As many of you know just about every retirement portfolio in America has taking a beating the past 12 or more months. My personal 401k has lost over 40% of it’s value in the past 12 months. However, if you take a look at the last two years of McDonald’s stock it has actually increased in value. January 30, 2007 McDonald’s stock was trading at about $43.00 per share and yesterday it closed at $58.83! Even in the worst market McDonald’s has managed to stay strong and increase in value.

Want another reason to invest in McDonald’s? They also pay a dividend over 3% per year. In today’s down market and financial disasters many companies are no longer paying dividends. Companies that have paid dividends for years are ending this prized bonus to it’s investors. McDonald’s however has no reason to end the dividend because of their continued success.

Just for you information I do not own McDonalds stock, yet. I do however plan to purchase McDonalds over the next few months to add a solid company to my portfolio.

Ok, here is my next stock pick. Last one I picked was TZIX and as of today it’s up over $3 per share since I picked it. Today I added this stock to my Roth IRA portfolio, Washington Mutual, Inc. (WM). I know it’s somewhat risky to invest in any type of bank or financial institution at the present state of the economy but I think this is a great pick for the long term investor. Today I purchased shares at $17.50 per share and it closed at $18 per share.
My reason for picking this stock for my portfolio. Last year in January the stock closed at $45.31 per share. It took a huge dive when the sub-prime mortgage problems surfaced. Last summer the stock price slowly started to decline and hit its low in the first part of January of this year at $10.73. I think we have seen the bottom of this stock and it’s already on its way back to the top. I think it’s possible that the stock might dip again in the next couple of months a small amount but I think over the course of the next few years this stock will climb back to the $40 mark.

Washington Mutual also pays good dividends, somewhere in the range of $0.50 per quarter or $2 per year which is about 11% if they continue the dividend this quarter. If you own shares of WM hang on to them if not, BUY!

Looking for a good stock to add to your portfolio? I’m going to play the stock picking game and track my results. Here is my current pick and I’m going to chart my progress over the next few months. I’m buying TZIX today January 4, 2008 at $16.26 per share. Why do I think this is such a great stock?

TriZetto Group Inc. develops, licenses, and supports software products for the health care industry in the United States. The health care industry stocks have been on the rise for the past several years and with a growing number of baby boomers retiring health care will only become more important. The need for the latest technology is also increasing especially in the health care industry.

Even after spending nearly $60,000,000 in investments and capital expenditures they still had a positive cash flow. This has been the trend for the past few years. TriZetto Group Inc. is also in the technology sector and the Health care Information Services industry. The stock at one time has reached levels of over $100 and it’s currently trading for around $16. Over the past year the stock has been up and down and it’s currently down. I suggest a buy now around $16 and then a sell in about four months at around $18 or $19 per share.