: (3) November 17, 2023 $17.50 Call Options [Symbol: TDS231117C17.5]
Sell to Open: (3) February 16, 2024 $20.00 Call Options [Symbol: TDS240216C20]
Limit Order Price: Credit of $0.05 per share
I was fortunate enough to get a small credit. Truth be told, I think TDS (and USM for that matter) have risen an awful lot simply because some executives announced that they were looking at ‘strategic alternatives’ for USM. Let’s be honest, don’t we expect the decision makers to be doing this all the time?
Last week’s purchase of 1 share of FMCB for $980, requires that I abstain from the regular $250+ weekly investment for two consecutive weeks in order to maintain a $250+ per week average. This week will count as the first of those two weeks. However, there is $467.45 of accumulated dividends and option premiums available to be invested. The covered calls sold on TDS on Friday brought in enough premium to put the accumulation pool well above the $250 threshold. Why let that money burn a hole in ma pants?!
Read on to learn how this cold, hard cash will be deployed.
Earlier today, I sold three August 18, 2023 $15.00 Call Options [Symbol: TDS230818C15] and collected a $0.55 per share. However, given the afternoon surge in TDS to above $14, I have chosen to roll up and out. The details are below.
In the same, two-legged, GTC option order:
Buy to Close: (3) August 18, 2023 $15.00 Call Options [Symbol: TDS230818C15]
Sell to Open: (3) November 17, 2023 $17.50 Call Options [Symbol: TDS231117C17.5]
I am going to set up a Limit Order on a Good Until Cancelled (GTC) basis. There are 345 shares of TDS in the portfolio and therefore, I can sell 3 contracts this time.
Selling to Open: 3 August 18, 2023 $15.00 Call Options [Symbol: TDS230818C15]
This week, four of the portfolio holdings ranked in the Top 10: FMCB, MMM, MO, and TDS.
Ticker
Account Value
FMCB
1,964.44
MMM
2,573.24
MO
2,638.42
TDS
2,770.35
The lowest amount belongs to FMCB. FMCB last traded at $982.22. Therefore, in order to invest a minimum of $250 in FMCB, I need to purchase 1 share this Monday. As the anticipated investment is greater than $750 but less than $1,000, I will suspend the weekly investment of $250 for two consecutive weeks after this acquisition. In fact, I can invest no more than $997 without causing an exposure breach among the most heavily weighted stocks.
FMCB trades over the counter (OTC), and the current bid/ask spread is $958.75/$1,000.00. I will submit a limit order to purchase 1 share for no more than $980 and then raise the limit gradually, going no higher than $997 until the order processes. I expect I will acquire this 1 share for $985.
If the order doesn’t process on Monday, I may close the order and announce a different trade for the week to be executed on Tuesday. Stay tuned.
Below, is the purchase history and average cost calculation.
This is the final week in a three-week stretch in which I am abstaining from the usual $250+ investment into the portfolio, thus maintaining the $250+ per week average. Nevertheless, I go through the motions for the most devout readers.
This week, four of the portfolio holdings ranked in the Top Ten: FMCB, MMM, MO, and TDS.
Ticker
Account Value
FMCB
1,970.00
MMM
2,399.59
MO
2,644.80
TDS
2,749.65
The lowest amount belongs to FMCB.
Earnings season has kicked off. Two of the positions in the Portfolio for the Ages have already reported their quarterly earnings, PPG and FMCB. Both companies announced record earnings and beat analyst estimates accordingly. It is good to see these two Kings lead the way. Next week we learn how ABBV and MMM faired during the second quarter.
This is the second of three consecutive weeks in which I will abstain from the usual $250+ investment into the portfolio, thus maintaining the $250+ per week average. For those interested, here is how things would have played out.
This week, five of the portfolio holdings ranked in the Top Ten: FMCB, MMM, MO, TDS, and TGT.
Ticker
Account Value
FMCB
1,920.00
MMM
2,352.90
MO
2,638.42
TDS
2,635.80
TGT
1,309.20
The lowest amount belongs to TGT.
There are 13 positions in the portfolio and six of them are in the black. And yet, this week we have a record five portfolio stocks in the weekly Top 10. However, of the five above, FMCB and MO have delivered unrealized gains and TGT is not far off. Recall that those making it to the Top 10 are simply those with the highest expected total returns, not necessarily stocks whose prices have dropped the most.
Last week, I established a position in TGT with the usual $1,000 stake. In addition, another $250 in dividends and option premium had accumulated. However, because the latter funds materialized from within the portfolio itself and were not the result of a capital contribution on my part, only the $1,000 amount requires that I skip my typical weekly investment. This week is the first of three consecutive weeks in which I am abstaining from the usual $250+ investment into the portfolio, maintaining the $250+ per week average. For anyone bored out of their skull, here is what I would have invested in.
This week, four of the portfolio holdings ranked in the Top Ten: MMM, QCOM, TDS, and TGT.
Ticker
Account Value
MMM
2,237.67
QCOM
2,666.62
TDS
3,022.20
TGT
1,300.50
The lowest amount belongs to TGT.
TDS has climbed 25% over the last 10 trading days. The TDS230818C10 option1 sold for a high of $0.40 this past Friday, and if I could sell it for $0.45, the result of assignment at $10, would be such that I would make about $1.00 after adding in the previous option premiums and dividends collected. That’s $1.00 total, not per share. This would be an impressive performance given the entry into this position was at $14.54 per share on 2022-09-26. It is tempting to be able to make 0% on something with such a large negative total return, but I really want to see the next earnings report in early August. After all, investing is not about just outperforming, but outpacing inflation as well.
And Royal Dividends is about achieving an embarrassing amount of wealth2.
1This is a call option on 100 shares of TDS with a strike price of $10 and an expiry of August 18, 2023, that last sold for $0.40 per share or $40.00 per contract.
2Royal Dividends seeks wealth that is so massive one should feel embarrassed just having it. However, the other extreme – having performance so embarrassingly poor that it would have been thought statistically impossible – will also be considered mission accomplished. In other words, you want others to be able to look at your portfolio and marvel at the genius behind the decisions that were made and the sheer amount of wealth that has materialized as a result OR you want to feel the incredulity, pity, and understanding of others at just how improbably terrible your luck has been, despite your evident genius.
This week, four of the portfolio holdings ranked in the Top 10: FMCB, MMM, MO, and TDS.
Ticker
Account Value
FMCB
1,930.00
MMM
2,302.07
MO
2,627.40
TDS
2,839.35
The lowest amount belongs to FMCB. However, purchasing just 1 share of FMCB would cause a breach in stock exposure within the portfolio. More specifically, the six most heavily weighted stocks would be 72.7% of the portfolio, about 1% higher than the maximum allowable weight of 71.7%.
Investing $250 into MMM, MO, or TDS would do the same. Therefore, it is time to add a new position to the Portfolio for the Ages!
