OCR Text |
Show C M Y K March 19, 2009 Page 7 The Garfield County Insider Upgrade Your Portfolio in 2009 Article Provided by Brandon Henrie, Financial Advisor for Edward Jones Investments. It’s no secret that 2008 was rough on most investors. And 2009 didn’t get off to a particularly good start, either. Yet there’s still plenty of time left this year to upgrade your investment portfolio in a way that can help you stay on track toward your long-term goals. But what exactly does it mean to “upgrade” your portfolio? Do you have to systematically go through your investments and eliminate all those that performed poorly last year? Or should you just sell of any investments that you think are risky? Neither one of these ideas are good solutions. In the first place, a severe bear market such as we’ve experienced tends to drag everything down, even quality investments. Furthermore, you can’t get rid of all investments that carry some risk — because all investments carry some risk. So, instead of taking either of these two drastic approaches, consider the following moves: Review your portfolio objectives. Your investment objectives are based in large part on your risk tolerance and your stage of life. If these factors have changed, you may need to rebalance your portfolio. In fact, it’s a good idea to rebalance your holdings at least once a year, no matter what’s going on in the markets or in your life. Increase your portfolio’s quality. Right now, you can find many quality investments that are very attractively priced. In past market recoveries, these types of investments usually have recovered faster than lowerquality ones. And because the biggest gains usually occur early in market rallies, you don’t want to wait too long to explore these opportunities. Don’t overload on a single investment. In general, it’s not a good idea to have a single stock take up more than five percent of your portfolio. In recent months, many investors have learned the hard way about the dangers of holding too much stock in a single company — even one that once appeared to be a “blue chip” firm. And the same principle applies to your employer’s stock — if it’s offered as an option in your 401(k), don’t go overboard on it. Own a sufficient number of stocks. How many stocks should own to diversify the equity portion of your portfolio? There’s no one right answer for everyone, but to really attain proper diversification, you may need to own at least 20 or 25 stocks, spread out among all the major industry sectors. Of course, diversification, by itself, cannot guarantee a profit or protect against a loss, but it can give you more chances for success while helping reduce the effects of volatility on your portfolio. Invest in a range of fixedincome securities. Just as you need to own a reasonable amount of stocks, you should also own a number of fixed-income vehicles — perhaps 10 to 20, depending on your situation. You can diversify these holdings by purchasing different types of bonds — corporate, municipal and Treasury — and certificates of deposit. To further diversify, buy fixedincome vehicles with varying maturities. You can’t control the economy or the financial markets. But by following the proven techniques described above, you can help control your own financial destiny. Take action soon. C M Y K C M Y K AG MARKET NEWS Receipts: 853; Last Week : 1,509. Last Year: 1,259. Feeder Steers: mixed but mostly 1.00-2.00 higher, except 500 lb wts 3.00-4.00 higher. Feeder Heifers: mixed 400-700 lbs 4.00-5.00 higher, other wts 1.00-2.00 higher. Holstein Steers: steady. Slaughter Cows: firm to 1.00 higher. Slaughter Bulls:steady. Feeder Steers: Medium and Large Frame 2: 200250 lbs scarce; 250-300 lbs scarce; 300-350 lbs scarce; 350-400 lbs 110.50-120.00; 400-450 lbs 110.50-117.00; 450-500 lbs 106.50-117.25; 500-550 lbs 109.00-119.25; 550-600 lbs 99.50-110.00, pkg 557 lbs 115.50; 600-650 lbs 95.75-106.00; 650-700 lbs 85.00-95.25; 700-750 lbs 81.00-90.00; 750-800 lbs 80.25-88.50; 800-850 lbs 82.50-83.75; 850-900 lbs 75.00-82.00; 900-950 lbs scarce; 950-1000 lbs 73.0076.50. Holsteins Steers: Large Frame 3 Baby Bull Calves: scarce; 200-300 lbs scarce; 300-500 lbs 55.00-57.00; 500-700 lbs 51.50-64.00; 700-900 lbs 54.50-62.50; 900-1000 lbs 49.00-53.00. Feeder Heifers: Medium and Large Frame 1-2: 200250 lbs scarce; 250-300 lbs 86.00-92.00; 300-350 lbs 89.00-100.50; 350-400 lbs 96.00-106.00; 400-450 lbs 97.00-111.50; 450-500 lbs 93.50-104.50, pkg 473 lbs 108.25; 500-550 lbs 94.25-103.50; 550-600 lbs 81.50-90.75; 600-650 lbs 82.00-91.00; 650-700 lbs 81.50-89.50; 700-750 lbs 78.00-84.00; 750-800 lbs 78.00-82.00; 800-850 lbs 78.00- 81.25; 850-900 lbs 78.50-79.00; 900-950 lbs scarce; 950-1000 lbs 62.0064.50. Heiferettes: 39.50-66.50. Stock Cows: Medium and Large Frame1: scarce. Slaughter Cows: Boning 80-85% Lean: 38.25-44.10; Breaking 75-80% Lean: 38.25-41.75; Commercial: scarce; Cutter 85-90% Lean: 30.25-38.00. Slaughter Bulls: Yield Grade 1000-1500 lbs 53.50-54.50; 1500-2165 lbs 60.75-69.25; Yield Grade 2 1000-1500 lbs 48.00-51.25; 1500-1935 lbs 55.25-58.25; Feeder Bulls 940-945 lbs 52.50-63.50. HOW IS K-12 FUNDED? C M Y K 1. State Income Taxes $2 billion | 55% of total funding As mandated by the Utah State Constitution, 100% of state income taxes (both individual and corporate) must go towards K-12 and higher education. In the 2006-07 school year, state income taxes accounted for 55% of the funding for K-12 public education. 2. Property Taxes - $2 billion | 55% of total funding 56% of property taxes went directly to local public school districts in 2007. In the 2006-07 school year, property taxes accounted for 29% of the funding for K-12 public education. The property taxes that go towards public education are set by the State Legislature and local school districts. 3. Federal Taxes $310 million | 9% of total funding Federal taxes funded 9% of the total dollars spent on Utah’s K-12 education system in the 2006-07 school year. Given the complexity of the federal tax system, it would be impossible to identify which specific federal taxes go towards Utah’s K-12 public education system. 4. State Sales Taxes - $7.7 million | 0.2% of total funding Only $7.7 million of state sales taxes went towards K-12 public education in Utah. Most of the revenue from state sales taxes is used for other state expenses besides K-12 education. 5. State Liquor Profits - $22 million | 1% of total funding 100% of state liquor profits go towards K-12 public education. In the 2006-07 school year, state liquor profits accounted for 1% of the funding for K-12 public education. 6. School LAND Trust Fund - $15 million | 0.4% of total funding Utah has 3.3 million acres of land that produce revenue. The interest from this revenue goes directly to public schools where school community councils decide how to spend the money. In the 2006-07 school year,the School LAND Trust Fund accounted for only 0.4% of the funding for K-12 public education. 7. Other Local Sources - $255 million | 6% of total funding Other local sources funded 6% of the total dollars spent on Utah’s K-12 education system in the 2006-07 school year. Other local sources consist of donations, interest on school district funding reserves, etc. Utah’s Tax Burden Utah’s total tax and fee burden as a percent of personal income increased from 5.76% in FY2005 (revised) to 16.08% in FY2006. Utah’s ranking, however, improved from 5th highest to 8th highest. Excluding fees, Utah’s tax burden at 11.34% of personal income ranks 20th and is just slightly above the national average of 11.24%. When all state and local government revenue is included, Utah ranks 11th highest. |