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. When the Federal Reserve Board hikes interest rates look out and when the do it 3 times in a row it is called "3 jumps and a stumble". We have just gone through the stumble and it has been costly.
When you go back in history you will find that the stock market has almost always gone down substantially after the Fed has jumped interest rates 3 time in a row. As of this writing the Fed has lowered rates twice and we are looking for a third cut very soon. When that happens you will know that there is very little likelihood of the market going lower.
The stock market moves more on anticipation than fact. Another old saying is "Buy the rumor and sell the news". Because of what Mr. Greenspan has done we anticipate the market will rally and the rumor is he will do it again so we have two reasons to think that stock prices will move higher. He caused all this mess and now we look to him as our savior. It should be as the Queen of Hearts said, "Off with his head". Unfortunately he is appointed and cannot be removed from office even by the President. Just don't give him undo credit for lowering interest rates when he should not have raised them in the first pace.
For the smart long term investors when they see the Fed raising interest rates they should immediately pay attention top their stock and mutual fund holdings with the idea of selling them and placing the funds in a money market account. The investors won't be making any capital gains, but they also won't be standing in front of the train as it comes barreling down the track and runs them over. No, you don't have to sell immediately as it takes several months for interest rate increases to take effect - usually about 9 months.
When rates are lowered there will also be a time lag of 6 to 12 months which gives you opportunity to start picking some winners for the next bull market. Forget that Wall Street conventional wisdom of "do your research". Research is basically worthless. If you can find it out then everyone else already knows it and it has been reflected in the price of the stock. Let me give you a method that is too simple for your broker. He will tell you it won't work except it does.
Every Friday there is a listed in Investor's Business Daily on the back page about 40 charts of the week's best performing stocks. Notice they are all in uptrends. You could buy almost any one of these and check it weekly to see that it remains in the trend. When it falls out, sell it.
There are other equally simple methods your broker will not recommend. They want to keep the Wall Street mystique. Once you find out how easy it is to make money you won't need them. It is your money. Are you willing to work a little to make it grow?
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
al@mutualfundstrategy.com; 1-888-345-7870
More Resources
Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exitingMore Stocks & Mutual Funds Information:
Related Articles
Hot Stock Trader: How to Pick Momentum Stocks with Ease and Simplicity
Most stock traders know that momentum trading can be a very profitable activity. You can make big amounts of cash in a short period of time.
8 Penny Stocks to Avoid
There are many good penny stock investments available, which could turn a small amount of capital into a small fortune very quickly. However, to discover these you need to know what to look for and what to avoid.
Expense Ratios
Mutual funds and brokers are always preaching not to buy any fund with a high expense ratio. That is the annual costs of the fund to pay for trading of stocks within their portfolio, salaries, rent, telephone, analysts, etc.
What To Buy Now
I am sure that if you have a brokerage account with a "full service" broker you have been getting calls about what to buy and sell. If you have big losses in certain stocks you might be hit with that great Wall Street lie to buy more so you can 'Dollar Cost Average'.
Choosing An Investment Stock Broker
If you want one.And I don't recommend any broker with whom to trade who will be giving you advice on what to buy and sell.
It Cant Be Done
Wouldn't it be nice if you were only in the stock market when it was going up and have everything transferred to cash while it is going down? It is called 'market timing' and your broker or financial planner will tell you "it can't be done". What that person just told you is he doesn't know how to do it.
Mutual Fund Expense Lies
When purchasing mutual funds we are cautioned to read the prospectus, look at past performance, check out the fund manager's record and see what their expense ratios have been.We are also told that we should not buy funds with expenses exceeding 1% to 1.
Acapulco - The Stock Market Dives
There is a famous cliff on the ocean in Acapulco where experienced divers jump into the sea. It is very dangerous because the water at the base of the cliff surges from a depth of 2 feet to 12 feet.
Stock Market Diversification
In one of my previous articles (Investing in the stock market -9 powerful tips), tip number one was:1. Do not spread your money too thin.
Buying New Issues
Has your broker been calling you recently with the "great opportunity" to get in on a new Initial Public Offering? With friends like that you don't need any enemies.I don't care how good this new stock offering sounds.
Choosing a Stock Broker
If you were to find that you had some severe illness that required surgery, would you attempt to perform that surgery upon yourself? What if your car broke down and needed a valve job? Would you get out the Craftsman tool set you got for Christmas three years ago and start tinkering under the hood even though you know absolutely nothing about engines? Of course you wouldn't do either of these things because there are times in life when we know we must seek the assistance of a professional. So why is it that so many people try to make their own investment decisions without consulting a professional stock broker?A stock broker is a trained financial professional who knows how to watch the trends of the stock market, is kept up to date on financial developments by her brokerage firm, and knows how to make wise and sound investment decisions.
Lights of the Stock Market
There are red lights, green lights, blue lights and spot lights. There are orange lights, pink light and flash lights.
Stock Trading - Daddy, Why Arent We Rich?
One Saturday morning, while he was sitting at his computer studying the market, David's 7 year old daughter came up, tugged at his shirt sleeve, and said, "Daddy, why aren't we rich?" He looked his child in the eye, and thought to himself, what a great question - Why aren't we rich?As she stood there expectantly waiting for an answer, he struggled to come to terms with the realization that, although he had focused his complete attention on trying to create wealth for more than 10 years, he had never actually made any real headway.He had bought and sold many Stocks and several properties over those years, but had never made any real money.
Low Expense Ratio
One of the big advertising kicks today from mutual funds is to tell how low their expense ratio is and that you will make a great deal more money if you buy and hold with them. Partly true, but that is not the whole story.
Analyst Reports
When you become interested in a stock or mutual fund you can call your broker and he will send you reports on how the company is doing, what their management is like and what might be the projected earnings for the company and how the industry is doing. Great information.
A Penny for Your Stocks
According to Investopedia Inc. the penny stock market has seen phenomenal growth this past decade.
How to Maximize Your 401k Mutual Fund Returns
When it comes to 401k's there is an overabundance of sad stories. Here is one that at least has a happy ending-and it's getting happier all the time.
Different Ways of Buying Stocks
Let's say you are interested in this one company. You read its annual report, like what you see and your calculation indicates that the stock is trading way below its fair value.
Discipline
One of the great "secrets" of successful people is discipline and it doesn't make any difference whether it is manufacturing, processing, servicing or investing in the stock market.Before you can have that discipline you must have a successful plan and stick with it.
Buy Low - Sell High
Now where have I heard that before? I know. It was my broker.