Welcome to the December update of Plan 5 Picks. The market has done well over the past month, and Plan 5 Monthly has done a bit better. Here are the Plan 5 Monthly results for November:
Plan 5 Monthly: November 2014 Results
| Nov 3 Open | Nov 28 Close | % Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple (AAPL) | 108.22 | 118.93 | +9.9% |
| BJ’s Restaurants (BJRI) | 44.20 | 49.16 | +11.22% |
| Gilead Sciences (GILD) | 112.31 | 100.32 | -10.68% |
| Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance (ULTA) | 121.44 | 126.49 | +4.16% |
| WhiteWave Foods Company (WWAV) | 37.23 | 36.63 | -1.61% |
| Plan 5 Monthly: November 2014 | +2.6% | ||
| S&P 500 | 2018.65 | 2067.56 | +2.42% |
Apple and BJ’s Restaurants lead the pack this month with gains of roughly 10% each, while Gilead Sciences performed worst with a 10.68% loss. The overall gain for Plan 5 Monthly of 2.6% just edges out the S&P 500’s gain of 2.42%.
There are two substitutions in this month’s new set of picks, with job recruiting firm Robert Half International and network equipment manufacturer Sierra Wireless replacing last month’s poorest performers, Gilead Sciences and WhiteWave Foods. Here are the December Plan 5 Monthly picks:
Plan 5 Monthly: December 2014 Picks
| Company | Symbol |
|---|---|
| Apple | AAPL |
| BJ’s Restaurants | BJRI |
| Robert Half International | RHI |
| Sierra Wireless | SWIR |
| Ulta Salon | ULTA |
If you’re following along with Plan 5 Monthly, you’ll want to rebalance your portfolio at this point. You can find a refresher on how to do that right here.
If instead you’re following Plan 5 Quarterly, it’s not time to make any trades this month, but let’s take a look at how last month’s new picks are doing. Here are the results so far:
Plan 5 Quarterly: November 2014 Progress Report
| Nov 3 Open | Nov 28 Close | % Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple (AAPL) | 108.22 | 118.93 | +9.9% |
| BJ’s Restaurants (BJRI) | 44.20 | 49.16 | +11.22% |
| Gilead Sciences (GILD) | 112.31 | 100.32 | -10.68% |
| Sierra Wireless (SWIR) | 27.50 | 36.99 | +34.51% |
| Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance (ULTA) | 121.44 | 126.49 | +4.16% |
| Plan 5 Quarterly: November 2014 | +9.82% | ||
| S&P 500 | 2018.65 | 2067.56 | +2.42% |
There’s still a ways to go before this Plan 5 Quarterly period is done, but its progress is looking good up to this point, having gained nearly 10% over the course of the month. This is due to several strong performers, most notably Sierra Wireless which gained over 20% in a single day (!) and continued to climb from there.
Lastly, here’s a look at Plan 5’s overall progress from the beginning:
Plan 5 Quarterly takes the lead again this month over Plan 5 Monthly, but the margin is slim and, looking at it from the start 16 months ago, they’ve both performed substantially better than the S&P 500. Enjoy the holidays and the rest of 2014, I’ll be back at the end of December with another update.
Thrive!
Mike Ferrier