Part of having a finance blog offers me the opportunity to add my two cents every now and then. With that in mind I’ve come up with the Novel Investor Best and Worst Awards for 2011, relating to stocks and ETFs that may or may not have been part of your portfolio this past year.
In order to come up with the stock list, I eliminated all penny stocks and limited the list to the more well known companies. For the ETF list all leveraged ETFs were eliminated. Something to keep in mind before getting into the winners or losers, these are not investment recommendations and past performance doesn’t equate to future performance so invest at your own risk.
Best Stock of 2011 – Mastercard (MA)
In a time when debt has been the biggest topic in personal finance, Mastercard stock was one of the best performers of the year. Finishing the year up 64%. Thanks in large part to the growing cashless society we’re moving towards. The Fed allowing banks to charge more for debit card fees didn’t hurt either.
Worst Stock of 2011 – Research In Motion (RIMM)
Proof that not keeping up with tech trends is bad. The maker of Blackberry phones has been destroyed with the advances in the smart phone thanks to the Apple IPhone and the growth of Android smartphones. RIMM failed to get on board and has been killed because of it. Starting off January at $58/share and ending the year around $14/share, for a loss of -76%.
My two cents is this company is done. The current smartphone wars will come down to Android and Apple. Very reminiscent of the operating system war of the 90s. Android is the new Windows for smartphones. Hopefully better, but there’s only one real winner in Google.
Starting January 1, 2012 new cost basis reporting changes will take effect regarding mutual funds, ETFs, and DRIPs (Dividend ReInvestment Plans). Under the new changes, the IRS will require all brokerages and fund companies to track the purchase and sale price of these assets. These are similar to the 
When it comes to saving money, sometimes it can be easily overlooked in these debt focused times. Deservedly so, paying down debt has its importance. Typically, with any budget, money is set aside each month for all the bills and other monthly costs. Leaving savings to sometimes take a backseat to those credit card bills or student loans. Which only puts off those savings goals another month. Before long that vacation fund is four months short and sitting on a beach in December is looking very unlikely.