Okay, so I kept hearing about how the dollar was sinking in relation to the Euro. And I also kept hearing on the radio that the Bush administration is willing to let the dollar slide even further. So the expectation is that the dollar will continue going down while the euro continues going up. So with this in mind, I looked at the cash balance in my Ameritrade account and thought "Geez, I should put my extra USD cash into euros for a while." But I figured buying euros was kind of unsophisticated so I decided I'd rather buy a company that was denominated in euros so I could get both the currency bounce and the increase in stock value. So I started thinking...think think think...what european company should I buy?
Well, Peter Lynch always said to invest in what you know, right? Well, okay...so now I am the proud owner of $2000 worth of Porsche AG common stock (ticker PSEPF). Oddly enough, that works out to just three shares. But regardless, I pulled the trigger and bought the stock. So now I guess I own the ultimate motorsports collectable - I actually own part of the company (BTW, may I interest you in a nice, new Carrera or perhaps a Turbo Cayenne?)
Granted, this was the most irrational and poorly researched stock play I've made since I mispelled the ticker for BEAS a few years ago and accidentally bought 1000 shares of some unknown company that promptly plummetted into the financial equivalent of the Fourth Ring of Dante's Ninth Circle of Hell. But I digress.
Of course, now I am puzzled. I bought the stock using the USD in my Ameritrade account. And I don't recall seeing any FX (i.e. foreign exchange) activity in my statement. So I wonder if I’ve actually managed to somehow buy Porsche stock denominated in USD - thereby completely screwing up my lame attempt at a currency play? I wonder if I’m gonna lose my shirt on this when the dollar continues to fall. Well guess what. That is EXACTLY what I did. I dug deeper and found a ticker for our favorite car company in Germany clearly denominated in euros: PSHG_p.DE
But Ameritrade does not recognize this ticker (with or without the DE at the end). So I don't know how I'd buy it. And I could find no ADR's that offered it in the US. So obviously, I am living proof that some people should not be allowed to trade without adult supervision. It’s really a good thing I invest in stocks mostly for fun and haven’t quit my "day job" yet.
Oh yeah, and lastly, I wonder if there is any chance I can get a paper stock certificate for this. If I'm gonna lose money out the wazoo, I'd at least like to have something nice to put in a frame for the workshop wall. I guess if worse comes to worse, I’m guaranteed to get an annual shareholders report, right? Of course, it will probably be written in German!! But maybe it will have some nice glossy pictures and I can sell it on eBay for $1...or maybe even $2.
