ING has passed

I have been a big proponent for quite some time of ING. In fact I have watched it over the last year gain nearly 375%. I personally made over 25% on a lot of money. I played options on the stock at the same time, so i was also able to protect myself from any downside, while also collecting a premium (1-2%). I did miss nearly 40% by getting out too early, but in retrospect, I am glad I did get out.

The ING that you read about today is a new ING, with different prospects, different businesses and most importantly, different management. I once called this company my pride and joy, but now it is time to move on, I can no longer recommend this business because fundamentally it is different, and it is a company I don't know anymore.

What this split shows me is that nothing is safe from the powers of regulatory bodies. So to those of us owning companies who have recieved a hand from the government recently, I say stay sharp and alert. ING took a 20% hit yesterday, and the business has changed dramatically, and that is something that could happen to any of these companies.

There is still a lot of uncertainty in the market, so protect yourselves - use options or whatever means of protection you are comfortable with, but there is still a need to protect against the unknown.