Stocks & Mutual Funds Information
Dispelling Illusions of the Stock Market
How can you dispel an illusion unless you look directly at it? The magician distracts the eye with one hand while he does his manipulation with the other. You are looking in the wrong place and not seeing what is actually happening.
Diversification
Wall Street's watchword has always been diversification, but what does it mean and why do they say it?The standard Wall Street definition is flexible because each broker or financial planner will vary the portfolio based on your age and income. They say that the younger you are the more risk you should take and the older you are the less risk.
Dividends
When is a dividend not a dividend?The latest thing "conservative" brokers are preaching these days is to buy stocks that pay dividends. Everyone likes dividends.
Does Japan Matter?
For the last 12 years we have seen the Japanese stock market slowly sinking from a high of 38,000 to about 8,000, more than a 75% loss and very close to the price of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Why should we care about their stock market?Please understand that the stock market price is a reflection of the overall economy of a country.
Dollar Cost Averaging
Dollar cost averaging is one of the most popular ideas in the investment community. Everyone seems to like it and it has become a watchword among stock and mutual fund brokers.
Dont Ask Your Broker
Unfortunately, most of you who are reading my column are suffering some substantial losses in the stock market. Whether it is mutual funds or individual stocks everything with mighty few exceptions is going down.
Dont Fight The Fed
One of the great truisms of Wall Street is "Don't fight the Fed". For the long term investors this has resulted in greater profits.
Downdraft
For the year 2000 we have seen hundreds of mutual funds lose 40%, 50% and more of their value. This does not seem right since the fund is supposed to be managed by a professional.
Duck
Duck! No I don't mean a quack, quack. I meant get down, look out for a huge blob of brown stuff is heading your way.
Duct Tape
Did you run out to buy that duct tape yet? Don't forget the plastic sheeting, bottles of water, canned food and a couple of books to read. What are you waiting for? I know - things to get better so you can resume your normal life style.
Getting Even
I know there are a lot of you out there who would like to "get even" with the stock market. Many are on the diet of "I hope, I hope".
Good News?
As the man said, "I've got some good news and I've got some bad news. What do you want to hear first?" It was replied, "Tell me the good news first".
Hedge Funds
You read and hear a lot about hedge funds. Unfortunately, most of what you hear is negative because it comes from the major media that has an interest in reporting negatives about them because the major media is supported by so-called standard mutual funds and brokerage companies that spend big bucks for
advertising.
The Holy Grail (of Investment)
Every year I go to the Money Show in Orlando, Florida. Thousands attend.
Gold Fever
Right now there doesn't seem to be any "gold fever". Very few are out looking to strike it rich in this sector.
More Resources
Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exitingMore Stocks & Mutual Funds Information:
Related Articles
Stuff
I continually hear from economists, talking heads, other market letter writers, analysts and assorted "experts" that I need to know all kinds of "stuff" about the stocks and mutual funds I am going to buy and I should keep up with them on a regular basis.What is this important "stuff"?Let's see.
"Fears Only Enemy Is Action"
What a great statement!I just heard someone use it in the context of personal and financial success and it struck me as a brilliant summary of an issue we raise in the SMG Tutorials.Fear is a huge issue with a lot of traders.
Cash Is A Position
I go to the Money Show every year to visit with friends who have booths and are speakers. Then when folks are filing out of lectures I listen to their comments on what I know the speaker has been saying.
Mutual Funds are Dead
You may have wondered why your mutual funds have been going down for the past 2 years. The answer is very simple, but not one you will hear from Wall Street as they want you to send money.
Investment Research - The Dalbar Study
Very few people, even professionals, have heard of the Dalbar Study that originated in 1995. Its purpose is to determine the profitability of trading for the small investor of mutual funds.
Bollinger Bands Strategies
The Bollinger Band theory is designed to depict the volatility of a stock. It is quite simple, being composed of a simple moving average, and its upper and lower "bands" that are 2 standard deviations away.
Low Tide
When you stand on the ocean shore and watch the waves breaking you might become aware that the tide is coming in or going out. It is a slow process to watch the water retreat and when it finally gets to its lowest point it is almost impossible to tell if it has stopped or will retreat further.
The Value of Stocks of a Company
The debate rages all over Eastern and Central Europe, in countries in transition as well as in Western Europe. It raged in Britain during the 80s: Is privatization really the robbery in disguise of state assets by a select few, cronies of the political regime? Margaret Thatcher was accuse of it - and so was the Agency of Transformation in the Republic of Macedonia.
Gold Fever
Right now there doesn't seem to be any "gold fever". Very few are out looking to strike it rich in this sector.
Successful Trading - Taking Profits - Part 1
So you're started trading, you bought some positions with your online broker, you've set some reasonable stop-losses to protect your account and all of a sudden one of your positions move strongly in your favor - so what do you do now? This my friend, is probably the hardest situation to deal with in trading the market - believe it or not.Do you take profits? Do you hold on for more profits? Do you take partial profits? There is no textbook answer to these questions as it depends on your trading objective.
Stock Analysis
I receive emails from Morningstar. This company provides statistics and analysis of just about every publicly traded stock company you can think of as well as voluminous information on mutual funds around the world.
Its Snowing
The Winter Games for the Olympics are coming up soon and many will want to go to see the giant slalom event. That's the one where the skier starts off from the little hut at the top of a long slope, picks up speed and makes his way around poles on the way down.
The POWER of a Proven Stock Investment Plan
When you invest in the stock market for ever-increasing cash dividend income, verses trying to make a buck in the stock market, your mindset will change. There will no longer be a fear of losing money in the stock market.
The Secret to More Winning Trades is as Simple as Avoiding This Common Mistake
If you're a normal human being, your need to feel good about yourself probably causes you to sell your winners too soon - and -- your need to avoid feelings of regret, causes you to hang on to your losers too long.At one time or another, we're all guilty of letting our emotions dictate our investment decisions.
Complacency
During the month of January the Dow Jones Industrial Average, usually referred to as the DOW, had an almost 1,000 point range, most of it down and the average investor has yawned and said 'so what, this has happened many times before'.Is there any reason to worry now?The terrible event of September 11 shocked investors who sold heavily and then watched the market climb back to where it was on September 10.
Your Trading Objective: Why is that so Important?
You've decided to try your luck at trading stocks or commodities, but so called experts tell you that you need to determine your trading objective. What exactly does that mean and why is it so important? Well, it's really a question of your trading philosophy.
Gurgle Gurgle
Caught in a whirlpool and being sucked under. No life vest or other device to save you.
Maximizing a Stock Market Investment
Maximizing a stock market investmentThere are several factors an investor in the stock market should consider for a maximum return on an investment:1. All stock purchases should be commission-free.
Stocks: Understand What You Buy!
"There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action!" Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)I don't really know how cars actually work. Not really! I know how to drive them, but if you asked me how they work, I would not really know how to definitely explain it.
Wal-Mart: Discount Store, Discounted Stock?
As GuruFocus updates the stock buys and sells of gurus, Wal-Mart (WMT), the discount retail giant, stands out as the stock with a high ValueRank (7 out of 10). Just recently, Clipper Fund's James Gipson and T.