SDB Finance Information

Finance information for you

Posts Tagged 401k

Mutual Fund Categories

Sep 20

Posted by admin in Stocks Mutual Funds

I have recently been contacted by a gentleman who has a large financial Internet web site devoted to mutual funds and he has asked me to act as an editor. He sent me a list of mutual funds and asked me to list them into 53 categories.

\”Gee, Ken, thanks for asking, but I only have two categories.\” He was baffled. \”What about Large Cap, Mid Cap, Small Cap, Sector, Index, Emerging Market, Value, Undervalued, Balanced, Closed End, etc. etc. funds? What about all those Wall Street \”professionals\” who say we should analyze our portfolios and put money into different funds?\”

The answer is very simple. Don\’t listen to those \”experts\”. The only expert is the bottom line.

My two categories are those that PERFORM and those that are NONPERFORMERS. How do I differentiate them? Again, a very simple test. The performers are beating the S

Tags: , , , , , ,

No Comments

The 401(K): How The Insider Has Stolen Your Retirement!

Sep 15

Posted by admin in Stocks Mutual Funds

Mutual funds were moderately successful in creating a presence in the stock market until the advent of the investment retirement account and in particular the 401(k). Corporate insiders persuaded the federal government to allow for the 401(k) in lieu of offering employees the traditional pension. When this happened the employees lost the protection of a specialized financial manager who could manage both the return and the risk of the retirement money of the worker.

This forced employees who are supposed to specialize in their work area into the field financial management with no training whatsoever. The 401(k) effectively FORCES individuals into mutual funds that as I just mentioned were notorious at the turn of the last century for defrauding the public of its savings. Ironically, these same executives had at the time, and still have, their company department of corporate attorneys. These secret departments do nothing but invent new ways for corporate insiders to suck more money out of the firm in the form of perquisites, stock options, and golden parachutes. This is the ?new? form of executive stewardship over the shareholder value and employee retirement!

Why is this so tough on the employee? The 401(k) plans do not offer individual stocks only mutual funds. What a scam! Corporate executives have effectively forced you to place your retirement dollars with their cronies in the securities industry who manage these investment pools. If you could talk to someone in the 1920?s about this they would be shocked. Someone from back when these investment pools were actively fleecing the public would see this as a criminal act perpetrated by the US federal government, inside corporate executives, and mutual fund managers.

Does that mean the 401(k) is a bad deal? That depends. If your employer matches a percentage of your wages it may be a fair deal but you should only contribute only up to the matching limit. After contributing the maximum matching amount to your 401(k) then put the rest in a Roth IRA. If your 401(k) provider offers an indexed mutual fund then put your money into that. An indexed mutual fund uses a stock market index such as the S

Tags: , , , , , ,

No Comments

What The SEC Really Thinks About Mutual Funds!

Sep 15

Posted by admin in Stocks Mutual Funds

Let?s go into the details of why non-indexed mutual funds are such a bad deal. When Arthur Levitt became the head of the Security Exchange Commission in 1993 he had to sell off all of his individual stocks so that people would not claim that he was doing any dirty inside dealing. He decided to put the cash from selling off his stock portfolio into mutual funds.

Mr. Levitt grew very angry when he tried to decipher how particular mutual funds divvied up their cash into specific stocks. He couldn?t make heads or tells from the fancy brochures of the mutual funds called prospectuses. He had been a major player in the stock brokerages for over 25 years at that point and knew that if he couldn?t understand the mutual fund?s prospectus then he knew public investors couldn?t either; it had to be a big scam to suck money out of the public.

In 1980 the US public invested $100 billion into the 500 mutual funds that existed at that time. By 1993 the public put $1.6 trillion into the more than 3,800 mutual funds that existed in that year; talk about growth! By the end of February 2003, at the bottom of the bear market there were 8,200 mutual funds and the public had pumped in $6.3 trillion dollars. Wow! That is a lot of money. What is important to note is that at least 40% of mutual fund money comes in from 401(k) retirement accounts. Today these mutual funds own about 20% of all publicly traded shares of stock. Mutual funds act like a herd of cows buying and selling the same stocks at the same time. This increases the wild price volatility swings in the stock market.

These funds are also sold and managed on pure hype, short term trading, and with key information withheld from the public. All of these factors I teach finance students and investors to avoid! The industry confuses investors by focusing on past performance, which should not be a factor to consider. Many mutual funds are able to cheat the public with excessive fees because investors don?t understand how these big costs destroy their profit. Mutual funds have no interest in educating investors because it is easier to hoodwink the ignorant!

Don?t put your trust in mutual funds unless they are fully indexed. Indexing means that the mutual fund simply uses a computer to buy and sell stocks in the mutual fund portfolio so as to mimic the composition of a major stock market index like the S

Tags: , , , , , ,

No Comments

Discover The Retirement Breakthrough The Federal Government Created For You – The Roth IRA!

