One of the basic laws of physics states that a body in motion will continue in motion in the direction it is going until interrupted by another force.
That basic physics law also applies to stocks and mutual funds. To see this trend it will be very apparent in a weekly or monthly chart rather than a daily chart. The daily chart shows too much noise (random movement).
In the Friday edition of Investor's Business Daily you will find 37 weekly charts on the back page of Section 2. One of the common occurrences among these issues is the steady upward progression of price, many with an angle of 30 degrees or more. The up movement of price may have been going on for many months. This is the kind of stock you want to own and even add to your position as it continues upward.
Most brokers talk about dollar cost averaging and mean adding to a stock as it goes down. That is stupid. There is only one right way to dollar cost average and that is when it is going up - NEVER down. Averaging down will put you in the poor house.
Today's stock market (end of 1999) we see the upward momentum of almost all the major stock averages - the DOW Jones Industrials, the S&P500, the Russell 2000 and many more. Some of these indexes are headed for the stratosphere. No, I have no idea how high or how far is up, but remain 100% invested to take advantage of this runaway bull. The market will tell me when to sell.
For anyone holding individual stocks about the only thing you can do is set a trailing stop-loss order so that when the issue turns you will be out with a nice profit. Don't try to predict the top because you will sell too soon. Let the stock itself tell you when to get out. The amount of the stop will be up to you, but I like about 10% of Friday's closing price. Never move the stop down.
There are people who buy mutual funds and put them away and never look to see how they are doing. This is a mistake. You are hurting your financial future if you do not regularly review your funds. Monthly is best, never less that quarterly. Momentum applies here too and even more so because many funds have a bias to a particular sector of the market. There are big caps, small caps, regional, international, value, etc., etc., etc. A policy to enhance your income is to see which sectors or groups are doing best and be invested in a fund that is heavily in that sector.
Mutual funds of a certain sector will run up for months at a time, even years, but when that sector becomes weak you should sell immediately and buy a stronger one. If you are with a discount broker there will be no commission to switch and, of course, you only buy no-load funds. Never blindly buy and hold any fund.
As you become aware of the momentum of various sectors and switch to stay with the strongest you can easily double your current return.
Al Thomas' book, "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It!" has helped thousands of people make money and keep their profits with his simple 2-step method. Read the first chapter at http://www.mutualfundmagic.com and discover why he's the man that Wall Street does not want you to know.
Copyright 2005
http://www.mutualfundmagic.com; 1-888-345-7870
Airbnb cleaning service Arlington Heights ..Ever have one of those sample boxes of candy? Each... Read More
Sometime in the third quarter of 1997, someone told me... Read More
If you have been dealing with mutual funds for any... Read More
Sidney felt sick as she looked at her latest OptionsXpress... Read More
I have watched my cat play with a bag of... Read More
Well maybe that's overstating it a little, but it's certainly... Read More
It looks like we have now entered a new bull... Read More
Because there are so many stocks that are NOT paying... Read More
Time to look back2004 is over, now we are in... Read More
Have you bought any mutual funds this year or late... Read More
You may have wondered why your mutual funds have been... Read More
Peter is a professional trader, Paul is not. Peter has... Read More
Reach in your pocket and take out that big roll... Read More
It depends on your level of understanding of the market... Read More
It has fallen upon the consumer to make our economy... Read More
The stock market has been going up for more than... Read More
We've all heard of the stock market and probably have... Read More
Wall Street's watchword has always been diversification, but what does... Read More
If you are a baby boomer, time is not on... Read More
As an investor you will want to check out any... Read More
A 'stock option' is a contract between two parties giving... Read More
We all know that emotions control every decision that an... Read More
Refuse is a serious issue in any society, about as... Read More
Mutual funds by definition are a mixed bag of stocks,... Read More
You have a lock on your house. You have a... Read More
reliable maid service Winnetka ..Spread trading is a technique that can be used to... Read More
I cringe every time I hear a novice investor tell... Read More
I would like to share with the reader an article... Read More
When you become interested in a stock or mutual fund... Read More
When is a dividend not a dividend?The latest thing "conservative"... Read More
There are so many kinds of work that needs to... Read More
Most stock market traders have a favorite technical indicator.The one... Read More
Ever done any whitewater rafting or canoeing? Long periods of... Read More
You may have wondered why your mutual funds have been... Read More
What are you thinking when it comes to your no... Read More
One of the great "secrets" of successful people is discipline... Read More
It's about time someone spoke the truth concerning outsourcing. The... Read More
Every stock market investor faces one primal enemy. An enemy... Read More
I go to the Money Show every year to visit... Read More
It has been said that low cost or even free... Read More
After the publication of the first part of this two... Read More
04/28/2005NASDAQ dropped -12.5% year to date in 2005. S&P500 index... Read More
Several times each month I am solicited by various market... Read More
The recent criminal fiasco in the mutual fund industry is... Read More
Where is the beef? Or maybe it should be where... Read More
If you're a normal human being, your need to feel... Read More
If you were to find that you had some severe... Read More
For the last few weeks we have seen the stock... Read More
Because there are so many stocks that are NOT paying... Read More
Minority Report the movie may not be far off if... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |