| |
| |
|
|
Stocks and Mutual Funds |
|
The Inside Scoop on Mutual Fund Rip Offs
The bear market that showed up at the end of 2000 has every brokerage house-as well as the entire mutual fund industry-scrambling to find creative ways to boost both their image and bottom line. Unfortunately, this is often at the investors' expense. Fund managers are ever on the lookout for ways to spin the stats to hide lousy track records and to find ways to obscure fees. To add insult to (financial) injury, investors end up being penalized for selling. So what's an investor to do? In this case, knowledge is power. Here are some of the ways mutual fund investors are being taken advantage of:
Keep in mind that mutual fund companies have market share in mind, not your best interest. If you think that might not be true, consider the skyrocket growth rate for pure technology funds. But look at them now: they've crashed & burned and no buy & holder has come out with a win. Then there's the sad story of incompetence in the mutual fund industry. There are hordes of inexperienced financial planners (commissioned salesmen) just waiting to sell you load funds (A and B shares), or to recommend an asset allocation approach with no real plan or strategy that will serve you in a bear market. Of course, there's always the option of having a perfectly balanced portfolio designed. Such was the case when a prospective client phoned me in 1999 during the height of the technology boom. He felt left out because everybody was making money in one of history's great bull markets, but his portfolio was so well balanced that he was neither making nor losing anything. He would have been better off in a money market account. To me, the term balanced portfolio translates into this: I have no clue what I'm doing, where the major trend is, what I should be buying or whether I should be in the market in the first place. I'm hedging so much that one investment goes up and another goes down. Balance is one thing and safety is really quite another. And mutual funds do not automatically mean either safety or balance. The key is always information-knowing how to get reliable info and what it means once you have it. This is not for everyone. If you have money to invest and you don't have the time or the inclination to do the homework, then your smartest move is to find someone you trust. That would be someone with a track record you can verify, and someone who is not going to make money off your investment every time you buy or sell something. People like this do exist, and the good news is you only need to do your homework once. That's when you check them out. From then on, you can relax knowing you're just not likely to fall prey to any of the rip-offs that are out there. About The Author Ulli Niemann is an investment advisor and has been writing about objective, methodical approaches to investing for over 10 years. He eluded the bear market of 2000 and has helped hundreds of people make better investment decisions. To find out more about his approach and his FREE Newsletter, please visit: http://www.successful-investment.com; ulli@successful-investment.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Stocks-Mutual-Funds - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Money, Insanity and Wall Street Money: the most charged word in the planet. It means something to everyone. Trading vs Investing I often hear from people, "I don't trade. I invest. Investing in the Stock Market From the book 'The Stockopoly Plan' by the author Charles M. O'MeliaThere are several factors an investor in the stock market should consider:1. Starbucks Stock is Up Starbucks earnings are up again and so is their stock slightly. It appears they are exporting America's weakness to caffeine and sugar around the world. Hot Stock Investing ... How to Pick Hot Stocks with Momentum Stock Trading Profitable day traders recognize that momentum trading is among the fastest & most effective ways to harvest BIG piles of cash in the stock market.The problem is that if you don't know what stocks to look for and how to approach them while limiting your risk, you won't even get close to making some profits. Bottoms Ups If you have talked to a stock broker or financial planner in the last few days I will bet they all agree that there are some great bargains out there and now is the time to start buying in anticipation that the market will go back up. You will also find agreement from the talking heads on CNBC and those talk radio station stock mavens. Investment Discipline One of the great "secrets" of successful people is discipline and it doesn't make any difference whether it is manufacturing, processing, servicing or investing in the stock market.Before you can have that discipline you must have a successful plan and stick with it. How Eating Bitumen Made Me a Better Trader Trading is a fascinating activity.There are so many layers to it. Catnip of the Stock Market I have watched my cat play with a bag of catnip. At first he is having fun and slowly he becomes drunk with pleasure and then finally he becomes so tipsy he falls over to sleep it off. Again With the Bubbles? A few years back - it seems like an eternity today - the U.S. Is the Stock Market for You? Many people would like to diversify their portfolios to expand their holdings. Making it big in the stock market has been a dream for many people who want to strike it rich. Exchange Traded Funds Primer Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are a group of passive index funds that trade on an exchange like an individual stock. At the time of writing there are 162 ETFs with $220 billion in assets under management trading on U. Option Trading Basics Options trading can increase the profits you make when trading Stocks if you understand how to use them and know what you are doing. Options can be a very useful tool that the average investor can use to enhance their returns. The Importance of Using Stop Loss Orders When Spread Trading the Financial Markets A Guide to Using Stop Loss Orders Stop losses are market orders designed to allow you to limit your losses.When you place a stop loss you are instructing the spread betting company or stock broker to cut your position when it reaches a certain loss level (or in some cases, profit level - more later). Lights of the Stock Market There are red lights, green lights, blue lights and spot lights. There are orange lights, pink light and flash lights. Frog In The Pot You remember the story about the frog that was put into a pot of cold water on the stove. He was not concerned. Evaluation I An insane person cannot evaluate an insane evaluation system.As you know I have been trying to restore sanity to the insane premises Wall Street has been teaching its brokers and you for all these years. Seecrets on Investment: Tired of Making Huge Losses in the Stock Market - Part 2 Fundamental analysis.Fundamentals analysis says the best way to predict the future trends of a stock is to understand the financial figures of the underlying company. Picking Mutual Funds to Outperform the Market With over 6,000 mutual funds available, it may be tempting to pick funds from a popular star or index rating system. Savvy investors, however, balance multiple factors in their selection process. Kick The Tires Before you buy another car you walk around the lot, kick the tires, slam the doors and look at the mileage indicator. That's an odometer.
|
||||||||||||||