ALEXANDRIA, VA (Nov. 26, 1999) -- Brian called on the phone today to let me know that he is "immobile in bed," overstuffed with turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. The image is not pretty. On the phone, I asked him, calmly, if his bottle of Risperdal was on the night-stand next to him, and he reassured that, yes, his "anti-psychotic drugs are always within easy reach."
That good holiday cheer out of the way, I'm fairly certain that, being Fools, many of you haven't yet had a chance to read Wednesday's sincere holiday Drip column, which I personally believe is important only because it addresses charity and, specifically, Fool Charity. So, if you haven't visited the Fool the past few days, please click to Wednesday's column. Every year at this time, we address Fool Charities in the Drip Port, and Wednesday was when we did so this year. If you're in a position to give something to others, even very little, please see how you can help others as a Fool:
During this shortened week, we had only two other columns. I wrote about my favorite food and beverage company on a subjective basis (see Tuesday), and George ran the numbers on Scientific-Atlanta(NYSE: SFA) on Monday.
To avoid more "reading backlog" for Fools who are partaking in the holiday and have not signed on for a few days, today's column will end right about now. The Fool appeared on the stage briefly today, donning bright and cheerful colors, and now the curtain is beginning to descend on him. "Thank you, all!" he says. "Have a great weekend, and... oh, wait!"
The curtain rises again. The lights brighten.
"One more thing. We'll be sending this month's $100 investment to Mellon Bank(NYSE: MEL) on Monday. Thank you, now. And have a great weekend!"
dividend adjusted. Dividends have been added to the total return of the index.
• S&P 500 (DCA) =
dollar cost average. Dollar cost averaged version of the S&P that assumes an investment in the S&P 500 on the same date and in the same dollar amount as each Drip trade.
Notes: The Drip Portfolio has been divided into 117.000 shares with an average purchase price of $24.786 per share.
Drip Port launched with $500 on July 28, 1997, adds $100 to invest every month, and the goal is to own $150,000 in stock by August of the year 2017. Due to the slow nature of dollar-cost-averaging and our relatively significant starting costs, we do not expect to seriously challenge the S&P 500 for the first three to five years as we build an investment base. The long-term advantages of dollar-cost-averaging still overcome the short-term disadvantages, however. Final note: our investment in Campbell Soup is frozen due to fees instituted in its investment plan. Click here for a history of all Drip Port transactions.
