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
cleaning team near Lincolnshire ...Sometime in the third quarter of 1997, someone told me... Read More
'Sector funds are too risky.' 'I doubled my money with... Read More
Before they go over the cliff to their destruction these... Read More
The fight continues to rage among traders who use technical... Read More
Having lived aboard a sailboat for 2 years I was... Read More
Most people think the stock market is a zero sum... Read More
Should the market turn against you, it is important that... Read More
Today we are inundated with tons of information about the... Read More
A PEG ratio cannot be used alone but is a... Read More
At some time in your life you have been on... Read More
Let's say you are interested in this one company. You... Read More
The following are a list of nine things you want... Read More
Investing in long-term financial vehicles give you the most gains... Read More
Let's discuss commodities; with the latest Enron situation, it is... Read More
There is a current movie entitled "Eternal Sunshine of the... Read More
Every year I go to the Money Show in Orlando,... Read More
Ever done any whitewater rafting or canoeing? Long periods of... Read More
The spring-loaded rat catcher is the ultimate low-tech device invented... Read More
This article describes the model of a natural relationship between... Read More
If you are a baby boomer, time is not on... Read More
Reduce your investing and stock market risks by:Setting your sights... Read More
Trading is a fascinating activity.There are so many layers to... Read More
Time to look back2004 is over, now we are in... Read More
For the last few weeks we have seen the stock... Read More
Four blind men were asked to give a description of... Read More
whole house cleaning Northbrook ...Outlined below are some of the advantages and disadvantages of... Read More
Caught in a whirlpool and being sucked under. No life... Read More
Reach in your pocket and take out that big roll... Read More
There is nothing more exciting than finding an undervalued stock... Read More
To begin, you might look at playing the stock market... Read More
From the book 'The Stockopoly Plan' by the author Charles... Read More
There are formulas for just about everything, but it has... Read More
Trading is a fascinating activity.There are so many layers to... Read More
If you have a pension plan at work you will... Read More
We all know that emotions control every decision that an... Read More
As an investor you will want to check out any... Read More
Among the largest forces that affect stock prices are inflation,... Read More
At some time in your life you have been on... Read More
It is commonly reported that the stock market averages about... Read More
The fight continues to rage among traders who use technical... Read More
In a previously written article, we expanded the use of... Read More
AS BUILDERS BEGIN WORK ON THE FREEDOM TOWER in New... Read More
Mutual funds by definition are a mixed bag of stocks,... Read More
Stock trading remains a very competitive field and the stock... Read More
I cringe every time I hear a novice investor tell... Read More
Analyzing growth stocks is an important focus for any investor.... Read More
If there is one term over-used when talking about making... Read More
In his wonderful book, 'Multiple Streams of Income', best selling... Read More
The greatest stock market myth is the idea that investing... Read More
Let's discuss commodities; with the latest Enron situation, it is... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |