Mutual funds are doing more and more to discourage investors from leaving them and taking their money to a better performing fund. What does better performing mean? It has nothing to do with who the manager is, what the expense ratio is or how well they performed over the past 5 or 10 years.
Remember the old one, "What have you done for me lately?" That is the ONLY thing that counts. If you ever expect to make money in the stock market you must take the time to find the best performing no-load, no-redemption fee funds that are going up the fastest during the past 3 and 6 months. Usually any fund that has done well for a year or more has just about run its course and once it starts weakening in its upward movement, goes flat and starts down it should be sold and replaced. This can easily be seen in a chart on your computer or at the library at www.bigcharts.com.
There are many funds that will advance at the rate of 1% per week. Yes, per week, but you must find them. It is certainly worth the effort. There are services you can buy such as No-Load FundX; however, there are many free areas on the Internet that will locate excellent funds such as Bar Charts (http://www2.barchart.com/funds.asp , Bloomberg http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/data?pid=mutualfunds and Yahoo www.yahoo.com/finance as well as Investor's Business Daily newspaper that lists the best 3-month and 6-month performers each week. Be careful to check with the fund or your broker that there are no hidden fees. Those that charge a commission do NOT outperform those that have no loads (commission).
Most full service brokers will not sell you no-load funds so you will have to own an account with a discount broker such as Ameritrade, Scottrade or Brown & Company. Many of the well known discount brokers such as Fidelity, Schwab and Waterhouse have adopted hidden fees.
Brokers and financial planners will tell you not to switch around, but that is because they have not learned their trade. It also might mean they are too lazy to do their job. If you remain with a weak fund you will have a weak return or even lose money.
I may sound too harsh in my criticism of brokers and financial planners, but I have hired more than 300 brokers when I owned a brokerage company and I know that only about 1% (yes, one) know how to make money and protect capital. You have to find a good one or take charge yourself.
There may be times when very few, if any, funds are going up. Then you will be in cash in a money market. CASH IS A POSITION. Performance also includes not losing while the market is going down.
Knowing how and when to switch will double or triple your returns and most importantly you will not lose profits you have made. Stay with the best performers at all times.
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
whole house cleaning Deerfield ..Every day I hear from the "experts" on CNBC-TV and... Read More
Sidney felt sick as she looked at her latest OptionsXpress... Read More
In his wonderful book, 'Multiple Streams of Income', best selling... Read More
You should ignore analysts on TV, the radio, the newspaper... Read More
The greatest stock market myth is the idea that investing... Read More
On Monday, November 25, 2000 Investor's Business Daily listed on... Read More
Both the stock market and oil prices rallied recently, which... Read More
I was devastated!I just couldn't believe it. I was 10... Read More
This article describes the model of a natural relationship between... Read More
It depends on your level of understanding of the market... Read More
What the heck am I talking about?It is often said... Read More
Ever jumped out of an airplane? It's OK if you... Read More
We keep hearing about this bear market and that the... Read More
With an insecure job market, overworked employees, insufficient retirement savings... Read More
The Shadow knows. Remember him? It seems a shadow has... Read More
For some "long term" would mean holding a stock position... Read More
Carefully thinking through your goal as a trader is of... Read More
There is nothing more exciting than finding an undervalued stock... Read More
What a great statement!I just heard someone use it in... Read More
Many people would like to diversify their portfolios to expand... Read More
Most people think the stock market is a zero sum... Read More
Just about everything you have been told about Social Security... Read More
If you are a baby boomer, time is not on... Read More
That sounds like good advice doesn't it? Don't lose all... Read More
Since I can remember, and that's a long time ago,... Read More
home cleaning services Des Plaines ..The stock market can present you with a lot of... Read More
There is no question that the stock market is being... Read More
Analyzing growth stocks is an important focus for any investor.... Read More
Everybody is riding the Wall Street Roller coaster. Even if... Read More
For the last few weeks we have seen the stock... Read More
Mutual funds by definition are a mixed bag of stocks,... Read More
(1) CHK stock price $16.74, NAV $32.5CHK is my favorite... Read More
Why? Because I am going to shatter your conventional wisdom... Read More
When you stand on the ocean shore and watch the... Read More
During the day I watch CNBC-TV, the stock market channel.... Read More
If you've ever flipped on the television to CNN Financial... Read More
We all know that emotions control every decision that an... Read More
When it comes to 401k's there is an overabundance of... Read More
Let's assume that you want to make some serious money... Read More
Are you paying any attention to your retirement savings? Do... Read More
Wouldn't it be nice if you were only in the... Read More
Regardless of the fact that the world's stock markets have... Read More
How often have you come across an advertisement or e-mail... Read More
Over the past few months, several investment professionals have brought... Read More
Has your broker been calling you recently with the "great... Read More
When the stock market is going up and all your... Read More
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are growing. Investors are choosing low... Read More
As I said in Part I everyone in the insane... Read More
"If you don't know where you are going, any road... Read More
Right now there doesn't seem to be any "gold fever".... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |