Compton Advisors, LLC

Completed Trade

2012-01-20T10:02:00.002-06:00

John Dutemple bought, for a family account, 10 Powershares DBA Jan. 21, 2012 put contracts with a strike price of 30 at $1.30 with a limit order.

Proposed Trade

2012-01-15T21:14:00.002-06:00

John Dutemple will be buying, for a family account, Powershares DBA Jan. 21, 2012 puts with a strike price of 30 after market open Tuesday, January 17.

Completed Trade

2011-12-08T13:50:00.002-06:00

John Dutemple bought, for a family account, 150 shares Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF (VCR) at $62.25 with a limit order.

Proposed Trades

2011-12-06T19:15:00.002-06:00

John Dutemple will buy, for a family account, shares of the Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF (VCR) after market open Thursday, December 8.

A close family member of John Dutemple will begin an automatic investment plan effective January 1, 2012, for a family account, in the following instruments (tickers unknown):

Vanguard Institutional Index
Vanguard Extended Market Index
Vanguard Total International Stock Index

A close family member of John Dutemple will sell a proprietary fund known as 'Mix E' (60% Domestic Large Cap, 20% Domestic Mid/Small Cap, 20% International Equity) on or about January 1, 2012 in conjunction with a qualified plan merger.

Completed Trades

2011-11-15T10:21:00.002-06:00

John Dutemple bought, for a family account, 200 shares Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) and 400 shares ProShares UltraShort Gold ETF (GLL) with limit orders.

Proposed Trade

2011-11-11T15:01:00.002-06:00

John Dutemple will be making the following trades for a family account after market open Monday, November 14, 2011:

Buy Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX)
Buy ProShares UltraShort Gold ETF (GLL)

Pending Trade

2011-10-22T23:12:00.002-05:00

John Dutemple will make the following transactions for a family account after market open Monday October 24, 2011:

Buy Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX)

Short SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD)

Pending margin authority

Completed Trade

2011-10-04T14:53:00.002-05:00

John Dutemple purchased, with a limit order, 100 shares of the Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) for a family account.

Proposed Transaction

2011-10-02T21:38:00.002-05:00

John Dutemple will purchase, for a family account, shares in the Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) after market open on Tuesday October 4.

Completed Transaction

2011-09-09T15:29:00.001-05:00

John Dutemple purchased at $74.62 with a limit order for a family account, 100 shares of Vanguard Materials Index ETF (VAW).

Proposed Trade

2011-09-05T22:37:00.001-05:00

John Dutemple will buy, for a family account, shares of the Vanguard Materials Index ETF (VAW) after market open Wednesday, September 7.

Completed Transaction

2011-08-08T16:33:00.001-05:00

John Dutemple purchased, for a family account, 100 shares Vanguard Energy Index ETF (VDE) at $94.84 with a limit order.

Pending Transaction

2011-08-05T13:13:00.002-05:00

John Dutemple will be buying, for a family account, shares of the Vanguard Energy ETF (VDE) after market open Monday, August 8.

Completed Trade

2011-07-27T16:52:00.001-05:00

John Dutemple sold, for a family account 75 shr. Becton-Dickenson (BDX) via a market order triggered by a previously entered trailing stop.

Book Review: Aftershock - Robert Reich

2011-07-26T09:48:00.002-05:00

Robert Reich’s latest book, Aftershock, is the first I’ve seen post-Great Recession to offer an economic rather than a political argument for either fair or re- distribution of wealth, depending on your political leanings.

Reich explores the paradox of productivity: what does it profit a nation to produce if its citizens cannot afford the fruits of that production? According to Reich, it causes lots of trouble, both economically and socially.

This paradox was most famously identified, and solved, by Henry Ford in 1914 when he increased his workers’ wages to $5 a day, an unheard-of rate for factory workers at the time. Ford, in nearly doubling his workers’ wages, turned them into consumers, specifically consumers of the very Model Ts they were building. As Reich writes, “Ford understood the basic economic bargain that lay at the heart of a modern, highly productive economy. Workers are also consumers.”

But despite Ford’s early successes, the real hero of Reich’s book is Marriner Eccles, Federal Reserve Board Chairman under FDR. Eccles saw the inequality of wealth in American society as the chief culprit behind the Great Depression. Not surprisingly, Reich sees parallels with the run-up to the bursting housing bubble that signaled the Great Recession of 2007.

The concentration of wealth was such that, according to Reich’s sources, the share of total income commanded by the richest 1% more than doubled from its low in the mid-1970s to over 23% in 2007 (a figure not seen since 1928, just before the Great Depression). Reich (and Eccles before him) contends that this concentration of wealth artificially drives up prices and creates bubbles: stocks in 1928, tech stocks in 2000 (when the wealth concentration was again over 20%), and housing in 2007.

Reich contends that not only does such a concentration offend our sense of fairness and distort price signals, but encourages over-leveraging as the aspirational middle class runs out of coping mechanisms for keeping up with the wealthy. According to Reich, the middle class put off the day of reckoning by first moving women into the workforce and then working longer hours until these resources were exhausted, finally ‘borrowing to the hilt’ to consume at the same pace relative to the wealthy while relative incomes fell.

Reich fears an angry, populist, xenophobic backlash leading to protectionism and decline, but also offers remedies to restore the balance of income to the point where the nation will be able to afford to consume what it produces. Though explicitly swearing it is no “Robin Hood” scheme, Reich’s solutions do offer up a fair degree of income redistribution:

Reverse Income Tax – Essentially an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, a reverse income tax credit would pay every full-time worker $1 for every $2 their salary fell below $50,000 (e.g. someone making $30,000 would get $10,000 from the federal government). Additionally, incomes between $50,000 and $90,000 would be taxed at 10%; between $90,000 and $160,000, 20%. The rate would apply regardless of the source: wage, dividend, or capital gain.

Higher Marginal Taxes on the Wealthy – Once we get above $160,000, the marginal rates go up; 40% between $160,000 and $260,000, 50% between $260,000 and $410,000, and 55% over $410,000. This last category represents the top 1% in wage distribution.

A Carbon Tax – Initially starting at $35 per metric ton of carbon dioxide (or its equivalent), the tax would rise to $115 per ton or an additional $1 per gallon of gas (approximately).

A Re-employment System – Designed to replace unemployment insurance, a reemployment system would pay workers 90% of the difference between their old & new (lower) salaries for two years in the event of a job loss or 90% of their former wage for one year for approved retraining.

School Vouchers Based on Family Income – Converts the average per child per year cost into a range of voucher amounts based on family income. School districts would compete for the voucher dollars.

College Loans Linked to Subsequent Earnings – 10% of a graduate’s income for the first ten years of full-time work, regardless of occupation, would be put into a fund to provide free tuition at public colleges and universities and federal loans for private colleges.

Medicare for All – A single-payer system with subsidies for low- and middle-income families.

Public Goods – Free public transportation, parks, recreational facilities, museums & libraries.

In the end though, Reich’s solutions replace one pricing paradox with another, namely: how is information about supply & demand and capital allocation transmitted to markets in such a manner as to provide for complex and competing desires efficiently & equitably when the signals that transmit that information (prices) are being distorted by political policy choices? Though each reader will have their own preference as to which paradox they are most comfortable with, the true test may be which regime can survive in a competitive, international environment.

Completed Transaction

2011-07-05T16:20:00.001-05:00

John Dutemple bought, for a family account, 300 shares of Vanguard Materials ETF (VAW) with a limit order.

Proposed Trade

2011-07-02T16:41:00.001-05:00

John Dutemple will be buying, for a family account, Vanguard Materials Index ETF (VAW) after the market open on July 5, 2011.

Completed Transaction

2011-06-20T14:28:00.002-05:00

John Dutemple sold, for a family account, 500 shr. China Fire & Security Group (CFSG) June 16 with a market order triggered by a previously entered trailing stop at $7.96.

Completed Transaction

2011-06-07T15:55:00.001-05:00

John Dutemple bought, for a family account, 200 shr. Vanguard Energy ETF (VDE) at $108.10 with a limit order.

Proposed Trade

2011-06-05T17:36:00.002-05:00

John Dutemple will be buying, for a family account, Vanguard Energy Sector ETF (VDE) after 8:00 am central Tuesday, June 7, 2011.

Completed Trade

2011-05-05T16:46:00.001-05:00

John Dutemple, for a family account, removed a trailing stop on Wal-Mart (WMT) and sold 1 call contract WMT Dec. 2011 C 57.50 with a limit order.

Completed Transactions

2011-05-04T16:41:00.002-05:00

John Dutemple completed the following transactions for a family account:

Bought 300 shr Vanguard FTSE World ex-US Index ETF (VEU) with a limit order

Placed a trailing stop on China Fire & Security Group (CFSG)

Proposed Transaction

2011-05-03T10:53:00.002-05:00

John Dutemple, on a family account, will remove the previously implemented trailing stop on Wal-Mart after noon Central Wednesday May 4, 2011.

Proposed Transaction

2011-05-03T00:04:00.001-05:00

John Dutemple will be placing a trailing stop at 7% on China Fire & Security Group Wednesday, May 4 or later for a family account.

Proposed Transaction

2011-05-02T23:59:00.002-05:00

John Dutemple will buy, for a family account, Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF (VEU) Wednesday, May 4 or later.

Completed Transaction

2011-05-02T10:57:00.002-05:00

John Dutemple sold, for a family account, 1 call contract on BDX expiring Sept. 17, 2011 at with a strike price of 90 using a limit order. Contingent upon execution of this option, Mr. Dutemple will cancel an existing trailing stop on BDX. Conversely, if BDX is stopped out, Mr. Dutemple will buy to close this option position.

Proposed Transaction

2011-04-28T15:03:00.002-05:00

John Dutemple will be selling covered calls on Wal-Mart (WMT) and Becton-Dickenson (BDX) in family after Sunday, May 1.

Completed Transactions

2011-04-20T13:44:00.003-05:00

John Dutemple completed the following transactions for a family account on Tuesday, April 19th's at the closing NAV:

Sell Fidelity Total Bond Fund (FTBFX)
Sell Fidelity Spartan Extended Market Index Fund (FSEMX)
Sell Vanguard Inflation Protected Securities Fund (VIPSX)
Buy Fidelity International Discovery Fund (FIGRX)
Buy Vanguard Small Cap Index Fund (NAESX & VSMAX)

Additionally, John Dutemple began purchasing shares of FIGRX on an ongoing basis as part of a 401(k) program.

Proposed Transaction

2011-04-18T14:22:00.002-05:00

John Dutemple will be making the following transactions for a family account at Tuesday, April 19th's NAV or later:

Sell Fidelity Total Bond Fund (FTBFX)
Sell Fidelity Spartan Extended Market Index Fund (FSEMX)
Sell Vanguard Inflation Protected Securities Fund (VIPSX)
Buy Fidelity International Discovery Fund (FIGRX)
Buy Vanguard Small Cap Index Fund (NAESX)

Additionally, John Dutemple will begin to purchase shares of FIGRX on an ongoing basis as part of a 401(k) program. He will also continue to purchase FTBFX.

Completed Trade

2011-04-11T10:23:00.003-05:00

John Dutemple bought, for a family account, 200 shares of the Vanguard Telecom Index ETF (VOX) with a limit order.

Proposed Transaction

2011-04-07T16:34:00.002-05:00

John Dutemple will be buying the Vanguard Telecommunications Index ETF (VOX) after market open April 11, 2011 for a family account.

