Do you own any mutual funds? In an IRA or 401K or wherever. Privately or at work.
Have you called your fund manager to find out what is going on with your fund? Are they under investigation for late trading, improper pricing, deviation from length of sales defined in the prospectus or stale trading? Are my questions too hard?
Please don't be confused. It seems that most fund owners haven't done anything. There is a serous bout of complacency going around. Forget the flu; this is going to affect your pocketbook. Oh well, it's your money and if you don't care if some crook in a suit with a manicure is handling it then that is your loss.
Now we find out that even those foreign funds have bandits for managers. The British mutual fund industry called unit investment trusts has been doing almost the same thing as our home-grown thieves. It seems the little investor has his wrists tied to his ankles all over the world. The regulatory agencies such as the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) have NOT been doing their job. If you have questions about your funds you can call them in Washington at 202-942-8088. They must tell you as this is public information.
The late trading scandal hit first and has been misnamed as market timing. Late trading is illegal whereas market timing is legitimate. Late trading allows order entry at today's price as long as 3 hours after the market has closed. During that 3 hours news of financial importance regarding stocks in a particular fund could be affected by legal decisions, profit pronouncements, etc.,etc. That news could make the fund go up 2% to 5% the next day when the late trade is then offset taking a disproportionate amount of profits from the regular fund holders. That does not sound like much, but when you are dealing with big numbers it is plenty. What is nice for the crook is there is almost no risk.
In many funds there are classes such A, B, C and other strange letters. These have to do with how much and when the commission is charged. If you put in $25,000 or more you are supposed to get a better price, but many funds have been charging more.
In the prospectus it may say you are required to hold a fund for X numbers of days or pay an extra amount called a redemption fee. Their friends, the big money folks, have not been so charged.
Stale trading is the new one. It seems the buy or sell orders are not entered on the day they were placed, but done so at a more favorable time to allow for a better profit.
These practices and ones not yet reported and those I have not heard of are stealing money from your account. What are you waiting for?
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 ..Now where have I heard that before? I know. It... Read More
Ever done any whitewater rafting or canoeing? Long periods of... Read More
Sometime around 1980, can't remember exactly, there was a flight... Read More
Using Swing Trading Strategies and Technical Analysis when Trading Stocks... Read More
A Guide to Using Stop Loss Orders Stop losses are... Read More
Peter is a professional trader, Paul is not. Peter has... Read More
If you are going to be a winner in the... Read More
Two weeks ago I wrote about what the Securities and... Read More
One of the big advertising kicks today from mutual funds... Read More
Refuse is a serious issue in any society, about as... Read More
If there is one term over-used when talking about making... Read More
Today we are inundated with tons of information about the... Read More
Recently I was invited to appear on a live CNNfn... Read More
Time to look back2004 is over, now we are in... Read More
I cringe every time I hear a novice investor tell... Read More
On the 40 year journey through the turmoil of a... Read More
Look back over the years and try to remember how... Read More
It's about time someone spoke the truth concerning outsourcing. The... Read More
The following are a list of nine things you want... Read More
The Shadow knows. There used to be a radio program... Read More
Just about now everyone is confused as to which way... Read More
The Bollinger Band theory is designed to depict the volatility... Read More
Yesterday I received my monthly issue of MONEY magazine. This... Read More
If you have not back tested your trading system, you... Read More
Financial markets provide their participants with the most favorable conditions... Read More
premium house cleaning Glenview ..If you don't know what a Roth IRA is then... Read More
In 1960 an engineer working for a watch company in... Read More
We have two candidates for president that have really different... Read More
The stock market has not been very kind to your... Read More
Stock trading remains a very competitive field and the stock... Read More
Disclaimer: Please note that I do not necessarily purchase, own,... Read More
There are many good penny stock investments available, which could... Read More
Are you one of those many people who dread reading... Read More
Mutual funds and brokers are always preaching not to buy... Read More
I cringe every time I hear a novice investor tell... Read More
With over 6,000 mutual funds available, it may be tempting... Read More
Reduce your investing and stock market risks by:Setting your sights... Read More
I am taking the time to help others learn the... Read More
As I said in Part I everyone in the insane... Read More
The Shadow knows. Remember him? It seems a shadow has... Read More
If you have not back tested your trading system, you... Read More
During the day I watch CNBC-TV, the stock market channel.... Read More
Hedge current portfolio positions and gain access to capital resources... Read More
Its dinnertime and the phone rings. It's Joe Noname with... Read More
The debate rages all over Eastern and Central Europe, in... Read More
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are a group of passive index... Read More
No, this is not a symbol for some Latin number.... Read More
Everyone who invests in the stock market wants to be... Read More
We are already in it, but you can't see it.... Read More
Sometime in the third quarter of 1997, someone told me... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |