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I have just purchased some shares of JSM. This is a preferred stock of the Sallie Mae corporation. I have owned shares of Sallie Mae, SLM, for a while. Sallie Mae is probably pretty familiar to many people, as they are the company that has handled many a college loan. SLM shot up about $15/share in early April as rumors were swirling about a buyout for a nice premium over the then stock price. That was very nice to see as it had been lagging a bit as there was some earlier investigation news swirling around SLM.

Well, JSM is the preferred stock version that pays around a 6% dividend. When SLM shot up, the preferred stock, JSM, shot down. Opening at $25 in Jan. ‘04, JSM has been lingering in the $21 range. At that discount, I figured purchasing it now is a good idea. It pays a flat $1.50 dividend. So, the dividend at the $25 price was 6%, but now since the price is around $21, it makes the dividend over 7%, the discount on the price makes it pretty attractive. I love to find high-dividend payers at a discounted price, and I think this fits. Even if JSN lingers at this price, the 7% quarterly dividend and potential upside make it look better than any money market or cds.

I just recently purchased shares in GRAN. I have kept an eye on the Bank of Granite stock for a bit over a year. With the recent surge in various blue-chips, finding some bargains has been a little harder than normal. But, I purchased GRAN shares under $16. Bank of Granite is a regional bank that operates several branches in North Carolina.

GRAN has a solid dividend (3.3%) and its P/E ratio isn’t scary (14.43). I purchased it around $15.90, which is definitely towards the lower end of its 52-week price range. In this Q&A,they say that at one point Warren Buffet called GRAN the best run bank in the country - gotta be doing something right to get some props from Buffet. I think I got it at a decent price, there is a bit of jitters with various banks (from all the sub-par lending news) but we will see if GRAN works out or not over time. With the 3.3% dividend, I can handle some price fluctuation, so I will probably hold on to it for a while.

I have been investing in various stocks and mutual funds for over 7 years now. I consider myself a fairly knowledgeable investor, who focuses primarily on blue chip, dividend paying stocks. But I am always open to new opportunities and have a portfolio that includes many blue chips, some fliers, some small caps, some mutual funds, some short-term cd’s for cash liquidity, and even a few municipal bonds to help even things out.

 I intend to post details of my various stock and other investment purchases in this blog. This will allow me to look back over various investment decisions and decide if they were wise or not. I consider myself a fairly conservative investor, who prefers the stability and growth of blue chip stocks, but will always play around with other investment ideas. I have a goal of being able to retire by 40 - I say be able to, because I foresee myself always involved in some type of business even after 40. But just knowing I won’t “have to” work is a goal I want to achieve by 40 - I am currently 31.