Here is the status of everything as of today:
Stocks: My original list of >500 candidates has been winnowed to just under 100. In December, I will go through the remaining candidates, apply several Easy-Rate factors to them, and try to get the list down to 45-50. I will then fully rate those names in the first week of January (when full-year 2012 data is available) and select the final Top 40.
Text: During November, I worked my way through about 80% of the text, updating it and adding new features and information. The text grows every year. Even as I tighten it up, new subjects and more complete discussions make the overall size grow. Some of the new or expanded coverage this coming year will include:
>> More complete treatment of risk.
>> Better coverage of diversification.
>> Added emphasis on the importance of valuation.
>> Several new definitions in the glossary.
>> Addition of beta as a scoring factor. (Lower beta, meaning less volatility, is better.)
Every year, I agonize over the sub-title. The main title--Top 40 Dividend Growth Stocks--does not capture the full essence of the eBook. Sometimes I think that the most important content is not the Top 40 themselves (as important as they are), but rather the step-by-step investing guide along with the foundational discussions that support the whole dividend growth strategy. At the moment, I have two versions of the sub-title:
>> The Theory and Practice of Dividend Growth Investing
>> A Step-by-Step Guide to Dividend Growth Investing
Last year's sub-title was "How to Create and Maintain a Dividend Growth Portfolio."
Obviously, I want to convey that this eBook is far more than a list of 40 stocks. The text has more than twice as many pages as are used to cover the Top 40 stocks themselves.
If you have any thoughts about the best sub-title, please drop me an email. Thanks!
Regards,
Dave
