What Did You Buy Today?

[Kerim]

(08-20-2015, 02:23 PM)jim Wrote:

(08-20-2015, 02:16 PM)Kerim Wrote: More XOM.

Hi Kerim, what your thoughts on RDS and CVX versus XOM please?

I'm afraid my answer will not be so helpful or satisfying. My job prohibits me from investing in CVX, so I don't follow it super closely. My sense is that it is an excellent company and the yield is incredibly tempting. If not for my job constraint, I am pretty certain I'd have some shares of it, though right now I think I'd still be buying XOM. Regarding RDS, I don't have a good reason other than I can't study every company, and the non-US ones tend to turn me off somewhat. I don't know if there are tax implications or paperwork, and I don't want to think or worry about it. Right now, I am scratching my yield itch by nibbling on the health care REITs.

For oil, I think XOM is the biggest and the best, especially in terms of long-term safety. Yes, its yield is lower, but 3.89 percent is plenty nice for me, especially when it is coming from such a giant, stable company. It feels like a no-brainer to me to be stocking up on this core holding while it is at multi-year lows and sporting a yield not seen since....??? Yes, it could go lower still, and who knows what black swan could be right around the corner?

Really, all my yapping about XOM should not suggest that I think it is superior to all other alternatives. But I do know that I want a big position in XOM in the portfolio I am constructing, and you better believe I'm going to buy while prices are down and yields are up!