by Ms. Meacham: Money Maven
Member since:
December 14, 2005

CNBC.com Portfolio Challenge; Report your results here.

May 09, 2008 02:25 PM UTC (Updated: May 16, 2008 03:56 PM UTC)
views: 0 | comments: 81

It's Back...and it's Bigger and Better! Are you ready for the second CNBC.com Portfolio Challenge? All you need to do is register with a CNBC.com account, and you can create FIVE separate portfolios with $1,000,000 CNBC Bucks each. That means you can trade five different strategies for your chances to win....

Register today at CNBC.com for this year's portfolio challenge. The new challenge begins May 12.

Note that this year's challenge includes both stock and currency trading. I'm jazzed about the currency trading, as I've done quite well in picking international currencies that have gone up in value over the years. (BTW, the farther the dollar falls in value, the better international currency looks!) The top winner gets $500,000 with cash and other prizes to finalists. Give yourself a chance to get acquainted or re-test your skills in the market, and perhaps take home a nice prize as a result.

For more on last year's challenge, check out The Bottom Line EXTRA: Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge. Feel free to post your own results this year, under the common tag of portfolio challenge. Search for other posts using "portfolio challenge" in quotes. Let's have some fun seeing how we stack up!

CNBC.com's 2008 Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge 

Comments: 81

Janet B. May 9, 2008, 2:37pm UTC
Good Luck!
Happy Mother's Day weekend.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 9, 2008, 2:42pm UTC
You too Janet B.
LaRue B. May 9, 2008, 5:02pm UTC
Thanks for the information.
Chick J. May 9, 2008, 6:13pm UTC
Sounds like fun but where do I find time? : - }
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 9, 2008, 7:23pm UTC
RE: Sounds like fun but where do I find time?

I'm dealing with the same issue Chick J. However, this contest was very informative for me last year, and I can't wait to try my hand at online currency trading, that it's worth it for me to find the time each day to check in on and maintain my CNBC.com portfolio. They usually have interesting (dare I say fun?) financial questions each day for extra points, so that's added incentive to check in on my picks. Meanwhile, I'll be considering the time invested as an actual investment in my financial future. Here's hoping it pays off.... : - }
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 9, 2008, 7:23pm UTC
My pleasure LaRue B.
Jo C. May 12, 2008, 4:06pm UTC
I know I'm not ready but since I was featured today, I made sure to give you a shout out here:
Yay for Ms. Meacham!
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 12, 2008, 5:19pm UTC
Thank you Jo C. Oh, and you are so ready!
Jo C. May 13, 2008, 1:19am UTC
Well, I might try it then...maybe. I'm pretty conservative, though, so maybe I'll just wing it.
Pat D. May 13, 2008, 7:40pm UTC
I signed up again this year, but I am finding the site just too annoying to bother. As of this morning, the currency trading was unavailable.
I'll let you know how it goes.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 14, 2008, 3:04pm UTC
Thanks Pat. Currency trading was disabled on Monday due to technical details, and it appears it may not be offered at all if the problems aren't fixed. I'm bummed about that.

You're right that the trading options are different this year, and a bit difficult to navigate. However, after a small amount of trial and error I was able to figure it out. I've set up five portfolios, ranging from "Wimsy" picks to "Necessary Evils" (petroleum investments, here I come....). I did get off to a late start actually selecting my buys, which I did last night. If they're processed today as they should, then I should see the first results as of close of trading (NY time) today....

Here's crossing my fingers.
Jo C. May 15, 2008, 2:20am UTC
I registered and now I'm working on the rest of it. Working hard. I'm so technically challenged but I'm getting better at links :)
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 15, 2008, 2:45am UTC
Congratulations Jo C. You're one step in. Note that, even without trading virtual stocks, you can earn additional money for your portfolio each day by answering the Bonus Bucks questions.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 15, 2008, 2:46am UTC
P.S. The link for the Bonus Bucks is in the upper right of the CNBC.com contest page.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 15, 2008, 2:53am UTC
P.S.S. I'm in the top 14 percent right now with my portolios (interestingly that's the same percentile I scored in the LSAT). I just completed my first trades last night, so the bulk of the gains are bonus points and a few friend referrals.
Pat D. May 15, 2008, 7:36pm UTC
When I tried to sign in today, the contest pages would not load. I give up.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 15, 2008, 8:46pm UTC
Pat, I have the same trouble when trying to log in, especially when checking the "Remember me on this computer" input box. It's easily solved by clicking the back arrow on my browser. Either I re-enter my information again or it automatically goes to my portfolio window. Frustrating, I know. But the underlying functionality is really fun to be involved in.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 15, 2008, 8:48pm UTC
MY FIRST PORTFOLIO RESULTS

