The Daily Workshop Report
by Robert Sheard (TMF Sheard)

LEXINGTON, KY. (August 12, 1997)

Scroll to the bottom for year-to-date Growth and Value Screen results.

A couple of housekeeping items today. First, I mistakenly wrote yesterday in my Foolish Four column that the American Exchange spider which mimics the S&P 500 Index (ticker symbol SPY) doesn't charge a management fee as mutual funds do. Apparently, however, that's not the case. There's also a security similar to SPY which is scheduled to open in the near future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. I'll try to dig up further details on both and report on them again in coming weeks.

Second, a reader pointed me to an Internet site that allows users to screen fundamental values using a range of variables. I haven't used the site myself, but if you're interested in screening a database and haven't subscribed to one of the several commercial services, you may want to visit www.marketplayer.com. (You will have to register in order to begin screening.)

Now that our best bet for capital gains is holding stocks for 18 months rather than just a year, I revisited the 15 Sheard Blue Chip stocks I renewed on July 1 to see how they'd be doing if we hadn't renewed them and were holding them for a full 18 months (until the end of 1997). Not surprisingly, they're doing fine, even with the recent weakness in large-cap stocks. Since July 1, 1996, the 15 stocks are up 52% versus a 38% gain in the S&P 500 Index. I'll keep you posted on their progress. Fool on!

Monthly Growth Screens
(Jan. 3 to present)
57.76%  Relative Strength  
25.84%  Investing for Growth  
23.87%  S&P 500 Index  
21.28%  YPEG Potential  
17.41%  Low Price/Sales  
13.60%  EPS Plus RS  
 9.99%  Unemotional Growth  
-0.02%  Formula 90  

Annual Value Screens
(Jan. 1 to present)
23.46%  Dow Jones Ind Avg  
21.80%  Beating the S&P  
21.77%  Dogs of the Dow  
18.27%  Unemotional Value  
18.27%  Beating the Dow  
18.24%  Dow Combo  
 9.41%  Foolish Four