The stock market has not been very kind to your investments lately. Your broker knows this so you may have received a call from him suggesting it is time to 'rebalance and diversify' your portfolio.
What does this really mean? He wants you to sell some of your holdings and buy something else. Probably sell stocks and buy bonds "because of market uncertainty". Sounds good, but it really means he needs some commission and you are "it". Yes, I agree it may be time to sell all your stocks and mutual funds and put everything in a money market account until this bear market is over. Your broker doesn't like money market funds because he doesn't make any commission. That may be why he never recommends them.
Rebalance doesn't have any true stock market meaning. It is one of those Wall Street words they use to confuse you. It sounds good, but that's all.
Diversify is another broker and financial planner favorite. Have part of your money in stocks, some in mutual funds, bonds and maybe 5% in a money market so you can take advantage of an initial public offering when a new one comes along. Yeah! Now let's try the true meaning of diversify: put some here, put some there and a little there (and all of this does generate commission, of course) because I really don't know what to do so we will spread it around and hope for the best.
No, I don't hate your broker or financial planner. It is just that I know they have not been trained to protect your capital or how to make money. How do I know that? I used to own a brokerage company and I know how these guys consistently lose their customers and their own money. Yes, they even do it to themselves. That's how dumb they are.
If you have lost money this year in your nice "safe" mutual fund you are not alone. Did you know that 99% of all stock mutual funds have a loss? Scary isn't it. Is there any thing you could have done to have protected your capital from a major loss? Yes there is.
For example, in 1998 you could have bought Janus 20 mutual fund for about $40/share. You and several hundred thousand others did. All of you watched as it went up to $94/share. Wonderful! Uh oh, it is now selling for $35. If you had been told by your broker (and you weren't) that it is a good policy to protect your profits with a mental stop-loss order of about 10% you could have sold out at about $80/share, but you are in for the long haul and you are a conservative investor so you won't sell.
The term conservative investor is an oxymoron. There is no such thing when you have your money on the line. You are a speculator. It happens to be that you are a long-term speculator. And they get just as burned as the day traders. It just takes longer.
Don't fall for the nonsense of rebalancing and diversifying. When one of your holdings starts down more than 10% just sell out. You want to diversify and rebalance into cash until this bear market is over.
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
expert residential cleaners Morton Grove ...Everybody is riding the Wall Street Roller coaster. Even if... Read More
The date October 13, 2000 will forever be embedded in... Read More
On Monday, November 25, 2000 Investor's Business Daily listed on... Read More
Did you know you can make money (and a lot... Read More
The stock market has not been very kind to your... Read More
When an individual investor wants to roll up his sleeves... Read More
Success in small cap & micro cap stock trading like... Read More
Disclaimer: Please note that I do not necessarily purchase, own,... Read More
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are a group of passive index... Read More
I mean it when I say that. While plastic silverware... Read More
You probably know the story of Sherlock Holmes and the... Read More
Having lived aboard a sailboat for 2 years I was... Read More
When is a dividend not a dividend?The latest thing "conservative"... Read More
When you stand on the ocean shore and watch the... Read More
Most stock market traders have a favorite technical indicator.The one... Read More
For years investors have been taught to look into the... Read More
If you were to find that you had some severe... Read More
There is nothing more exciting than finding an undervalued stock... Read More
I often play a little game with myself when I... Read More
Sidney felt sick as she looked at her latest OptionsXpress... Read More
(1) CHK stock price $16.74, NAV $32.5CHK is my favorite... Read More
When you become interested in a stock or mutual fund... Read More
If you are a baby boomer, time is not on... Read More
In one of my previous articles (Investing in the stock... Read More
The Bollinger Band theory is designed to depict the volatility... Read More
tidy up service Des Plaines ...We all know the expression, "My country, right or wrong",... Read More
Stock trading remains a very competitive field and the stock... Read More
If you don't know where you are going any road... Read More
For the last 12 years we have seen the Japanese... Read More
Are you attracted to the idea of being in control... Read More
Four blind men were asked to give a description of... Read More
In 1960 an engineer working for a watch company in... Read More
I have a 2-car garage. There are nice shelves on... Read More
One of the main reasons many of us get into... Read More
The recent criminal fiasco in the mutual fund industry is... Read More
Ever done any whitewater rafting or canoeing? Long periods of... Read More
With over 6,000 mutual funds available, it may be tempting... Read More
Sidney felt sick as she looked at her latest OptionsXpress... Read More
(1) Stock Market is Tough Place to Make Any Money... Read More
You probably have been told that options are risky. Even... Read More
A few years back ? it seems like an eternity... Read More
Forget making a profit; instead focus on the income provided... Read More
Mutual funds were moderately successful in creating a presence in... Read More
It is finally catching up with them. The brokerage companies... Read More
When it comes to buying a stock or mutual fund... Read More
Cat or dog? Maybe Zebra. Shucks, I don't know, but... Read More
If you are a baby boomer, time is not on... Read More
There has been great condemnation recently because China has been... Read More
It seems that every day I turn on the TV... Read More
Picking a beaten-down stock requires a different kind of selection... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |