i started investing heavily into the medical market a couple years ago; that, alongside the tech market. with google, apple and all the other volatile companies (in regards to the open market), the medical industry is way crazier. needless to say, i’ve made WAY more money in medical than tech… fucking google :-/

the paraphrased quotes i always hear are about how personified the market is. how it “pulled a hamstring this morning, [but] finished second place from last quarter,” or whatever. thank god i’m not an analysis, those guys are nuts.

Keep in mind that the market is not always reactive. Many of those things (future earnings, product releases, pending legal action) were probably already priced in to your stock, and may have little to do with why the price sagged on any particular day.

When do you vest?

I will be fully vested in my 401k and ESOP (basically, extra stock given as a bonus in addition to the cash bonus) in 2009. However, I also own company stock through the ESPP, which is sort of like stock options. Those holdings are restricted stock with a discount purchase price and a one-year vesting period.

The reality is that I currently have a lot of money tied up in my company’s stock, albeit nowhere near my total investment portfolio value.