I decided to look at selecting a portfolio of stocks I would be comfortable putting into an IRA for 10 years. My main criteria was companies with a history of large positive cash flow (that seemed likely to continue that trend).
The 10 stocks I came up with are (closing price on 22 April 2005 - % of portfolio invested):
- Templeton Dragon Fund (TDF - 16.40 - 16%) - a closed end mutual fund investing in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore… This one doesn’t fit the criteria but does a great job of filling out the portfolio in my opinion.
- Dell (DELL - 36.43 - 12%)
- Toyota (TM - 72.42 - 12%)
- Google (GOOG - 215.81 - 12%)
- Pfizer (PFE - 27.22 - 8%)
- Amazon (AMZN - 33.04 - 8%) They are only just starting to generate cash but I like their prospects.
- Intel (INTC - 23.24 - 8%)
- Petro China (PTR - 61.68 - 8%) Investing in PTR is based on the potential for China, the prospects for oil over the next 10-20 years and Warren Buffet’s ownership of the stock.
- Cisco (CSCO - 17.43 - 8%)
- First Data (FDC - 37.48 - 8%)