WHAT IS A GOOD LONG TERM STOCK OR STOCKS, THAT I CAN INVEST IN FOR MY FAMILY?

There is no way you can identify good “long term” stocks in advance. Stocks live and die by quarterly earnings so you have to monitor them regularly. Some will run for a few quarters, others may run for years.

If you want a relatively worry free investment – pick an equity income mutual fund or CEF and put them on DRIP.

Personally I like UTF and DVM – monthly dividends, 6% yield, a discount to NAV. UTF invests in utilities and REITS that are not likely to go out of business, DVM invests in stocks of companies that raise dividends. Companies that raise dividends are generally doing well.

If you enjoy stock trading, consider:

http://www.tradingzoom.com/ or

http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/TradingZoom/

Oil company stocks, from the majors, or oil service companies. Look at ConocoPhillips or BakerHughes.

IBM is one of the technology stocks that are like some pharmaceuticals, they have a rich pipeline of technology in the works. IBM is a major player and pioneer in nanotechnology, that and they have this consortium with Sony and Toshiba that will be putting out personal computers with processing capacities that will blow the doors off of current computers (which is why IBM was happy to unload the old tech computers onto Lenovo, the Chinese computer maker–and sort of hinted at it in a TV ad).

Brokerages and banks and insurance companies are big right now, but there are limits and strong potential problems ahead. Construction, not housing but industrial stuff, is big right now, but they come in frequent feast and famine cycles.

I do know this, if I had kept my Phillips Petroleum stock from back when I worked there, my retirement prospects would have been considerably brighter today and ConocoPhillips still is comparatively undervalued in relation to its peers. It has a definite overseas risk (just lost some to Venezula, and has a piece of something in far eastern Russia) but it also has large reserves in the US for when the broader world grows more dangerous. I know they have extensive natural gas reserves because I worked on a pipeline for a while. Lots of bright and innovative people there. Worth a look.

Here’s a strategy I like:

Take 2/3 of your investment money and put it into either the DIA or SPY ETFs. Leave the other 1/3 of your investment account in cash.

Pick a trade point delta value, either in terms of a percentage or in a fixed dollar amount.

Each time the ETF share price goes up by that delta value, sell 20% of the value of your current holdings.

Each time the ETF share price goes down by that delta value, buy stock with 20% of your cash.

Example: you buy SPY at $150 and set a delta point at $5. When the shares go to $155, you sell 20% of the value of your current holding. When it goes to $160, you sell another 20% of the THEN current holding. When it goes back to $155, you buy shares back with 20% of your cash. When it goes back to $160, you sell 20% of your THEN holding. When it goes to $165, you sell another 20% of the value of your current holding.

What happens is you’re making a series of short trades around a security that historically rises over time. You never fully liquidate your position, but you secure profits along the way by selling shares as the price rises, and you buy back shares at a discount when the price falls.