Sep 15

Posted by admin in Stocks Mutual Funds

If you don?t know what a Roth IRA is then stop everything, print this article and read it carefully as this will certainly be the most valuable information you read this year. This next retirement account is to your net worth what light bulb was to electricity. Let me tell you about this wonderful financial invention called a Roth IRA!

The main difference between the Roth and traditional IRA is that with the Roth you pay taxes first and then make the contribution. This is absolutely fantastic if you make a lot of money in the stock market because you NEVER have to pay even a dime on the capital gains! There are a ton of other advantages to the Roth IRA. Unlike the traditional IRA you can be of any age and still contribute. You can also make a contribution to a Roth IRA at any time for a particular calendar year up until the due date of your tax return for that year. This means that if you want to make a Roth IRA contribution for 2005, you could make it anytime between January 1, 2005 and April 15, 2006. Another nice feature of the Roth IRA is that your spouse will also qualify for a contribution.

There is no tax deduction for Roth IRAs. Contributions are made with money that has already been taxed so there is no immediate tax break. Don?t fool yourself into thinking that this isn?t the best thing since the wheel because when Roth money is taken out, it is a tax-free distribution! This type of IRA is ideal for individuals in a lower tax bracket now, but anticipate being in a higher tax bracket at retirement. In other words, if you are in a blue-collar or white-collar middle class family and are learning and practicing good savings and investment habits than this is your retirement life saver!

It gets even better; you may make contributions at any age, even after you reach 70?. You must have your Roth account open for at least five years before you can take a penalty free distribution of earnings. Distributions of earnings without penalty can be taken after age 59?. If you are a first-time home buyer or become disabled, you can take distributions earlier. You can also withdraw the contributions at any time penalty free as long as you don?t withdraw investment earnings. What many people don?t know who even have Roth is that they can withdraw the contribution for the account without penalty at any time as long as you don?t touch any stock profits.

If you exceed the income limits you can neither contribute to nor roll over other IRA money into a Roth account. If you opened a Roth while you were under the income limits but then later earn more, your Roth account still will earn money tax-free that you can take out later without tax implications, but no new contributions are allowed. Another absolutely incredible feature of the Roth IRA is that it is also judgment proof. If you get sued it can be very hard for the lawyers to get it from you!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dr. Scott Brown, Ph.D., a.k.a. ?The Wallet Doctor?, is a successful futures trader, real estate investor, and stock investor. Dr. Brown holds a Ph.D. in finance from the University of South Carolina. His 1998 articles in Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities were prophetic in predicting an impending stock market crash. He has helped many people become profitable investors by teaching them to look out over many years to spot stocks that are low and primed for rise in the new bull market. His second article met with approval by Dr. Bob Shiller of Yale University. Dr. Shiller is the economist that Alan Greenspan most highly regards who coined the term ?Irrational Exuberance.? In 1998 he shouted to the world to ?get out? of the stock market but now he is shouting to everyone that it is time to ?get in!? The Wallet Doctor is not only sought after for investment advice and coaching in stock investing but also in futures trading and real estate investing.

Visit Dr. Brown?s site at http://www.BonanzaBase.com or sign up for his investment tips at http://www.WalletDoctor.com

Writen By : Dr. Scott Brown, Ph.D.

Tags: , , , , , ,

No Comments

The Shadow

Sep 5

Posted by admin in Stocks Mutual Funds

The Shadow knows. There used to be a radio program called The Shadow where the hero, Lamont Cranston, the Shadow, would overcome the shadowy forces of doom by clouding the vision of those around him. ?Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? was their intro line. They were great shows and you can still find them on the Internet.

The stock market is kind of like the shadow. As you walk along with the sun at your back you cast a shadow. No matter which way you move the shadow stays ahead. Fast, slow, right, left. It doesn?t make any difference.

An equity market is the shadow of the economy staying out in front following every twist and turn. Depending upon the height of the sun the shadow may be long or short. You can see it either as a long term or short term prediction of the passage.

If you did not know what a shadow was you would not realize it is telling you something about where you are going. If you see the shadow fall across a hole you know you must step over or around it depending upon its width and depth. The path of our economy is predicted by the direction of the stock market. When things are good and everyone is making money the shadow seems to go up and when the economy slows (for whatever reason) the shadow darker and heads down.

At this time (11/04) the sun is shining brightly and the shadow stretches out long and friendly before us. The stock market is going up and everyone is feeling good, but we also know that tomorrow storm clouds may appear making our shadow seem to be a monster black image that hides the potholes in our path.

When that occurs we must be ready to put on our raincoat to protect what we carry through life. One of the most important is the money we have put aside for the time we wish to depart the path, sit by the road and contemplate all the beautiful things we have brought. That means we must guard against losing what we have created and not let the shadowy rain cloud wash them away.

That raincoat for your investments is an exit strategy for your portfolio. