Individual stocks vs ETFs

[Dividend Watcher]

(10-08-2014, 04:59 PM)Joey Batz Wrote: The ETF idea was just a hedge against, well, myself. I'm rapidly learning, but I'm still in the learning phase nonetheless.

That is perfectly understandable. When you are faced with such a steep learning curve, and really it's not that bad, you tend to want something to give you a sense of security. Hell, I'm still learning.

Of this list, tell me which ones will be out of business or teetering on it in 20 years:

COP/CVX/XOM/JNJ/BDX/PG/CL/GIS/KO/PEP/GE/EMR/MMM/UTX/T/VZ ?

Maybe the oils will have to adapt but I bet so will the others.

That's why we often mention core companies in our portfolios. I think any of the above, if you buy with a P/E less than 20 (and for some that's a little high), will still be here 20+ years from now even if you don't read a single word about them in the interim. On top of that, you'll most likely have made money whether you reinvested the dividends or used them for other purchases. But that's me.

The other factor is your own temperment. If you need an ETF, bond fund or money market fund to enable you to sleep at night, then that's what you need to do. The worst thing is to be nervous and take an adverse action (like selling at the bottom) to mess up your plan. Had to edit this -- the worst thing you can do is listen to me, the former is probably the 2nd worse thing to do.