So about 10 weeks ago or so I registered to Play along with CNBC's Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge just to see how things would go with a company that I had been watching rather closely--Revlon (NYSE: REV). Within 10 days I was way down as the stock fell in value. Feeling like not trying to win any longer, I stopped logging in to the CNBC website to check my portfolio holdings.
That's my suggestion: Try your best to remain emotionally neutral. If you've made sound investments and done your research (that would be suggestion number 2: Don't buy something just because your broker or financial adviser says so--do the research yourself and form your own conclusion) you can stick with them and expect to come up a winner. This is exactly what my bet on Revlon reminded me of because out of curiosity this morning I checked-in for the first time in months to see my contest portfolio. This time around I noticed that I was in the top 19% of contestants and had made a nice 8.3% profit--All with Revlon.
Revlon is a great well-known brand--perhaps under performing because of some unwise decisions by management and a reorganization which tends to dilute the share prices a bit etc. But I think in the end if you can put a small highly speculative investment down you might do quite well with Revlon.
I see this happening: Either Ron Perelman's management team will turn this company around completely and make you money; or his management team will remain ineffective and make them a target for a take-over by someone who can integrate their product line and brand into their strategy.
How I'd play Revlon (NYSE:REV): I'd buy 1,000 shares worth of Revlon here and just wait to see what happens. Either you make some cash or you report the loss on your taxes to offset some other gains in your Blue Chip portfolio holdings.
Disclaimer: InvestBlogger is an individual investor and he does make mistakes. He encourages you to do your own research on any idea that you may get from his blog because it may be incorrect. He also encourages you to take ideas you get from this blog and discuss them with your financial adviser before making any investment as your financial position may be very different from InvestBlogger and thus calls for a different strategy.