Today is the first day of results reflecting the stocks that I selected on Tuesday. I have five portfolios, and all are up for the day. Whooo hooo! (knock on wood)

Game Rank Name Total Value* Gain/Loss, Overall
108846 Whimsy $1,024,748.20 24,748 (+2.5%)
104606 Bluechip $1,025,650.13 25,650 (+2.6%)
69165 Madmoney $1,034,300.85 34,301 (+3.4%)
110574 Necessary Evils $1,024,395.92 24,396 (+2.4%)
26911 Greenteam $1,052,505.60 52,506 (+5.3%)

* Value as of 5/15/08 at 6:55pm EST.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 15, 2008, 9:10pm UTC
I just learned that the daily trivia questions for bonus points must be answered between 6:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Bummer. I missed the questions for today.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 16, 2008, 2:27pm UTC
Here's a new video on the process: http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=738635576
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 16, 2008, 4:06pm UTC
Here are my results for today:

Game Rank___Name_______ Total Value* __Gain/Loss, Overall
108846_______Whimsy______$1,024,748.20_____24,748 (+2.5%)
104606_______Bluechip______$1,025,650.13_____25,650 (+2.6%)
69165________Madmoney____$1,034,300.85_____34,301 (+3.4%)
110574_______Necessary Evils_$1,024,395.92____24,396 (+2.4%)
26911________Greenteam____$1,052,505.60_____52,506 (+5.3%)

* Value as of 5/15/08 at 4pm EST.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 16, 2008, 4:08pm UTC
This is only the second day that I've completed the bonus questions for extra trading dollars, so all things concidered I'm doing really well! (Knock on wood again....)

Anyone else want to share your results?
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 16, 2008, 4:08pm UTC
Pat, did you ever get in?

Jo. C?
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 19, 2008, 6:12pm UTC
The prize for the top Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge trader this week is a nice one: three day/two night accommodations for two at Sea Island, "Georgia's luxurious hidden gem, the butler-serviced Sea Island Suite at The Cloister." Consequently, I'm very disappointed that I wasn't able to get in to answer today's bonus questions in time.

Meanwhile, my portfolios are still up -- though a number of picks within those portfolios are down. I'm tossed up between buying more of the stock, presuming it will go back up; holding it through the week; or reallocating it.

Game Rank__ Name_____ Total Value*______ Gain/Loss, Overall
107245______ Whimsy____ $1,034,498.70______ 34,499 (+3.4%)
94148_______ Bluechip____ $1,038,168.35______ 38,168 (+3.8%)
33060_______ Madmoney__ $1,065,447.45______ 65,447 (+6.5%)
43996_______ Necessary Evils_ $1,058,291.14___ 58,291 (+5.8%)
31829_______ Greenteam__ $1,066,408.80_____ 66,409 (+6.6%)

Currency trading is still unavailable.
Pat D. May 19, 2008, 10:47pm UTC
I have not tried again. Life is too short for crappy web sites.

(Gee maybe thats why I don't spend much time on gather anymore)
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 20, 2008, 12:39am UTC
Missing you Pat! Thanks for checking in. The most recent Gather.com upgrade has been hard on a lot of us. I'm told that there will be another upgrade rolling out soon, which I'm previewing tomorrow. Here's keeping my fingers crossed....
Pat D. May 20, 2008, 7:27am UTC
Its just too slow to navigate around gather now.
I looked over the announcement about the upgrade, and it does not address any of the things that I find irksome about the site.

Basically, the message I am getting is that the site does not want readers, only writers. Did someone forget that writers need an audience?
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 21, 2008, 3:45pm UTC
; ) Pat. Oh so true.

Meanwhile, here's my results from yesterday. I answered the questions today, but haven't answered the bonus questions for either Monday or Tuesday. So this week is shot.

Game Rank__ Name____ Total Value*___ Gain/Loss, Overall
120913______ Whimsy___ $1,031,907.43___ 31,907 (+3.2%)
96828_______ Bluechip___ $1,040,483.83___ 40,484 (+4.0%)
23914_______ Madmoney_ $1,087,592.15___ 87,592 (+8.8%)
79013_______ Necessary Evils $1,048,281.97_ 48,282 (+4.8%)
54467_______ Greenteam__ $1,061,711.45__ 61,711 (+6.2%)

* Value as of 5/20/08 at 4pm EST.

Also, of note, currency trading is back as of today. Let's give this a shot....
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 21, 2008, 3:54pm UTC
The currency trading is a little weird. First, it gives only a limited number of options, and it's unclear exactly what you're trading (what does USD/EUR mean?) Are you going from U.S. Dollars to Euros? That would seem to make sense, except the whole contest IS IN U.S. Dollars, and there are other options before the slash too. Also, there's no way to search by country through the contest page -- so you just have to pick and choose randomly (at least how I did it until I figure this whole FXCM currency trading option out out).
Pat D. May 22, 2008, 3:11pm UTC
usd/eur is selling the U S dollar, and buying the Euro. As far as I understand all currency trading denominated in U S dollars, just like oil.
Just think of it as points and not dollars and it will make sense.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 22, 2008, 4:00pm UTC
I've figured it out now Pat, but it would have been nice to have some sort of key. Maybe next year.... ; )

Meanwhile, here are my standings for yesterday's trading:

Game Rank__ Name______ Total Value___ Gain/Loss, Overall
123152_____ Whimsy_____ $1,022,033.70_ 22,034 (+2.2%)
104644_____ Bluechip_____ $1,028,985.87_ 28,986 (+2.9%)
24680______ Madmoney___ $1,084,797.42_ 84,797 (+8.5%)
45883______ Necessary Evils_$1,062,821.41_ 62,821 (+6.3%)
43042______ Greenteam___ $1,065,213.77_ 65,214 (+6.5%)

* Value as of 5/21/08 at 4pm EST.
ʚϊɞ Carol ʚϊɞ May 22, 2008, 6:30pm UTC
Very interesting.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 22, 2008, 7:20pm UTC
The results for today's trading are in. I've added currency to all but my Madmoney portfolio, but the gains or losses on those buys won't show up in the tally until tomorrow or Monday.

Game Rank__ Name____Total Value____Gain/Loss, Overall
80343_____ Whimsy___ $1,038,678.15__ 38,678 (+3.9%)
78479_____ Bluechip___ $1,039,749.57__ 39,750 (+4.0%)
19708_____ Madmoney_ $1,090,901.45__ 90,901 (+9.1%)
35509_____ Necessary Evils_ $1,071,683.81_ 71,684 (+7.2%)
5238______ Greenteam_ $1,129,612.37__ 129,612 (+13.0%)

* Value as of 5/22/08 at 6:23pm EST.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 22, 2008, 7:23pm UTC
Woo hoo! I'm actually in the top 5,000 places on one of my portfolios with today's returns. That's pretty amazing considering the hundreds of thousands of participant portfolios.

Here's hoping the streak continues (knock on wood) during the week when a seat at a World Series of Poker event is up for grabs! I'd have a blast playing Texas Hold'em, a real numbers game, with the field of what will likey be thousands for a stab at prizes in the millions of dollars. Here's crossing my fingers.....
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 27, 2008, 4:28pm UTC
Another day, another dollar. I got in too late today (1:20 p.m. PST) to answer today's quiz questions. Question answer time closes at 4 p.m. EST, so I missed it by 20 minutes. Drat! Meanwhile, I did grab my portfolio stats:

Game Rank__ Name____Total Value____Gain/Loss, Overall
89360______ Whimsy___$1,032,671.30__ 32,671 (+3.3%)
71935______ Bluechip__ $1,042,934.98__ 42,935 (+4.3%)
27664______ Madmoney_ $1,083,566.24_ 83,566 (+8.4%)
32676______ Necessary Evils_ $1,077,252.21_ 77,252 (+7.7%)
7084_______ Greenteam_ $1,127,775.81_ 127,776 (+12.8%)

* Value as of 5/25/08 at 4pm EST.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 27, 2008, 4:29pm UTC
BTW, thanks Carol for stopping by. I'll send you an invitation to join the portfolio challenge directly, if you'd like. Just drop me a line through my Gather mailbox.
Jo C. May 27, 2008, 9:21pm UTC
I didn't get past registering, sorry (hanging head in shame) But I did write about an incident (not here) that cost me money and costs us ALL money. Your take?Read on:

The situation: Son hurts foot in gym. Teacher suspects broken foot, requires parent (typing away, per usual) to get son. Son is x-rayed, sent home on crutches, with 4 pages of hospital paperwork. SAME teacher says he will not be excused from final exam without hand-written doctor's note!

Please keep in mind: The teacher witnessed the incident. Student had an "A" in class , not irrelevant, because there is no history of avoiding gym (he loves it, in fact). The teacher felt the student should leave class and did not inform parent of the rule that a hand-written note would be required and hospital paperwork, SIGNED, would not suffice.

The kicker? Hand-written notes cost $25. Who pays for that? Not health insurance companies. After my reasoning with the teacher, a fax was deemed sufficient. Doctor grumbled anyway.
Jo C. May 27, 2008, 9:22pm UTC
I hope you will reveal your stock and other choices to us at the end :)
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 27, 2008, 11:31pm UTC
Jo C., what an awful situation. Sounds like you handled it with gumption though, and got what was needed done without paying out an extra $25 in the process. You're a stock trader in the making.... ; )

Meanwhile, I definitely will reveal my pics here soon. I'm been leaving them as they are for now, not wanted to fiddle with success... ; )
Jo C. May 28, 2008, 1:48am UTC
I'll be waiting eagerly :)
You know I'm a fan, anyhow. And yes, school systems around here do a wonderful job of educating parents in how to advocate for themselves :)
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 28, 2008, 1:29pm UTC
Monday was a trading holiday, so here are my results so far this week (as of Tuesday):

Rank____ Name_______ Total Value_____ Gain/Loss, Overall
73823___ Whimsy______ $1,046,765.59__ 46,766 (+4.7%)
60741___ Bluechip_____ $1,056,656.32___ 56,656 (+5.7%)
37674___ Madmoney___ $1,079,047.57___ 79,048 (+7.9%)
40848___ Necessary Evils_ $1,075,542.70__ 75,543 (+7.6%)
7350____ Greenteam___ $1,134,732.96___ 134,733 (+13.5%)

* Value as of 5/27/08 at 4pm EST.
Jo C. May 28, 2008, 10:34pm UTC
Look at the jump in that one portfolio -wow! Good going, Ms. Meacham!
Laurun M. May 29, 2008, 10:42am UTC
I'm pretty lucky at this but I'm not knowledgeable on the topic. Thanks for the tips.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 29, 2008, 12:55pm UTC
Wednesday's results are below. Goooo Greenteam! (Thanks Jo C. for noticing.)

Rank_____ Name_______ Total Value___ Gain/Loss, Overall
69054____ Whimsy______ $1,066,593.96_ 66,594 (+6.7%)
58109____ Bluechip______ $1,076,188.94_ 76,189 (+7.6%)
29620____ Madmoney____ $1,109,089.58_ 109,090 (+10.9%)
44410____ Necessary Evils_ $1,090,194.25_ 90,194 (+9.0%)
3049_____ Greenteam____ $1,190,165.23_ 190,165 (+19.0%)

* Value as of 5/28/08 at 4pm EST.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 29, 2008, 9:11pm UTC
I made a little ground today on several of my portfolios, though a number of the stocks in my individual portfolios took some major hits and the "all star" Greenteam portfolio dropped in overall ranking. I'll start off with my overall standings for the day:

Rank___ Name______ Total Value_____ Gain/Loss, Overall
58135___ Whimsy_____ $1,078,400.41___ 78,400 (+7.8%)
44182___ Bluechip_____ $1,093,895.49___ 93,895 (+9.4%)
36813___ Madmoney___ $1,103,239.91___ 103,240 (+10.3%)
30093___ Necessary Evils_ $1,112,875.78__ 112,876 (+11.3%)
3065____ Greenteam___ $1,195,305.85___ 195,306 (+19.5%)

* Value as of 5/29/08 at 6:18pm EST.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 29, 2008, 10:34pm UTC
Now I'll give you all a peak of my current porfolios. I'm testing out some stocks right now, and researching some replacements, so you'll be able to watch the results at the same time I'm watching them. Note that trading in this contest cannot be done mid-day. You can only buy one day for the purchase to take effect the next (or two days later if you buy after the market closes). The inability to do real-time trading is a bit frustrating, but it does teach you some market patience....

Portfolio 1
$1.078M*Total Portfolio Value
Top 8.3%* Game Rank
58135th* Game Rank Position
11,806 (1.1%)* Gain, Intraday
45,729 (4.4%)* Gain, Weekly
78,400 (7.8%)* Gain, Overall

Symbol_Name____ Price_ Intraday Value_Change_Shares__%
AMZN___Amazon.com__$80.35__$102,040___+343___1,269.9__10%
CMC___Comm. Metals__$34.63__$234,736___-8,405__6,778.4__24%
DIS____Walt Disney___$33.81___$88,800___-131____2,626.4__9%
PSA____Public Storage_$87.68__$228,058___+4,084__2,601.0__23%
TRK____Speedwy Mtrsp._$25.23_$211,106___+1,255__8,367.2__22%

as of 5/29/08 at 4pm EST
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 29, 2008, 10:35pm UTC
One down. I've got to head to a dinner invite. I'll post more later.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven May 30, 2008, 7:31pm UTC
I'm back with overall results for today, Friday, May 30:

Rank___Name_______ Total Value_____ Gain/Loss, Overall
48506__Whimsy_______ $1,107,109.66__ 107,110 (+10.7%)
49028__ Bluechip______ $1,106,449.52___106,450 (+10.6%)
34167__ Madmoney____ $1,126,371.45___126,371 (+12.6%)
25392__ Necessary Evils_ $1,141,068.06__ 141,068 (+14.1%)
5151___ Greenteam____ $1,204,814.07___ 204,814 (+20.5%)

* Value as of 5/30/08 at 6:09pm EST.
Pat D. Jun 2, 2008, 4:01pm UTC
You are getting some impressive results there Ms Meacham. !

I have been concentrating on my real portfolio. This whippy choppy market is providing a lot of opportunity., but it requires diligent monitoring and quick decisions.
Dana H. Jun 2, 2008, 11:52pm UTC
I saw this on the Suze Orman show and signed up. Then I found your post. Look like you've been doing really well.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven Jun 3, 2008, 1:09pm UTC
RE: This whippy choppy market is providing a lot of opportunity., but it requires diligent monitoring and quick decisions.

I completely agree Pat. Regrettably, the CNBC software doesn't allow for mid-day buys or sells, so the ups and downs in my individual portfolios are crazy!

Here are my overall totals for yesterday, where I lost a little on the Greenteam portfolio:

Rank__ Name_______ Total Value_____ Gain/Loss, Overall
58106__ Whimsy_____ $1,099,231.36___ 99,231 (+9.9%)
60723__ Bluechip____ $1,096,152.36____ 96,152 (+9.6%)
36261__ Madmoney___ $1,128,911.96___ 128,912 (+12.9%)
22184__ Necessary Evils_ $1,154,575.26__154,575 (+15.5%)
8956___ Greenteam___ $1,193,552.05____193,552 (+19.4%)

* Value as of 6/2/08 at 4pm EST.
Pat D. Jun 3, 2008, 7:41pm UTC
You are still WAY ahead of any of the averages!
Well done.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven Jun 4, 2008, 4:06pm UTC
Ohhh, thank you so much Pat! I needed the perspective.

Here are my results for yesterday, where I saw a dive in the Bluechip stocks, and my Necessary Evils portfolio, but received an unexpected gai in the Whimsey category!

Rank___ Name________ Total Value______ Gain/Loss, Overall
49227__ Whimsy______ $1,113,567.87____ 113,568 (+11.4%)
64101__ Bluechip______ $1,094,228.02____ 94,228 (+9.4%)
34419__ Madmoney____ $1,136,374.09____ 136,374 (+13.6%)
28494__ Necessary Evils_ $1,146,912.03____ 146,912 (+14.7%)
9332___ Greenteam____ $1,198,659.76____ 198,660 (+19.9%)

* Value as of 6/3/08 at 4pm EST.

I made some trades in my Whimsy portfolio, hoping to hold onto and continue the gains (as I'm thinking some of the stocks I just saw gains in will go back down soon). I'll post my new picks soon.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven Jun 5, 2008, 3:27pm UTC
Some solid gains in yesterday's portfolios! Whooo hoo. It's nice to see my Greenteam stock recover its previous losses. Here's the rundown:

Rank___ Name_______ Total Value_____ Gain/Loss, Overall
40625__ Whimsy______ $1,129,807.85___ 129,808 (+13.0%)
56674__ Bluechip______ $1,105,760.57___ 105,761 (+10.6%)
33068__ Madmoney____ $1,142,679.47___ 142,679 (+14.3%)
28756__ Necessary Evils_ $1,150,676.42___150,676 (+15.1%)
5457___ Greenteam____ $1,226,947.38___ 226,947 (+22.7%)

* Value as of 6/4/08 at 4pm EST.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven Jun 6, 2008, 2:24pm UTC
And the Greenteam pulls through, up 27.6 percent over the course of CNBC's Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge. Of interest, however, is that this bump didn't change the rank of the portfolio that much -- perhaps 5,000 other portfolios have the same stocks.... ; ) On another note, the Blue Chips stocks are sinking. These are the stocks used for the NASDAQ and Dow Jones averages. So, it tells me that although the main indexes may be dropping (as they have been today with oil up $9 a barrel), that is not reflective of the rest of the stock market.

Here are Thursday's results:

Rank___ Name_______ Total Value_______ Gain/Loss, Overall
44200__ Whimsy______ $1,157,154.88____ 157,155 (+15.7%)
58881__ Bluechip______ $1,134,707.72____ 134,708 (+13.5%)
29949__ Madmoney____ $1,183,235.60____ 183,236 (+18.3%)
25016__ Necessary Evils_$1,193,983.73____ 193,984 (+19.4%)
5215___ Greenteam____ $1,275,967.29____ 275,967 (+27.6%)

* Value as of 6/5/08 at 4pm EST.
Jo C. Jun 9, 2008, 1:19am UTC
Your results are indeed impressive! I'd sure like to know your system or any mentors or techniques used, especially in today's tight economy. Notice? I've been practically checking this thread hourly!
Jo C. Jun 9, 2008, 1:21am UTC
Also, any explanation for Amazon's results? Interesting!
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven Jun 9, 2008, 2:46pm UTC
The secret is bonus bucks Jo C. ; ) I've still outpaced millions of other portfolios though with some of my picks and I count that as luck and a little bit of market know how. I did abysmally in last year's portfolio challenge, so chalk it up to a bit more experience as well....

Meanwhile, here are my results from Friday (where, interestingly, I lost percent on the Greenteam portfolio but gained overall ranking... hmmmm):

Rank___Name_______ Total Value_____ Gain/Loss, Overall
49760__ Whimsy______ $1,130,574.95___ 130,575 (+13.1%)
60501__ Bluechip_____ $1,114,227.42____ 114,227 (+11.4%)
20544__ Madmoney___ $1,188,433.01____ 188,433 (+18.8%)
17519__ Necessary Evils_ $1,196,895.96__ 196,896 (+19.7%)
4857___ Greenteam____ $1,258,957.23__ 258,957 (+25.9%)

* Value as of 6/8/08 at 4pm EST.

P.S. In retrospect, I had a clear idea of the kinds of stocks I wanted to buy before making my picks (I chose the names first, then picked stocks to fit). I based the portfolio types on ones I bought would do well in today's market. Not a bad strategy, if I do say so myself.... ; )
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven Jun 9, 2008, 2:46pm UTC
Or rather, "ones I thought would do well."
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven Jun 9, 2008, 7:35pm UTC
And my results for today:

Rank__ Name_______ Total Value______Gain/Loss, Overall
54273__ Whimsy______ $1,127,217.20__ 127,217 (+12.7%)
52616__ Bluechip______ $1,129,874.33__ 129,874 (+13.0%)
15656__ Madmoney____ $1,211,320.17__ 211,320 (+21.1%)
13257__ Necessary Evils_ $1,220,014.69__220,015 (+22.0%)
7092___ Greenteam____ $1,250,562.83__ 250,563 (+25.1%)

* Value as of 6/9/08 at 6:37pm EST.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven Jun 9, 2008, 8:46pm UTC
Now, a peek into my current portfolios. Here's the Greenteam portfolio. Quite a number of my stock picks here took a dive, which was a bit unexpected as this portfolio has been steadily growing over the weeks and for a while was in the top 5,000 of the millions of portfolios in the competition. I did purchase several new stocks of late though, and it appears those are the ones that took the plunge. So much for impulse buys! I downloaded a guide to other green stocks and will be checking that out soon to find replacements for ones that continue to under perform.

Greenteam Portfolio Results for June 9, 2008 
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven Jun 9, 2008, 8:48pm UTC
P.S. If you click the charts you'll get the full image results.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven Jun 9, 2008, 8:53pm UTC
Now for the Necessary Evils profile, which saw a nice rise today. All of my picks for this portfolio were up except for the newest pick of the bunch. Here's hoping tomorrow the rest will continue their upward trend and the lagger will catch up....

Necessary Evils Portfolio results for June 9, 2008 
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven Jun 9, 2008, 9:01pm UTC
Here are the results for my Madmoney porfolio. All of the picks come directly from Jim Cramer's "Mad Money" CNBC television-show picks. I ran this portfolio to get a feel for how well his picks are actually performing. Not bad at all!

Madmoney Porfolio results for June 9, 2008 
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven Jun 9, 2008, 9:07pm UTC
Here are the picks for my Bluechip porfolio. Okay, these may not all be actual blue chip stocks, so that may be where I'm stearing this portfolio wrong. It's floundered in the second to last spot out of my five portfolios in the challenge. You'll note that Apple took a big dump today, on the heals of its new iphone release. Hmmmmm.

