Currently, we have half positions in 3 equities for our long term portfolio. In a market that is this volatile, I like the idea of partial positions, because when investing for years to come it's beneficial not to subject yourself to one day's price action.

With the election 25 days from today, we have the potential for some huge swings in both direction over the coming weeks.

I'm going to break down some of the equities that I favor the most right now for a long term investment.

When searching for companies to own as part of a retirement portfolio, capital preservation is the top consideration. You want to be buying companies that you're certain will be around and a regular player in our normal lives in the next 10 years, and ideally even decades out.

3 of my best recommendations are DIS, UBER, and STZ, which we already own - we've talked about these stocks extensively, and I'll continue to update our positions going forward, so for this update I am only going to discuss them briefly - yet they remain solid buys even right here in my opinion.

If you buy Disney and hold the stock until the world resumes to normal life, whether it's in 1 year or 3 years, I see huge potential in that stock to charge higher once their streaming numbers are factored into the stock price without the pain of the movie theater and parks being shut down.

Uber is similar, in that once social life resumes they will get over the pain their business is experiencing, yet they will bring with them all the growth they've experienced in the food delivery business.

Constellation is a strong business in the alcohol segment, which is never going away, and provides some nice upside with exposure to the cannabis sector as well through CGC. Cannabis stocks traded higher yesterday after Harris mentioned decriminalizing marijuana in a potential Biden administration during the debate Wednesday night.

I list all the equities below alphabetically:

We'll start off with Apple. It's hard to make a case against holding some AAPL in your retirement account. The largest company in the world, with hundreds of billions of dollars in cash sitting on their balance sheet. They control the iPhone, and app store, and are a world wide phenomenon. If you own any index funds then you probably already have a decent exposure to AAPL.

AAPL recently pulled back a .382 retracement of its entire run up from the lows of March. We will look to build a partial position if it trades back to the .382 again at $105.58.

If I had been writing a newsletter during the beginning of the year when the shut down began, AMZN may have been my first recommendation as part of our long term portfolio. AMZN under $2,000 during the beginning of the shut down and pandemic offered tremendous value. If there was one company I was certain they would not let short term profits get in the way of the long term goals and success, it would have been Amazon. The company traded from $1,626 to $3,552 in under 6 months. Since its peak on September 2nd, Amazon traded back to a low of $2,871 on September 21st. We will look to build a partial position if Amazon trades back to its .382 near $2,816.

Part of the strategy of a long term portfolio is making sure you are diversified. If there's on thing this year has taught me, it's that even the best laid plans can go as you might not expect, and it might be completely out of your control. When it comes to retirement, be prepared for the unforeseen.

Having some exposure to banks when rates are expected to remain near zero for years might seem counterintuitive, yet BAC and JPM are 2 of the strongest and can provide some dividend consistency with the possible upside if rates climb.

BAC made it as high as a .618 of its entire pull back in early June, but has struggled since then and now sits right near the .382 line.

It always helps when Warren Buffett has almost a 12% stake in the company as well.

Salesforce posted huge earnings last quarter, along with being added to the Dow30. They are a strong company positioned well in a sector that is rapidly expanding as the shift to more remote work on the cloud accelerates.

I listened to the earnings call on August 25th and the company is firing on all cylinders with rapid organic growth and nice margins.

Home Depot has doubled since its lows in March of $140.63. HD is well positioned to capitalize off of our new habits of working and spending more time from home. HD will retrace once we eventually open the world back up post-COVID, yet long-term this company is a strong buy with rates near low for years to come, the housing market on fire, and people more willing to spend money on their first and second homes. We will look to build a position on a pull back. HD is consolidating from about $260 - $290 since the middle of July.

As mentioned in our analysis of BAC, diversification is a key component of any long term portfolio, especially for retirement savings. JPM & BAC are the 2 strongest banks and longer term they provide some nice dividend income with possible capital appreciation if rates are able to rise in the near to intermediate future.

