Don't Spend Your Bonus...Invest It! Here's How
When I was working as an Investment Counselor at a $40 billion money management firm, my job was to manage a book of around $150 million. It was difficult work at times - building relationships with 120 clients and making sure that their investment portfolio was working towards their long-term goals was the main task, but we also had to make sure our clients understood what was happening in the capital markets at all times. With the 24-hour news cycle, it's easy in the world today to allow fear and emotion to influence the investment decision making process, and my job was to keep emotion out. Any time there were volatile markets - which is often - it meant long hours and lots of hand-holding.
But like many hard workers out there, there's a reward for the effort. That reward came in the form of quarterly bonuses, depending on how well you performed.
Over the years I developed a system for how to deal with bonuses. When I received them, the very first thing I would do is pay down any interest-bearing debt I had. Period. I'd zero out my credit accounts faster than Usain Bolt in a track race.
Then, I'd allow myself one modest purchase - a plane ticket, a nice new kitchen appliance, maybe some new running shoes. Whatever it was, it could only be one item. That was a hard and fast rule. No exceptions!
Then, with whatever was left over, I would invest it with a long-term approach in mind. I set it in my mind that I would use my bonus money to buy stocks I really liked, companies I believed in, companies I thought would continue to do well far into the future. But here's the thing - I wouldn't invest in those companies with the mindset that I wanted to make a quick buck. I was buying stocks with the vision that 20, even 30 years from now I'd still have shares of the company, and that over the years I was constantly purchasing shares. It was my homage to Warren Buffet, who would surely back such a strategy (and has before).
So, over the course of the six years I worked there, every quarter I'd go through the same routine. At the beginning of my tenure, I chose 3 stocks I liked. They were: Costco (ticker: COST), Visa (ticker: V), and Salesforce (ticker: CRM). To this day, I own those three stocks in my portfolio (amongst other holdings), and I've owned them now for the better part of 12 years.
Here's been my return on each of them:
Costco: +268%
Visa: a little over +450%
Salesforce: +2,000%
You read that last number right. I've made a 2,000% gain on my Salesforce shares. I made a long-term commitment to a strategy and I've stuck with it, and plan to continue sticking with it as long as I'm a fan of those three companies. I still very much am today.
Investing your bonus can be a lot of fun, especially when you see your bonus turning itself into bonus after bonus after bonus with gains in the stock market. You worked for your bonus, let it also work for you!
Now that you're ready to invest your bonus or any extra cash you have, you need ideas. You can generate fresh ideas right here on Tickeron.com, by using the DivScore feature or engaging with the state of the art Artificial Intelligence you'll find on this website. Explore ideas, pick one that you like, then see it through.
COST in upward trend: 10-day moving average crossed above 50-day moving average on January 31, 2025
The 10-day moving average for COST crossed bullishly above the 50-day moving average on January 31, 2025. This indicates that the trend has shifted higher and could be considered a buy signal. In of 15 past instances when the 10-day crossed above the 50-day, the stock continued to move higher over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .
Technical Analysis (Indicators)
Bullish Trend Analysis
The Momentum Indicator moved above the 0 level on January 15, 2025. You may want to consider a long position or call options on COST as a result. In of 83 past instances where the momentum indicator moved above 0, the stock continued to climb. The odds of a continued upward trend are .
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for COST just turned positive on January 17, 2025. Looking at past instances where COST's MACD turned positive, the stock continued to rise in of 42 cases over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .
COST moved above its 50-day moving average on January 27, 2025 date and that indicates a change from a downward trend to an upward trend.
Following a 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where COST advanced for three days, in of 373 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .
The Aroon Indicator entered an Uptrend today. In of 431 cases where COST Aroon's Indicator entered an Uptrend, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued Uptrend are .
Bearish Trend Analysis
The RSI Indicator demonstrates that the ticker has stayed in the overbought zone for 8 days. The longer the ticker stays in the overbought zone, the sooner a price pull-back is expected.
The Stochastic Oscillator demonstrated that the ticker has stayed in the overbought zone for 13 days. The longer the ticker stays in the overbought zone, the sooner a price pull-back is expected.
Following a 3-day decline, the stock is projected to fall further. Considering past instances where COST declined for three days, the price rose further in of 62 cases within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are .
COST broke above its upper Bollinger Band on February 03, 2025. This could be a sign that the stock is set to drop as the stock moves back below the upper band and toward the middle band. You may want to consider selling the stock or exploring put options.
The Tickeron Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for this company is (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating low risk on high returns. The average Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for the industry is 60, placing this stock better than average.
The Tickeron Price Growth Rating for this company is (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating outstanding price growth. COST’s price grows at a higher rate over the last 12 months as compared to S&P 500 index constituents.
The Tickeron PE Growth Rating for this company is (best 1 - 100 worst), pointing to outstanding earnings growth. The PE Growth rating is based on a comparative analysis of stock PE ratio increase over the last 12 months compared against S&P 500 index constituents.
The Tickeron SMR rating for this company is (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating very strong sales and a profitable business model. SMR (Sales, Margin, Return on Equity) rating is based on comparative analysis of weighted Sales, Income Margin and Return on Equity values compared against S&P 500 index constituents. The weighted SMR value is a proprietary formula developed by Tickeron and represents an overall profitability measure for a stock.
The Tickeron Valuation Rating of (best 1 - 100 worst) indicates that the company is significantly overvalued in the industry. This rating compares market capitalization estimated by our proprietary formula with the current market capitalization. This rating is based on the following metrics, as compared to industry averages: COST's P/B Ratio (19.455) is slightly higher than the industry average of (8.187). P/E Ratio (62.976) is within average values for comparable stocks, (41.367). COST's Projected Growth (PEG Ratio) (6.419) is very high in comparison to the industry average of (2.903). COST has a moderately low Dividend Yield (0.004) as compared to the industry average of (0.023). P/S Ratio (1.843) is also within normal values, averaging (1.307).
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Fundamental Analysis Ratings
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General Information
a company which sells goods through membership warehouses
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