My Stock Portfolio

I manage a stock portfolio of approximately $100,000 with my grandma as custodian. Since August 1993, I have accumulated 8 stocks, which I received as gifts from my parents for getting good grades and for winning math contests. My portfolio is the seed money for my college funds and future career. Although I make all of the buy and sell decisions for my portfolio, legally, my grandma is the custodian. Here are some highlights of my short investment experience.

• I bought my first shares of Microsoft stock in August 1993.
• My Microsoft shares doubled in value on March 23, 1995.
• My Microsoft shares more than tripled in value as of June 1996.
• My Lotus stock went up about 30 dollars per share on June 5, 1995 when IBM announced its purchase of Lotus.
• The setback on my investments has been Novell. I bought it on October 1993 at $19.50 per share. Now it is selling at $11/share. As a shareholder, I absorbed some of the losses from Novell's buying and selling of WordPerfect and UNIX.
• My roller coaster stock is LSI. I saw the price move from $25 to $38, but now it is down to $18. I decided to buy LSI because my aunt works there, and I liked the technology "computer on a chip." In the long run, LSI should be profitable.

My other stocks are

• Intel - The company has a dominant position in microprocessors in PCs. I saw the stock split 2-for-1, and its stock price has almost doubled since I bought it.
• Coke - They make my favorite drink, Sprite. Coke, an American icon, is well known internationally. Its financial data looks good with high margin and return on equity. I will hold on to Coke for a long time. It has split 2-for-1 since I bought it.
• Telefonos de Mexico - I was bottom-fishing when the Mexican market crashed. I am considering selling this stock because of deregulation in Mexico.
• Circus Circus - My family enjoyed staying at Circus Circus when we visited Las Vegas. They provided good service, and it was always full. Under new management, Circus Circus applied the megastore concept to the casino industry, building new casinos, such as Luxor and Monte Carlo. It will become a leader in its industry.
• Spyglass - I bought this stock recently after having had a good experience on the new Microsoft Explorer 3.0. Spyglass is considered the "Intel" of the Internet industry. Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, and others have licensed their Internet technology from Spyglass. In my opinion, it has strong growth potential.

I welcome your suggestions and hope you share your investment experiences.

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