Proposed Trade

2011-03-17T10:28:00.002-05:00

John Dutemple will be opening a vertical bear put spread on GLD at strike prices 127 & 120 contingent on netting $0.53 or more and doubling the long leg of the spread after noon CDT Friday, March 18 for a family account.

Completed Trades

2011-03-09T14:31:00.001-06:00

John Dutemple bought, for a family account, 100 shrs. Vanguard Utility ETF (VPU) with a limit order at 70.6599.

Planned Trades

2011-03-08T07:34:00.002-06:00

John Dutemple will place the following orders Wednesday, March 9, 2011 or later for a family account:

Sell Wal-Mart (WMT) with a trailing stop.
Sell Becton-Dickenson (BDX) with a trailing stop (partial holdings).
Buy Vanguard Utilities ETF (VPU)

Completed Trade

2011-02-14T10:42:00.003-06:00

John Dutemple open a bear spread on PowerShares DB Agriculture ETF (DBA) for a family account as follows:

Buy 20 contracts DBA Jan 12 25 Puts at $0.20 with a limit order
Sell 10 contracts DBA Jan 12 30 Puts at $0.95 with a limit order

Proposed Trade

2011-02-11T16:14:00.001-06:00

John Dutemple will open a bear spread on the Powershares DB Agriculture Fund (DBA) after Sunday, February 13.

Completed Trade

2011-02-08T10:46:00.001-06:00

John Dutemple bought, for a family account, 25 shares of Posco ADR (PKX) at 109.75.

Proposed Transaction

2011-02-01T21:17:00.001-06:00

John Dutemple will be buying Posco (PKX) for a family account on or after February 3, 2011.

Completed Transaction

2011-01-19T10:38:00.001-06:00

John Dutemple purchased, for a family account, 625 shares of Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. (HMY) at $11.27 with a limit order.

Proposed Transaction

2011-01-14T10:50:00.002-06:00

John Dutemple will buy, for a family account, shares of Harmony Gold Mining Co., Ltd. (HMY) after Monday, January 17.

Completed Trade

2010-12-13T16:13:00.001-06:00

John Dutemple bought, for a family account, 1000 shr of JA Solar @ 6.85 with a limit order.

Proposed Transaction

2010-12-10T16:15:00.002-06:00

John Dutemple will be buying, for a family account, shares of JA Solar (JASO) after 6:00 am Central, Monday, December 13.

Completed Transaction

2010-11-08T12:50:00.001-06:00

John Dutemple purchased, for a family account, 250 shares of Embotelladora Andina SA ADRs (AKO.A) with a limit order.

Pending Trade

2010-11-05T11:06:00.002-05:00

John Dutemple will be buying, for a family account, 250 shrs of Embotelladora Andina SA common (AKO-A) after 7:00 am Central, Monday, November 8.

Completed Transaction

2010-10-13T10:40:00.001-05:00

John Dutemple bought, for a family account, 125 shares of Abbott Labs common stock (ABT) at 53.37 with a limit order.

Pending Trade

2010-10-10T10:30:00.001-05:00

John Dutemple will purchase, for a family account, 125 shares of Abbott Labs (ABT) after noon Monday, October 11, 2010.

Completed Trade

2010-09-23T09:29:00.001-05:00

John Dutemple bought, for a family account, 135 shares of Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT) at $54.63 with a limit order.

Proposed Transaction

2010-09-21T09:57:00.002-05:00

John Dutemple will buy, for a family account, 135 shrs Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT) after noon Central time September 22, 2010.

Completed Trades

2010-07-12T10:58:00.001-05:00

John Dutemple purchased 550 shares of SK Telecom (SKM) for a family account with a limit order.

Proposed Trade

2010-07-08T15:32:00.002-05:00

John Dutemple will buy, for a family account, shares of SK Telecom (SKM) between July 12 & July 31.

Completed Trade

2010-07-08T15:30:00.001-05:00

John Dutemple bought to open with a limit order for a family account 25 put options on the EUI index with a strike price of 73.5 expiring March 19, 2011.

Completed Trade

2010-06-30T10:16:00.002-05:00

John Dutemple purchased to open with a limit order for a family account 10 put contracts on the GLD ETF with a strike price of 100 expiring Jan. 22, 2011.

Completed Trade

2010-06-29T10:00:00.002-05:00

John Dutemple purchased to open with a limit order for a family account 20 put contracts on the DBA ETF with a strike price of 20 expiring Jan. 22, 2011.

Proposed Transactions

2010-06-25T20:40:00.003-05:00

John Dutemple will buy, for a family account, the following between June 28, 2010 and July 31, 2010:

EUI (euro/dollar) put options expiring March 19, 2011 with a strike price between 73 & 75.50

DBA put options expiring Jan 22, 2011 with a strike price between 20 & 24

GLD put options expiring Jan 22, 2011 with a strike price between 50 & 100

Completed Trade

2010-06-18T17:35:00.001-05:00

John Dutemple bought to open 10 put contracts on BP plc (BP) with a strike price of $15 to expire 1/21/2012 with a limit order.

Completed Transaction

2010-06-17T16:30:00.002-05:00

John Dutemple purchased, for a family account, 10 contracts to open on BP plc (BP) calls expiring 1/21/2012 with a strike price of 50 using a limit order.

Completed Transaction

2010-06-15T16:14:00.001-05:00

John Dutemple placed, for a family account, a limit order to buy 485 shr of S&P Depository Receipts (SPY) at 90.52. The order expires 10/15/2010.

Proposed Trades

2010-06-11T13:16:00.003-05:00

John Dutemple will place the following orders between June 13 and July 1, 2010 for a family account:

Limit order to buy 485 shr of S&P Depository Receipts (SPY) at $90.52.

Buy BP plc (BP) calls to expire 1/21/2012 with a strike price between $45 - $50 inclusive.

Buy BP plc (BP) puts to expire 1/21/2012 with a strike price between $5 - $15 inclusive.

Buy China Telecom (CHA)

Completed Transaction

2010-05-05T11:01:00.001-05:00

John Dutemple bought, for a family account, 500 shares of China Fire & Security Group (CFSG) with a $13.58 limit order.

Proposed Transaction

2010-05-01T22:29:00.001-05:00

John Dutemple will be buying shares of China Fire & Security Group (CFSG) the week of May 3, 2010 for a family account.

Proposed Transaction

2010-04-29T10:41:00.002-05:00

John Dutemple will be purchasing shares of the Vanguard S&P 500 Index Fund (VFINX) for a family account. The exact date of the transaction is impossible to determine at this point as it is a manul rollover of existing funds.

Completed Transaction

2010-04-07T17:03:00.001-05:00

John Dutemple bought today, for a family account, 150 shrs of Wal-Mart common stock (WMT) @ 55.099/share with a market order.

Proposed Trade

2010-04-05T21:40:00.002-05:00

John Dutemple will be buying Wal-Mart common (WMT) for a family account April 7-9.

Book Review: The Total Money Makeover - Dave Ramsey

2010-03-10T21:10:00.001-06:00

Written by syndicated radio host and no-nonsense, no-debt guru Dave Ramsey, The Total Money Makeover book purports to offer a tried-and-true formula (the Baby Steps) for getting out of debt and building wealth. It’s not so much a ‘get-rich’ formula as it is a ‘stop-making-yourself poor’ formula.

Two points should be highlighted from the book: first, this is not a plan for optimizers. Ramsey’s focus is on the behavioral aspects of personal finance, not the math. For instance, he does not have you pay off your highest interest rate credit cards first, he has you pay off the smallest balance first. His premise is: personal finance is 80% behavior and 20% math. His goal is to teach you simple behaviors that you can apply that he has found to be successful.

The second point he makes is that this is not easy. “Live like no one else so later you can live like no one else”, is his motto. To get out of debt and begin growing your wealth requires sacrifice – from selling off expensive, debt-laden vehicles, to working extra jobs, to living on his metaphorical (and sometimes literal) ‘beans & rice, rice & beans’ – Ramsey expects short-term pain for long-term gain.