Bluechip portfolio results for June 9, 2008 
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven Jun 9, 2008, 9:12pm UTC
That will teach me to pick stocks based on whim.... Here's my current Whimsy porfolio picks, selected soley because they sounded like fun. Great picking philosophy for sure. ; ) What's wild about this, is that Wynn Resort earlier last week was names as one to watch (I guess that means it wasn't one to buy....) and Public Storage usually does pretty well during down times in the economy. Amazon.com, meanwhile, is on a trip of its own.

Whimsy Porfolio results for June 9, 2008 
Jo C. Jun 9, 2008, 11:12pm UTC
This is truly educational and totally fascinating. I'm going to keep an eye on your portfolio picks. Like you, I'd have gone with Public Storage (so many people out of their homes, need storage) and (not keeping up with recent developments) wonder why Apple is down. Probably something obvious that I haven't kept up with. Super information, well presented here!
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven Jun 10, 2008, 1:35am UTC
Thanks Jo C. It's been fun, and educational, trying my hand at this portfolio challenge.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven Jun 11, 2008, 3:22pm UTC
I'll definately have to make a few new picks this week, in hopes of improving my overall averages. I have yet to get to the bottom of what detirmines the weekly winners this year. Is it overall game rank for that week, or highest percentage gain for the week. Depending on the answer, the startegy for purchases would be different. For example, if it's the latter then if I'm thinking I'm out of the running for the top spot I might let a stock ride while it heads down -- so that I can pick up a rapidly rising stock at the end of the week (for a next week, Monday, buy) that would drastically benefit the percent increase of my portfolio the following week. Just a few things to consider....

Meanwhile, here are Wednesday's portfolio results:

Rank___ Name________ Total Value_____ Gain/Loss, Overall
42095__ Whimsy_______ $1,141,006.10___ 141,006 (+14.1%)
35571__ Bluechip_______ $1,154,238.22___ 154,238 (+15.4%)
15780__ Madmoney_____ $1,205,074.73___ 205,075 (+20.5%)
14190__ Necessary Evils__ $1,210,820.30___ 210,820 (+21.1%)
5397___ Greenteam_____ $1,255,803.41___ 255,803 (+25.6%)

* Value as of 6/10/08 at 4pm EST.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven Jun 12, 2008, 3:52pm UTC
Here are my portfolio results for Wednesday (P.S. It was a fall in Hansen Soda this week that caused my Greenteam portfolio to languish. I don't expect it to rebound soon, so today I put in an order to sell all by 1 percent of that stock off.)

Rank___ Name_______ Total Value_____ Gain/Loss, Overall
39273__ Whimsy______ $1,141,928.82___ 141,929 (+14.2%)
34808__ Bluechip______ $1,151,438.08___ 151,438 (+15.1%)
17223__ Madmoney____ $1,198,511.84___ 198,512 (+19.9%)
11346__ Necessary Evils_ $1,221,634.89___ 221,635 (+22.2%)
9948___ Greenteam____ $1,228,319.93___ 228,320 (+22.8%)

* Value as of 6/11/08 at 4pm EST.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven Jun 12, 2008, 4:01pm UTC
Correction: "all BUT 1 percent"
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven Jun 13, 2008, 2:14pm UTC
And Thursday's results are as follows (some improvements in Greenteam thanks to the buys and sells I made yesterday):

Rank___ Name_______ Total Value_____ Gain/Loss, Overall
36074__ Whimsy______ $1,154,354.90___ 154,355 (+15.4%)
35799__ Bluechip______ $1,155,078.35___ 155,078 (+15.5%)
17608__ Madmoney____ $1,204,942.80___ 204,943 (+20.5%)
12823__ Necessary Evils_ $1,223,674.33___ 223,674 (+22.4%)
7769___ Greenteam____ $1,249,466.41___ 249,466 (+24.9%)

* Value as of 6/12/08 at 4pm EST.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven Jun 16, 2008, 4:36pm UTC
Here are my results for Friday. I'm pleased to see some gains in my Whimsy portfolio, thanks to some shifting around in investments last week. I'll post the new portolio buys soon.

