Dear Carol,

Remember when I advised (borderline begged) you to invest in Bank of America, Wendy’s, and Ford company stock—not to mention a handful of others—a few years ago? We were not yet a couple years removed from the Great Recession and each of those company shares was trading around $5 bucks per, historic, once-in-a-blue-moon lows during a time when the markets had tanked and most everyone had lost their appetite for equity investing.

Despite my not being a certified financial/investment adviser, you took me up and waded in tepidly, understandably so. You’ve gone on to quadruple your investment in BofA. Nice run and much deserved. Your aversion to fast food, however, disallowed you to invest in Wendy’s (even though it was still paying a dividend throughout the turmoil and has now tripled since my initial suggestion). Yeah, you missed out big on that one but each investor has to live with her conscience and be able to sleep at night, right? Understandably so.

Warren Buffett says, “When others are fearful, be greedy.”

I don’t believe in greed. My needs have never necessitated avarice. But the sage knows both market and human psychology like the back of his weathered hand. The market, once spooked, will definitely fall—-but it never neglects to come right back.

The current bull market, I still call it the Obama bull run, certainly looks frothy. Between interest-rate increases and the potential for war, this current market could likely tumble any day now. Even if it does, money still has to be made, no? Which brings me to new opportunity.

My research has yielded a few under-the-radar, if not beaten-down picks that you would be wise to consider. Lloyds Banking Group plc, a London-based banking/financial services concern, like most other banks during the Great Recession, had lost its way and had to be rescued by the British government. After years of working to redeem itself, it just recently paid back all its government loans and is now once again in private sphere, where it should be. I got in at just under $3 per and it’s quietly making its way to $4 while paying a divvy all the while (ticker: LYG). This is the “BofA” moment of those years ago for this stock. I would advise you, as then, to not hesitate. Time, after all, is profit.

Ever heard of Jack Dorsey? He’s the founder of not one but TWO publicly traded companies you may’ve heard of: Square, the plug-it-into-your-smartphone payment device and processing system maker, and Twitter, the social and breaking news site that looks to be evolving into “Twitter TV” in due time. Well, Twitter went public back in 2013, touched $75 per share and has since tumbled to as low as $14 and change as recently as early this week. Dorsey had left the company and recently come back to right the ship.

Twitter (the stock) has garnered nothing but negative press during its fall from grace, while Facebook has eaten its lunch. It’s rare that a founder of a company doesn’t care about its success. People bash Dorsey for running both companies simultaneously and, thus, not devoting enough quality time to Twitter to restore investor faith. I believe in Dorsey. Just as I believed in Steve Jobs upon his return to Apple after he was ousted from the company he’d helped found with Wozniak. While everybody seemingly abandoned or shorted Twitter stock and criticizes Dorsey, I’ve done a “Buffett”: pivot from the fear. Given more time, Dorsey will right the ship. Now’s a good time, Carol, to bet on him—before the herd comes back and the stock price runs away from your current comfort level. Ticker: TWTR.

Lastly, Weight Watchers International, Inc., is a name with which you may be familiar. The weight management, lifestyle, and nutrition company years ago once sported a stock price north of $80 per. It too lost its way, whether via weak management, identity crisis or mission stray. Enter Oprah Winfrey, who snapped up several million shares at around $6 per back in late ’15 and now sits on the board. We know the scale of Oprah’s integral influence and stellar business acumen. I’ll never bet against Ms. Winfrey, whatever her endeavor, so it’s no surprise to me that the stock has reached $20+ and she has spearheaded the recent hiring of Mindy Grossman, the standout CEO of multichannel retailer HSN Inc., to helm Weight Watchers and take it to the next level. Grossman has an impressive business record and is widely respected in industry circles.

The future looks great for the company, especially with Oprah’s involvement. Ticker: WTW.

I’m no expert, Carol. And you certainly aren’t obligated to take my advice. The pamperer in me, however, just has to come out, as you well know.

And who better to be on the receiving end of this week’s Pamper-Her-Friday than someone as lovely and deserving as you?

(Are you smiling? But of course. Lol)

The Very Thought of You,

Rg2

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Pamper the woman . . . . -Rg2

© 2017 Pamper-Her-Friday by Rg2®