The Baby Steps:

1. Get a $1,000 emergency fund in the bank.
2. While remaining current on all debts, pay off your debts except your mortgage (and in some cases a HELOC or second mortgage), smallest to largest, rolling the payments you were making on the smaller debts into paying off the next debt in line (the Debt Snowball)
3. Build the emergency fund up to 3 – 6 months of expenses
4. Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs (if eligible) and pre-tax retirement accounts
5. Save for your children’s college education
6. Pay off your home
7. Build wealth and give

That’s it. If you have the persistence to work this plan, it will work for you. It may not be the best plan for everyone, but it is a good plan for most.

For the full plan see: http://www.daveramsey.com/new/baby-steps/

Completed Transactions

2010-03-08T10:32:00.003-06:00

John Dutemple purchased, for a family account 150 shrs. of the Vanguard Healthcare Index ETF (VHT) with a limit order.

A trailing stop expired on Becton-Dickenson (BDX) within a family account for John Dutemple and was not renewed.

Proposed Transaction

2010-03-04T10:03:00.001-06:00

John Dutemple will buy, for a family account, 150 shrs Vanguard Heathcare Index ETF (VHT)after noon central March 5, 2010.

Completed Trade

2010-02-11T13:58:00.001-06:00

John Dutemple purchased 200 shrs of Quality Systems Inc. (QSII) with a limit order at $54.56 for a family account.

Proposed Trade

2010-02-09T14:33:00.001-06:00

John Dutemple will be buying, for a family account, Quality Systems Inc. (QSII) on Thursday or Friday, February 11-12.

Completed Transaction

2010-01-13T13:55:00.002-06:00

John Dutemple sold, for a family account, 3 put contacts on GLD Jan '11 expiration, 70 strike, with a limit order.

Completed Transaction

2010-01-11T14:15:00.001-06:00

John Dutemple purchased, for a family account, 200 shares of Barrick Gold (ABX) with a limit order.

Completed Transaction

2010-01-08T12:49:00.001-06:00

John Dutemple entered into a trailing stop on 800 shrs of Acergy Energy (ACGY) for a family account.

Pending Transactions

2010-01-07T10:39:00.003-06:00

John Dutemple will place a trailing stop on Acergy Energy (ACGY) after noon Central Friday, January 8, 2010. This transaction is for a family account.

John Dutemple will sell 3 contracts of GLD January 70 Puts after noon Central Friday, January 8, 2010 if a price of at least 0.20 can be achieved. This transaction is for a family account.

John Dutemple will purchase 200 shr of Barrick Gold (ABX) after noon Central Friday, January 8, 2010. This transaction is for a family account.

Completed Transaction

2009-12-10T14:04:00.001-06:00

John Dutemple purchased, for a family account, 100 shrs of Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) at $67.21 with a limit order.

Proposed Trade

2009-12-04T12:41:00.001-06:00

John Dutemple will buy Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) the week of December 7 for a family account.

Completed Order

2009-11-12T14:16:00.001-06:00

John Dutemple entered a trailing stop on Beckton-Dickenson (BDX) for a family account today.

Proposed Trade

2009-11-09T17:20:00.002-06:00

John Dutemple will place a trailing stop on Becton-Dickenson (BDX) Wednesday, November 11, 2009 or later.

Completed Transaction

2009-11-06T10:50:00.002-06:00

John Dutemple bought 100 shares of the Vanguard Telecom Services ETF (VOX) with a limit order yesterday and entered a trailing stop on his holdings of the Vanguard Materials ETF (VAW) for a family account.

Proposed Trades

2009-11-03T15:25:00.002-06:00

John Dutemple will make the following transactions for a family account on Thursday, November 5 or later:

Sell Vanguard Basic Materials ETF (VAW)
Buy Vanguard Telecom Services ETF (VOX)

Completed Tranaction

2009-10-27T14:06:00.002-05:00

Shares of VAIPX were sold from a trust fund of which John Dutemple is trustee on October 26 at NAV.

Proposed Transaction

2009-10-21T20:49:00.003-05:00

John Dutemple will be selling, from a trust of which he is trustee, shares in the Vanguard Inflation Protected Securities Fund (VAIPX) no earlier than 8:00 am Central Friday, October 23, 2009.

The Efficient Checkout Line

2009-10-08T11:31:00.002-05:00

A nice post from the 'My Money' blog exploring a concept that's taken a big hit in the last year: the Efficient Market Hypothesis.

The author reviews the analogy of picking the shortest line in the supermarket checkout from the book, Undercover Economist, and explains in layman's terms why it (and, by extension, picking stocks) is difficult at best and folly at worst.

Thanks to Brian Eufinger for sending me this post.

This American Life Podcast

2009-10-07T10:42:00.002-05:00

This American Life, an NPR production, has done an amazing job explaining what happened to trigger the credit crisis we now find ourselves a year into.

Completed Trade

2009-10-06T14:07:00.003-05:00

John Dutemple bought, with a limit order, 100 shares of the Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT) for a family account.

Proposed Transaction

2009-10-05T07:34:00.002-05:00

John Dutemple to buy 100 shr Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT) for family account after 8:00 am Tuesday, October 6, 2009.

Completed Transaction

2009-09-09T16:11:00.001-05:00

John Dutemple purchased, for a family account, 100 shr of VGT, the Vanguard Technology ETF, with a limit order on September 8, 2009.

Proposed Transaction

2009-09-03T14:31:00.002-05:00

John Dutemple will buy, for a family account, 100 shares of the Vanguard Technology ETF (VGT) the week of September 7, 2009.

Completed Transaction

2009-08-06T09:34:00.002-05:00

John Dutemple bought, for a family account, 100 shr. Vanguard Telecom ETF (VOV) via a limit order at 10.15.

Proposed Transactions

2009-08-03T14:46:00.001-05:00

John Dutemple will buy, for a family account, units of the Vanguard Telecom Services ETF (VOX) between August 5 & August 7.

Completed Trades

2009-06-27T10:57:00.002-05:00

The following trades were made for a family account:

3 put contract were bought to open on GLD with a strike of 70 and an expiration of Jan 2011 with a limit order

500 shr of Petrobras Energia were bought with a limit order

All holdings of Vanguard Energy ETF were sold via a trailing stop placed earlier.

Proposed Trade

2009-06-17T13:29:00.002-05:00

John Dutemple will be buying Petrobras Energia Participationes S.A. (PZE) and Jan 2011 puts at a strike price of 70 on SPDR Gold shares (GLD) between June 19 and July 4 for a family account.

Proposed Transaction

2009-06-01T13:31:00.001-05:00

John Dutemple will place a trailing stop at 7% to sell on the Vanguard Energy ETF (VDE) between June 3 and June 12.

Completed Trade

2009-06-01T13:28:00.002-05:00

John Dutemple bought to open for a family account Jan 2010 puts with a strike price of 20 on Powershares Agriculture ETF (DBA)

Proposed Trade

2009-05-27T22:01:00.002-05:00

John Dutemple will place a trailing stop between 3% & 7% to Sell Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) between May 29 & June 5 for a family account.

Pending Trade

2009-05-20T16:40:00.003-05:00

John Dutemple will buy a number of out-of-the-money puts set for expiration January 16, 2010 on the PowerShares DB Agriculture ETF between May 26 and June 5 for a family account.

Completed Transaction

2009-04-12T22:33:00.003-05:00

Purchased two ISE FX Euro Puts expiring March 2010 at a strike price of 75 with a limit order on April 8 for a family account.

Pending Trade

2009-04-04T22:20:00.002-05:00

John Dutemple will buy a number of out-of-the-money puts set for expiration March 20 2010 on the EUI (USD/EUR) ISE FX index between April 6 and April 24 for a family account.

Lessons Learned from the Madoff Scheme

2009-03-24T15:25:00.002-05:00

A great article from Adam Apt courtesy of Advisor Perspectives.

It stresses some fundamentals all investors should remember:

1) Be skeptical
2) Don't let the fox guard the hen house
3) Diversify
4) Fees matter
5) Trust must be earned

The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act - Tax Highlights

2009-02-25T12:44:00.003-06:00

The recently passed American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (a.k.a. The Stimulus Package) means a lot of changes to your taxes - some big, some small depending on your personal circumstances. Here are the highlights:

(Note: ranges are for full benefit - partial benefits may phase-out above the ranges)

If you make more than $250,000 Married Filing Jointly ($125,000 - single)

The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) exemption amount has been 'patched' for the 2009 tax year, raising it to $70,950 (from $45,000 - was $69,950 in 2008) for married couples filing jointly (MFJ) and $46,700 for singles.

Note: The AMT 'patch' has been an annual tax relief item in recent years as the AMT exemption is not indexed to inflation. It is likely some relief would have been made outside this bill regardless. This change is applicable to all the ranges below, but it is increasingly less likely that they would have been impacted by the AMT.

If you make less than $250,000 ($125,000 - single)

You may deduct state & local sales taxes for the purchase of new cars, light trucks, RVs, & motorcycles over & above the state & local income tax deduction. This is for 2009 only.

If you make less than $160,000 ($80,000 - single)

You can take advantage of the First Time Home Buyer Credit. This gives you a refundable (i.e. pays you cash if the credit is larger than your tax liability) tax credit of $8,000 (or 10% of the purchase price if lower) if you buy your home between January 1, 2009 and November 30, 2009. You do not have to pay the credit back and you can claim it on your 2008 return as well. If you purchased the home between April 9, 2008 and December 31, 2008, you can still get a credit up to $7,500, but this must be repaid over 15 years. Both credits are subject to recapture if the house is sold within three years. A 'first-time home buyer' is one who has not owned a principle residence in the past three years. Both spouses must qualify if MFJ.

You can take a credit for up to $2,500 of post-secondary education expenses under the "American Opportunity" Education Tax Credit in 2009 & 2010.

If you make less than $150,000 ($75,000 - single)

You are eligible for the "Making Work Pay" tax credit of 6.2% of earned income up to $800 ($400 - single) in 2009 & 2010. This credit effectively refunds your FICA tax on the first $6,451.61 of pay. The tax credit will be pre-funded by adjusting withholding tables and letting you keep more of your paycheck.

If you make less than $21,420 ($16,420 - single)

If you have three or more children, your Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) will increase 5% on the first $12,570 of earned income (maximum of $628.50).

If you are unemployed

Weekly unemployment benefits will increase by $25 through 2009 and benefits will be extended by 33 weeks or through December 31, 2009 whichever comes first.

The first $2,400 of unemployment benefits will not be subject to Federal Income Tax in 2009.

You may claim a 65% subsidy of COBRA payments if you were involuntarily terminated between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009.

If you are retired or disabled

Those collecting SSI or Veteran's Disability are eligible for a one-time payment of $250. The payment will offset any Making Work Pay credit the recipient would otherwise be eligible for.

These changes account for only $292.275 billion of the approximately $800 billion act - for more detail, go to www.recovery.gov or to see a summary of all aspects of the act, go to: http://finance.senate.gov/press/Bpress/2009press/prb021209.pdf.

Completed Trade

2009-02-25T12:39:00.002-06:00

Bought 2400 shr. Gerdau, SA (GGB) with limit order for $5.359 for a family account Wednesday, February 25.

Pending Transaction

2009-02-23T15:05:00.001-06:00

John Dutemple will buy shares of Gerdau SA (GGB) between the open of trading Wednesday, February 25, 2009 and close of trading Friday, February 27, 2009 for a family account.