Comments on Fund My Mutual Fund: Bookkeeping: Starting Linn Energy (LINE) Position

Thanks for the heads up - quite a few names we own...

2008-11-06T12:57:00.000-05:00

Thanks for the heads up - quite a few names we own report today; frankly missed this one. Usually I sort my watch lists by %change from highest to lowest and you can tell who reported by who has moved the most - nowadays everything moves 5-10% a day so it's useless! :)

-3% today is like +5% in the old days

Linn announced earnings. Fairly strong from what I...

2008-11-06T12:52:00.000-05:00

Linn announced earnings. Fairly strong from what I can tell. Only down a few % points today

I work closely with MLPs and thus cannot comment o...

2008-10-22T19:34:00.000-04:00

I work closely with MLPs and thus cannot comment on any specifically. I feel comfortable mentioning that there several of the larger cap MLPs that I view as very attractive investments, mainly because of their enormous yields while relatively low risk. Many of these larger players operate FERC regulated pipelines. Not much risk, big yield. I'll email you a research report or two, Mark.

TM - You expressed interest in the Pipeline ETF an...

2008-10-22T18:33:00.000-04:00

TM - You expressed interest in the Pipeline ETF and then noted that it really didn't provide enough return. I agree.. The while point of the return right now is to be able to reinvest it and get some compounding action until the market turns back.

One fund I own right now is ADVDX. This is the Alpine Dividend Fund. Although they're been hammered...The fund is now down to 1/3 of what it was a few years back, in fact it is only down 35% from when i bought it last year due to what was a 14% dividend. That div is now 23%. The fund pays like clockwork and the dividend has not risen or dropped and the fund is at a new yearly low. In essence, the fund managers earn money in three ways (1) buy and sell distressed stocks in good companies (2) Invest in strong dividend payers with good track records and (3) Play the dividend game. Buy the stock before the payment and sell very quickly before the stock drops.

After I purchased, they recognized the public's move to ETFs and originated two ETFs, AOD and AGD. The first parallels the fund and the second is more Global in nature... Both pay a monthly dividend and both are also providing a 23% dividend. Odly enough AOD was actually up today.. Not sure why.

The holdings as shown in Morningstar at : http://quicktake.morningstar.com/fundnet/Holdings.aspx?Country=USA&Symbol=ADVDX are all highest quality.. But due to the buy/sell nature of this fund and the associated ETFs, it's impossible to know what they really have...

Anyway.. If you're looking for some companion ETFs that have a broader base, will move up if our economy ever picks up and does provide a serious and what would seem secure dividend... There they are..

jegan

crappy .... As far as I have heard (and been told ...

2008-10-22T17:09:00.000-04:00

crappy .... As far as I have heard (and been told by CPAs and IRS, there is no taxable income on anything in an IRA.... Having said that, if you buy Canadian Trusts there is a 15% foreigner tax applied that cannot be recovered in an IRA, but can offset income taxes if it is held in a personal account.

You might want to read this which I found when I was trying to make sense of TaxCut:

http://socialize.morningstar.com/NewSocialize/asp/FullConv.asp?forumId=F100000001&convId=172548

jegan

I'd have to ask an accountant. These are held by ...

2008-10-22T14:24:00.000-04:00

I'd have to ask an accountant. These are held by many mutual funds for example just using LINE

http://quicktake.morningstar.com/StockNet/whosbuying.aspx?Country=USA&Symbol=LINE

I would assume the fund would have to deal with the accounting end in terms of the K-1 form and then it would just be a normal divident for fund holders but that's something I'd have to find out before I get started.

Is there an issue/implication with MLPs for retire...

2008-10-22T14:15:00.000-04:00

Is there an issue/implication with MLPs for retirement accounts (in case people have your fund in their IRA)?

Thanks for the zman linkthere are many of these th...

2008-10-22T13:16:00.000-04:00

Thanks for the zman link

there are many of these that now have yields in the 12-20% range so I don't see a need to own one with 8% if the idea is to buy the yield. A lot of people with more knowledge than I have vetted LINE so I'm ok with it. Most sectors I buy I know inside and out but this group is relatively new to me and many many many names - so a lot of people who follow this group day in and day out seem to be ok with LINE so I'll follow them in.

I can't stop loss everything since by that measure I'd be out of 95% of my positions.
Gotta hold something - I'm supposed to be a mutual fund after all.

Sorry! Should have stated that the price has moved...

2008-10-21T21:38:00.000-04:00

Sorry! Should have stated that the price has moved **UP** through its MA20

jegan

I get an Emailed Blog from 'Zman's Energy Brain'.....

2008-10-21T21:36:00.000-04:00

I get an Emailed Blog from 'Zman's Energy Brain'... Very high volume fast paced watch on all forms of energy and commentary etc.. Worth subscribing to... Particularly when things get hopping like hurricane Ike.. The comments section runs several pages... Anyway... Coincidentally, I just received his review of MLPs and how he derived which he would go with. In fact it was LINE. There have been a lot of blogs referencing dividends right now.. Not much on REITS though ;-) ..

Anyway, the article is at :

http://zmansenergybrain.com/2008/10/20/entertaining-mlps/

One comment - Zman refers to an upstream MLP ETF ..'AMZ'. Yahoo has no record.. I presume he may have typoed as he calls it the 'Alerian ETF' as jpassana noted.

BearLinx Alerian MLP Select Index ETN (BSR) pays a dividend quarterly. It dropped from about $32 to $19 and has just moved through it's MA20 on a yearly chart. Dividends run about 48 cents.

($0.48 X 4) / $25.02 = 7.8% return, barring any problems.

You'd probably have better returns investing in single stocks with tight stops. Or playing the dividend game.

do you happen to know the current yield on BSR? Ju...

2008-10-21T20:54:00.000-04:00

do you happen to know the current yield on BSR? Just curious

jegan, there are a million flavors of theseI dont ...

2008-10-21T20:53:00.000-04:00

jegan, there are a million flavors of these

I dont mind a bit less yield for the fact that all their pricing is hedged a few years so in theory they are neutral. Most of the charts look identical I agree.

Wait for oil to fall? Umm its down by 50% :)
I guess it could drop another 50%

jp,
yes I seem to attract a lot of readers who either read Mauldin or own MLPs or CANROYs
I think by waiting I got a better price? ;) They just seem like an investment for older folks (ahem) - I guess I'm aging quickly.

Thanks for the ETF - there are so many flavors of this stuff; someone emailed me a basket of 21 names they bought 2 days ago ranging in yield from like 12% to 30% (the 30% were REITs which I don't want to touch)

Mark - I remember telling you that you should look...

2008-10-21T20:50:00.000-04:00

Mark - I remember telling you that you should look into MLPs long ago. Glad to see Linn up here. For broad exposure, there is an ETF out there that tracks the Alerian MLP Index. It's ticker is BSR

TM.... They all seem to trade in sympathy with oil...

2008-10-21T19:39:00.000-04:00

TM.... They all seem to trade in sympathy with oil .. And as you have pointed out quite often... The all just seem to be proxies.. Pick one or pick another. Best time to buy seems to be when oil is down. Expect a drop after the dividend.

You are correct about LINE and Cramer. And the Lehman issue did seem to impact this company. But if you overlay say HTE, LINE and $XOI you won't see that much of a difference and there are other Trusts that pay a much better dividend. I bought HTE, PGH and PWE recently. Got stopped out of the last two on a market plunge last week, but HTE is still there and it does pay a hefty 22% dividend. Definitely a low risk/high reward. Still suggest using tight stops... Nothing is safe.

jegan