Auto-pilot isn’t always a good thing
November 6, 2007I pretty much have my investments on auto-pilot. I try not to do too much trading and generally re-evaluate overall allocations about once a quarter. The other week I was getting quotes and reading news on all my current holdings. I noticed that the cash aspect of my investment account had more money than it should have. Also for some strange reason, I couldn’t find a price or any news on my Hilton (HLT) stock. After some more digging, I found out that Hilton had been acquired by another company. The stock symbol had been delisted (why I couldn’t find a price or any info) and all the stock had been bought out (why I had more cash than I expected). I remembered hearing something about the possibility a while back but never followed up on it. Thankfully it was to my advantage (I made ~30%) but it just goes to show that you need to stay abreast on what’s going on even if you’re a “buy and hold” investor.
I believe Blankstone bought Hilton, your brokerage company should have notified you of any changes.
You’re correct but oddly, the notification didn’t come until a few days after the transaction had been completed. If there was an earlier notice, I must have overlooked it.
Comment by Moneymonk — November 6, 2007 @ 12:42 pm
At least you made some money. But sometimes that autopilot will snag us - hope this awakens some alertness in you :-)
Comment by Sistah Ant — November 6, 2007 @ 5:51 pm