Ann: Open letter to shareholders on major bank tax, page-34

Hi mate, forgive me I've sort of been talking out loud here without directly addressing you or your questions. I didn't mean to be rude. I'm not sure how long you've been in the market (I sense you are maybe a little younger and maybe greener than I), and I don't propose to lecture you or patronise your - everyone tends to have their own plan, strategies etc. etc. and often people don't want direct advice so I tend to steer away from offering it.

My plan & strategies are based on 26 years in the market, I started early (one of my first buys way the initial TLS public offering) and over that time I've seen it all and researched/studied extensively to learn a great deal about this game. I'm still a good 25 years or so away from retirement and I'm doing OK but intending to create multiples of my current nest-egg by the time retirement arrives. I'm not sure of your outlook or time frame - my strategies might not make sense for your needs.

Some advice I would offer you right now is to try and stop thinking about when the next divvy payment is due. For two reasons:

1) Thinking about the ex divvy date is only a distraction that will cloud your overall view of the best time to buy NAB. This rule applies for all ASX stocks - don't ever jump in based on a divvy payment, the price you pay for the shares is more important than the next divvy.

2) Just about every divvy paying ASX200 stock drops by EXACTLY (and often more) than the divvy on the day the stock goes ex-divvy. Why pay $1 more for NAB pre-divvy if you know you can buy her for $1 less the next day? It's a false economy.

So... Again unsure if my strategies will work for your needs but you keep your money in your bank account and just watch your favourite big ASX200 stocks that pay a nice chunky divvy. And you just keep watching until a stock that you fancy hits a 12 month low and then you buy a few - not too many, but enough to be grateful if (say) the share price kicks back up to a 12 month high. Then just keep doing that same thing as regularly as you can afford to invest and collect those dividends along the way - DRP them if you possibly can (this is crticially important).

End of strategy. Don't buy stocks when they are going up, don't look for the best performing stock. Look for that ASX200 stock that is in the toilet because that's how the magic of wealth creation happens.

Best wishes.