Rank___Name________ Total Value_____ Gain/Loss, Overall
32621__ Whimsy_______ $1,190,036.25___ 190,036 (+19.0%)
37256__ Bluechip_______ $1,178,641.00___ 178,641 (+17.9%)
17656__ Madmoney_____ $1,233,915.10___ 233,915 (+23.4%)
16773__ Necessary Evils__ $1,237,256.67___ 237,257 (+23.7%)
8200___ Greenteam_____ $1,277,752.52___ 277,753 (+27.8%)

* Value as of 6/13/08 at 4pm EST.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven Jun 17, 2008, 3:21pm UTC
Woo hoo. Monday was a banner stock trading day for me! Here are my Monday results:

Rank__ Name______ Total Value*___ Gain/Loss, Overall
31710_ Whimsy______ $1,216,483.43___ 216,483 (+21.6%)
39525_ Bluechip______ $1,196,936.98___ 196,937 (+19.7%)
17166_ Madmoney____ $1,261,903.34___ 261,903 (+26.2%)
19085_ Necessary Evils_ $1,254,706.16___ 254,706 (+25.5%)
6831__ Greenteam____ $1,318,089.10___ 318,089 (+31.8%)

* Value as of 6/16/08 at 4pm EST.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven Jun 24, 2008, 3:16pm UTC
It seems like ages since I last posted here. Indeed, checking the dates above it was. Here are the results for my portfolios going into this week:

Rank__ Name________ Total Value*___ Gain/Loss, Overall
53008_ Whimsy_______ $1,184,810.96__ 184,811 (+18.5%)
45704_ Bluechip_______ $1,203,860.64__ 203,861 (+20.4%)
21431_ Madmoney____ $1,282,750.61___ 282,751 (+28.3%)
18860_ Necessary Evils _$1,293,909.38___293,909 (+29.4%)
7534__ Greenteam____ $1,364,184.51___ 364,185 (+36.4%)

* Value as of 6/23/08 at 4pm EST.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven Jun 24, 2008, 3:17pm UTC
Oh, and I wasn't able to log in on Friday for some reason. It kept coming back as an Apache error. I notified tech support, and hopefully I'll be given some makeup points for the stocks I wasn't able to trade and the points I wasn't able to get.... Just fyi.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven Jun 24, 2008, 7:58pm UTC
Another drop in the Greenteam portfolio, though there's a surprising increase in the overall rank for that portfolio. Hmmmm. I'm about to do some realligning there based on a report on green stocks my honey forwarded me. I'll post the link if it contains good info.

Rank__ Name_______ Total Value*___ Gain/Loss, Overall
47784_ Whimsy______ $1,189,362.16___ 189,362 (+18.9%)
40016_ Bluechip______ $1,211,939.69___ 211,940 (+21.2%)
25036_ Madmoney____ $1,261,368.44___ 261,368 (+26.1%)
14370_ Necessary Evils_ $1,308,122.48___ 308,122 (+30.8%)
7369__ Greenteam____ $1,354,535.60___ 354,536 (+35.5%)

* Value as of 6/24/08 at 6:35pm EST.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven Jun 27, 2008, 3:27pm UTC
Here are my results from Thursday. I haven't been giving my portfolios the time they need, and this shows in the results for the Greenteam especially:

Rank__ Name______ Total Value*____ Gain/Loss, Overall
42560_ Whimsy______ $1,194,218.70__ 194,219 (+19.4%)
45126_ Bluechip_____ $1,186,742.44___ 186,742 (+18.7%)
27518_ Madmoney___ $1,244,996.86___ 244,997 (+24.5%)
11544_ Necessary Evils_ $1,319,923.27__ 319,923 (+32.0%)
12302_ Greenteam___ $1,314,749.41___ 314,749 (+31.5%)

* Value as of 6/26/08 at 4pm EST.

I have yet to hear back from CNBC.com -- one week later -- about bonus point credits for the day their site was down. Hmmmmph. Any how, on to good news. I hear McDonalds may be rebounding, so I'll have to boost its percentage in my "Necessary Evils" portfolio.... ; )
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven Jun 30, 2008, 8:24pm UTC
Yikes! I put off reallocating the Green team portfolio, and look where it got me:

Rank__ Name_________ Total Value*___ Gain/Loss, Overall
51285__ Whimsy_______ $1,183,695.90___ 183,696 (+18.4%)
41914__ Bluechip_______ $1,212,897.14___ 212,897 (+21.3%)
25757__ Madmoney_____ $1,273,944.86___ 273,945 (+27.4%)
8774___ Necessary Evils__$1,373,697.20___ 373,697 (+37.4%)
24158__ Greenteam_____ $1,280,906.09___ 280,906 (+28.1%)

* Value as of 6/30/08 at 5:59pm EST.
Ms. Meacham: Money Maven Jul 14, 2008, 3:34pm UTC
My pleasure Rick L. FYI: The challenge ends this week, so if you'd like to give the software a shot you'll want to get right on it.
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