Limited Brands runs Bath & Body Works along with Victoria's Secret. Recently, Victoria's Secret had been a drag on the company while Bath & Body Works achieved consistent quarterly returns. This is one of the higher risk trades that I'm discussing today, as there's really no reason to think that Bath & Body Works could cease to exist at some point in the years ahead as our habits and malls change, yet the struggling Victoria Secret brand provides a nice opportunity for growth if they can transition to online sales. We will look for a decent pull back to enter this equity, as it has expanded too far too quickly at this time.

Lowe's has been a one way trade since the low's of March at $60. The stock has almost tripled since then and currently sits at $172. When COVID ends you will see "stay at home equities" like LOW retrace, but in the long term our habits have changed forever and Lowe's is well positioned for future growth as people focus on their homes that they spend more time in.

There's only one McDonalds. There's only one "Happy Meal". There's only one "Big Mac". This is what I mean by company that is going no where over the next decade or two. While diet trends have shifted to more nutritious options, McDonalds has adapted nicely to provide those options, while relying on their core business of burgers, fries, and breakfast.

MCD has adapted nicely to the world of food delivery, and is well positioned for continued growth in the future.

Microsoft is one of the strongest companies in the world. They have transitioned to a cloud company with recurring revenue and a strong brand that is present in many aspects of our daily life. We will look to build a position if MSFT trades back to its .382 near the $194 price point.

Nike is akin to McDonalds in some forms, as its a brand that the whole world knows and loves, and it is transitioning well to online sales to consumers. NKE has been in a solid uptrend since its March lows. We will look for a pull back to build a partial position in our long term portfolio.

Procter and Gamble has a lineup of products that well use whether we know it or not. They have too many brands to list, click here to see for yourself at their web site.

PG is in a solid uptrend and we will look for a pull back on light volume for an entry.

RH, formerly Restoration Hardware, has had quite a run off the lows of March. In a world where high income earners are working from home more often, this company is well positioned for future growth and consistency. It always helps when Warren Buffett owns $250M+ or 6.5% of the company as well.

Starbucks got hit earlier than most equities this year because of their exposure to China. SBUX has yet to make it back to its highs from earlier this year. We will look to build a position in SBUX on a pull back on light volume. Coffee is the most popular drug on the planet and SBUX is the largest supplier.

Target continues to trade higher with conviction. TGT has a strong brand and plenty of opportunity for growth as they expand their online delivery and pickup options for consumers as the holiday season approaches during the pandemic.

Walmart is starting to compete directly with AMZN with their new Walmart+ service. Walmart has a market cap of $400B, which seems undervalued for the amount of services they provide to most Americans and the amount of growth they can see if they start taking business from AMZN Prime in any capacity.

Zoom has been one of the biggest winners during COVID as the world is forced to adapt to a work from home lifestyle in many aspects. I can tell you, personally, I have used Zoom for connecting with friends, coworkers, and know of many kids using Zoom, as well as many businesses using Zoom for remote functions. Zoom's ease of use is best in class, and their growth is limitless as the lifestyle changes we are making are not reversing completely once this pandemic ends. ZM is a strong growth company that is already printing a nice profit. We will look to build a position on a pull back with light volume. Anywhere near the $350 area would be ideal, but I'm not sure we'll ever see that price again on Zoom. We will be patient as this equity has some large swings in both directions.

This gives you a brief analysis of each equity on our radar for our long term equity portfolio. We will also look at these equities for short term trades and portfolio. We will be scanning the market for opportunities in our long and short term equity portfolio over the coming weeks. The volatility possible leading up to election day is something we will be keeping a close eye on. Earnings season is about to kick off next week. The banks kick off earnings next week with JPM, C, SCHW reporting on Tuesday, and BAC, WFC, and GS on Wednesday, and MS Thursday. Stay tuned for updates and the weekly Monday report!

Options Trades:
None

Short Term portfolio:
None

Long Term portfolio:
Long half a position in DIS at $118.63. Disney is trading at $123.95. Stop is $98.45.
Long half position in UBER at $31.50 or better. Uber is trading at $37.93. Stop is $26.24.
Long half position in STZ at $180.50. STZ is trading at $185.29. Stop is $164.05.

Timer Digest Signals: S&P: Bearish Gold: Bullish Bonds: Bullish