On Monday, November 25, 2000 Investor's Business Daily listed on page B1 the Top 25 Growth Mutual Funds for the last 36 months along with their performance for the year 2000 to date. Only four showed a profit this year of 21% and the other three had increases of 12%, 5%, and 5%. Fifteen had loss of from 10% to 28% and the other 6 were down slightly.
In the column next to them there is a list of Top 25 Growth Funds for the past 3 months for the year 2000 to date. Only 2 had increases in price for the year 2000, 4 were even and all the rest are showing losses for the year.
Now pay attention and think about this next sentence. Not one mutual fund appears in both lists.
What is the significance of this? It very simply tells you that buy and hold is NOT the way to make money with mutual funds.
I have been preaching for years to buy only no-load mutual funds and hold them only as long as they are going up. When they stop going up you sell them (paying no commission) and find another fund that is going up as the place to have your money. In this current bear market the latter is hard to find so what do you do? Put your money in a money market account and don't worry about the market going down and dragging your investment with it. Protect your capital!
Don't throw up your hands and say I can't do that because my broker says to "buy and hold - the market always comes back". It is not his money. It is yours. You must be the one to initiate the action to protect your capital. Brokers are not taught how to do this. I know - I used to own a brokerage company.
Brokers have been smart enough to learn, but taught all the wrong things when it comes to investing money. They claim you can't "time the market". WRONG again. They never encourage you to place stop-loss orders so you won't lose all your money when you buy a new stock or fund and they never encourage you to use a trailing stop to protect the profits you have made.
I know there are people reading this column who have had stocks that have doubled, tripled, even more and now have that same stock that is now selling for less than they bought it.. Where was your broker when all this was happening? If he is so smart why didn't he tell you to sell at the top? This also applies to mutual funds.
What I am trying to get across is the simple message that you cannot buy and hold. The "secret" every knowledgeable investor knows is to protect his capital first and then to protect his profits second.
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
recurring maid service Buffalo Grove ..Every year I go to the Money Show in Orlando,... Read More
Is really not as important as to how you invest... Read More
Reach in your pocket and take out that big roll... Read More
According to Investopedia Inc. the penny stock market has seen... Read More
What does it mean to short a stock?This means that... Read More
A stock market index is a statistical measure of changes... Read More
Stock trading can be a very profitable activity. You can... Read More
On Monday, November 25, 2000 Investor's Business Daily listed on... Read More
Most stock market traders have a favorite technical indicator.The one... Read More
'Sector funds are too risky.' 'I doubled my money with... Read More
Everything you invest in has risk so you want to... Read More
For years investors have been taught to look into the... Read More
There is nothing more exciting than finding an undervalued stock... Read More
Both the stock market and oil prices rallied recently, which... Read More
If you want one.And I don't recommend any broker with... Read More
Alfred Winslow Jones started hedge funds in 1949. He was... Read More
We all know the expression, "My country, right or wrong",... Read More
Ever jumped out of an airplane? It's OK if you... Read More
As I said in Part I everyone in the insane... Read More
Wall Street's watchword has always been diversification, but what does... Read More
Reduce your investing and stock market risks by:Setting your sights... Read More
When you stand on the ocean shore and watch the... Read More
Economists know more about how the fragments of society work... Read More
For the last few weeks we have seen the stock... Read More
When is a dividend not a dividend?The latest thing "conservative"... Read More
premium house cleaning Glenview ..Every Wall Street analyst, financial planner and broker will tell... Read More
The Bollinger Band theory is designed to depict the volatility... Read More
The stock market often closes a week in the middle... Read More
Most stock traders know that momentum trading can be a... Read More
Do you have a financial planner? Does one of your... Read More
As one of my regular readers you know I have... Read More
With an insecure job market, overworked employees, insufficient retirement savings... Read More
After some forty years of banking and investments, I retired... Read More
Every successful trader has a winning system. There are of... Read More
This is the continuing story of our two imaginary traders,... Read More
There are red lights, green lights, blue lights and spot... Read More
Invest in the stock market for the RIGHT reason, using... Read More
You have decided to buy some stock or mutual funds,... Read More
Let's assume that you want to make some serious money... Read More
People are always asking me when should I sell my... Read More
There are major differences between trading stocks and trading futures.... Read More
You remember the story about the frog that was put... Read More
From the book 'The Stockopoly Plan' by the author Charles... Read More
One of the basic laws of physics is that a... Read More
What the heck am I talking about?It is often said... Read More
When you become interested in a stock or mutual fund... Read More
First let's see what protectionism is. According to Mr. Webster... Read More
One of the most believed bits of conventional wisdom from... Read More
(1) Stock Market is Tough Place to Make Any Money... Read More
When it comes to stock market trading it PAYS to... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |