The Lemon Fool

My biggest regret about this site is that dspp hasn't posted for a long time on energy matters. Especially since energy has been the main driver for the last year or so.

scotview wrote:My biggest regret about this site is that dspp hasn't posted for a long time on energy matters. Especially since energy has been the main driver for the last year or so.

Yes and in fact we have lost a few souls in the last year or two, either from death or attrition, who contributed to investment topics.

And there were a good number of investment folks on TMF who never made it over here to my knowledge, that I respected.

Perhaps we are just a bunch of old codgers, who refuse to use more modern forms of technology, and who are destined to slowly die off. There does seem to be a lack of youth here to take over the mantle, certainly.

But for now a site that slowly decays appears to suit this Lemon as he also slowly decays.

BullDog wrote:

sahilsameer wrote:Is Crypto is good investment for now a days?

Fill your boots

It's 1998 all over again!

Lootman wrote:But for now a site that slowly decays appears to suit this Lemon as he also slowly decays.

How long before the Daily Star sets up a webcam of a lemon and a lettuce to see which lasts longer

--kiloran

Itsallaguess wrote:

Snorvey wrote:
These days I just buy an IT and let it bake for a couple of decades.

Life's too short and all that - which is why I like IAG's monthly IT round up.

Apologies then Snorvey - there's not going to be any further monthly HYP Dividend or IT-sector round-ups.

As you say - life's too short, and whilst I was happy to help contribute to a great investment community where that largely still existed around the earlier ballast from the Motley Fool days, that investment-based ballast simply isn't there any more, and with the direction of travel firmly set for a full-on twitter-fest of non-investment related content, then I'm looking to reduce my foot-print here and spend some time on other activities.

As you quite rightly say - the site banner needs changing now, as it's clearly a case of mis-selling the place...

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

Yes, those days have gone.

In the last month I've migrated to Seeking Alpha, not just because TLF has turned into a political rant website, or that TMF USA totally fecked their boards with the "upgrade", but also because I've sold most of my UK shares (not Diageo or Burberry) and put most of the proceeds into American and Canadian shares.

Basically more railroads and bombed out REITs yielding 9%+ such as SL Green.

For those who complain about the site, there is always the option to discontinue visiting.

Perhaps the majority like the way the site is set up and operates, and the complainer is in the minority? Or maybe, the complainer is just having a rant and deserves to be ignored.

Roger

Personally I’m mystified by the negativity of this thread. Maybe the collective psychology has been effected by all the negative news we are being exposed to? I long stopped listening to the Today program and only read or watch news a couple of times a day. I never read newspapers because they are so biased. I never read political threads on TLF either; what’s the point? Go out for long walks and enjoy the autumn colours, cook a lovely meal using complex recipes for a loved one etc. Just anything that gets you away from the abundant negativity of the media; it will do you good.

It’s no surprise to me that there is less financial discussion in a bear market; that’s always the case in my experience. It’s psychologically difficult to keep investing in a falling market. It’s for those complaining to find investment ideas rather than banging on about the same old themes. It’s a collective thing.

roger4 wrote:For those who complain about the site, there is always the option to discontinue visiting.

Perhaps the majority like the way the site is set up and operates, and the complainer is in the minority? Or maybe, the complainer is just having a rant and deserves to be ignored.

Roger

The complainer is perfectly happy to be ignored. I expect I am in a minority as the site still seems to get a lot of traffic.

simoan is probably right and I do get out most days to walk and would be in my garden a lot more were it not for the rain.

Dod.

roger4 wrote:maybe, the complainer is just having a rant

If only there was a board here where they could do such a thing, unjudged.

Wait a minute.........

Scott.

SalvorHardin wrote:In the last month I've migrated to Seeking Alpha, not just because TLF has turned into a political rant website, or that TMF USA totally fecked their boards with the "upgrade", but also because I've sold most of my UK shares (not Diageo or Burberry) and put most of the proceeds into American and Canadian shares.

Basically more railroads and bombed out REITs yielding 9%+ such as SL Green.

Yes, I am down to just 3 major UK shares: Diageo also, BHP and Rio Tinto. Those latter two are more Australian than British anyway, and nearly all of their operations are overseas.

I am even gradually selling off my AIM shares, which I had originally intended to hold forever as an IHT mitigation strategy. I have decided to handle that risk in other ways.

My only other UK equity exposure is in a couple of smaller companies investment trusts, which I will hold onto for now. So my UK exposure is now under 10% versus over 60% in North America, and another 15% or so in Asia. My largest positions now are a S&P 500 ETF and Berkshire Hathaway.

And like you, Seeking Alpha seems like a more relevant home now, although I do not post there, read only.

Lootman wrote:

SalvorHardin wrote:In the last month I've migrated to Seeking Alpha, ...I've sold most of my UK shares (not Diageo or Burberry) and put most of the proceeds into American and Canadian shares.

...my UK exposure is now under 10% versus over 60% in North America, and another 15% or so in Asia. My largest positions now are a S&P 500 ETF and Berkshire Hathaway.

So does the 15% WHT not bother you?

My only specific NA purchases have been MCT, doing OK, and Mid Wynd which is not doing OK, and USA which is even worse.

V8

88V8 wrote:

Lootman wrote:

SalvorHardin wrote:In the last month I've migrated to Seeking Alpha, ...I've sold most of my UK shares (not Diageo or Burberry) and put most of the proceeds into American and Canadian shares.

...my UK exposure is now under 10% versus over 60% in North America, and another 15% or so in Asia. My largest positions now are a S&P 500 ETF and Berkshire Hathaway.

So does the 15% WHT not bother you?

Not at all since my foreign holdings are low yielding. Berkshire doesn't pay a dividend, which is something I like about it, so WHT is moot there.

The S&P 500 has a current yield of about 1.5% so the WHT on that amounts to about 0.225% annually.

Also note that foreign tax withheld can be credited against your other investment income tax liability if it is in a taxable account and you are a higher rate taxpayer.

Lootman wrote:

SalvorHardin wrote:In the last month I've migrated to Seeking Alpha, not just because TLF has turned into a political rant website, or that TMF USA totally fecked their boards with the "upgrade", but also because I've sold most of my UK shares (not Diageo or Burberry) and put most of the proceeds into American and Canadian shares.

Basically more railroads and bombed out REITs yielding 9%+ such as SL Green.

Yes, I am down to just 3 major UK shares: Diageo also, BHP and Rio Tinto. Those latter two are more Australian than British anyway, and nearly all of their operations are overseas.

Hmmm.

In common with so many prominent figures,

I voted Leave, and I left[1].

[1] Either in person, or just sent my hedge fund or other business abroad.

UncleEbenezer wrote:In common with so many prominent figures,

I voted Leave, and I left[1].

[1] Either in person, or just sent my hedge fund or other business abroad.

Please put me out of my misery. Who are you quoting here because I can't find the original anywhere on the thread. Perhaps the post was deleted?

GS

GoSeigen wrote:

UncleEbenezer wrote:In common with so many prominent figures,

I voted Leave, and I left[1].

[1] Either in person, or just sent my hedge fund or other business abroad.

Please put me out of my misery. Who are you quoting here because I can't find the original anywhere on the thread. Perhaps the post was deleted?

I have no idea what Uncle is talking about either, and his comment was (presumably?) directed at me.

roger4 wrote:For those who complain about the site, there is always the option to discontinue visiting.

Which reduces the numbers further who wish to read and discuss financial and investment matters. It becomes self-fulfilling and what is left is a smaller and less diverse site. Seems a shame to me.

roger4 wrote:For those who complain about the site, there is always the option to discontinue visiting.

Perhaps the majority like the way the site is set up and operates, and the complainer is in the minority? Or maybe, the complainer is just having a rant and deserves to be ignored.

Roger

I don't think the complainer is in the minority.

You may be overlooking the fact, that the very site we joined, long ago, was and still is, advertising itself under the banner/heading: "The Lemon Fool - Shares, Investment and Personal Finance Discussion Forums", which is exactly what we have been participating in and contributing to for several years. So we leave it, because it is now seems to have become the: 'Lemon Fool Current Affairs, News and Politics discussion Forums'.

So OK yes, I am leaving (and others have left already).

richfool wrote:

roger4 wrote:For those who complain about the site, there is always the option to discontinue visiting.

Perhaps the majority like the way the site is set up and operates, and the complainer is in the minority? Or maybe, the complainer is just having a rant and deserves to be ignored.

I don't think the complainer is in the minority.

You may be overlooking the fact, that the very site we joined, long ago, was and still is, advertising itself under the banner/heading: "The Lemon Fool - Shares, Investment and Personal Finance Discussion Forums", which is exactly what we have been participating in and contributing to for several years. So we leave it, because it is now seems to have become the: 'Lemon Fool Current Affairs, News and Politics discussion Forums'.

So OK yes, I am leaving (and others have left already).

OK. Then can we look forward to hearing less background whining from some people on TLF? That's all to the good!

This still strikes me as largely a lot of stuff and nonsense.

Here are a random collection of some TLF boards:

Building and DIY
Family Matters
Laughing Lemons
Coronavirus Discussions
Cars, Driving, Motorbikes or any Transport
Cycling
Sports Bar (all sports)

Now, there is more than one there I rarely see. Plus I can say I never post on, or even bother reading, Cycling or Sports Bar yet strangely enough this does not have the slightest effect on my ability to either read any other TLF thread, or to post on whichever thread I wish to. Why should it? Nothing stops people posting on any financial topic they really want to.

XFool wrote:Now, there is more than one there I rarely see. Plus I can say I never post on, or even bother reading, Cycling or Sports Bar yet strangely enough this does not have the slightest effect on my ability to either read any other TLF thread, or to post on whichever thread I wish to. Why should it? Nothing stops people posting on any financial topic they really want to.

I think a lot of it comes down to how people navigate the boards. If you're only interested in investment posts, then to browse the site by scanning all New Posts from the menu seems bizarre and bound to lead to frustration.

Why not just subscribe only to the investment forums then use the tools that the board software helpfully provides to see new posts there (either through notifications, or through using the red icons on the subscription list).

Scott.

Why are Current Affairs, News and Politics boards thriving? Because they are News & Politics discussion threads! Almost every day brings new news - it goes with the territory. And all you need is the news (plenty of sources) and an opinion.

Financial matters? Well TLF is a standalone bulletin board. You won't find share prices, charts, PE figures, dividend payment records and RNS news flow. So it's more a case of "Me and My Portfolio", for those that like that sort of thing. There is in the end only so much to go around. While you are unlikely to be able to start an intelligent conversation on the likes of say, ADVFN(!), it has bags of useful financial information (and nutters aplenty).

As an example, take the nice and cosy TLF Premium Bond thread, which I occasionally post on (amazingly you can even start a ruckus on there...). What is there to say? Some people report they "Have won £50 this month", or "Nothing again". I don't, I don't see the point. But now and then there are interesting posts. Originally I tried to get Gengulphus to repost his TMF Premium Bond thread information on TLF, but he wasn't interested in repeating it. I guess this is not dissimilar to the situation with the other financial boards - and it seems to me that some disappointed and frustrated individuals want to find somebody to blame. (A bit like Brexit?)