Now that more than half the year is behind us, I thought it would be interesting to look at my top 5 performers through July 31, 2008. As dismal as the stock market has been this year, there are still some bright spots. One bright spot is that my top five performers have all achieved double-digit positive total returns since I owned them and positive returns in 2008. Here they are with comments:

A closer look at GMO’s 7-year asset class expected returns.

In my previous article I started discussing my dividend growth plan in more detail, by focusing on my strategy. Today I will be focusing on my stock selection criteria.

So, what is your greatest wealth building asset? Everyone is born with it. Few realize its importance until they lose most of it. The asset is so valuable it can't be bought. Your most valuable wealth building asset is ...

Ever since the broad market indexes entered into bear market territory, I have been checking the dividend champions list for bargains. I came up with a list, using the follwoing screen criteria:

The 30 stocks in the Dow Jones Industrials are trading for 82% of Morningstar.com's estimated fair value, which makes the Dow an undervalued 5-star market. Eleven of the 30 industrials are undervalued 5-star stocks, according to Morningstar.

In the eyes of many, the Oracle of Omaha -- whose Berkshire Hathaway holding company owns or has major stakes in many iconic brands, including Fruit of the Loom, Kraft Foods and Johnson & Johnson -- looks like a brand investor...

Johnson & Johnson engages in the manufacture and sale of various products in the health care field worldwide.

Small cap stocks need not be hot tip penny stocks or speculative growth stories based on an idea and a prayer. There are plenty of quality, undervalued small cap stocks out there, and this article tells you how to find them.

A look at Johnson & Johnson's three segments: Consumer, Medical Devices, and Pharmaceutical.

There is only one valuation statistic that takes into account a company's free cash production and balance sheet risk, and allows you to compare it's valuation against other stocks, bonds, and treasuries. That statistic is the little used free cash yield measure.

The second in a three part series, this article examines several valuation based formulas, explaining for each what it means, how to calculate it, what's a good or bad number, and a simple example.

Why not sell no-moat companies and buy wide-moat companies if they trade at similar multiples?

A great interview with Joe Rosenberg, Chief Investment Strategist for Loews. He discusses why Microsoft might be better off without Yahoo, the value of Johnson & Johnson, and Comcast.

Excerpt: "In any market, non-cyclical stocks balance your portfolio...important in this category are food, personal care, and household goods – the bare necessities for human existence. "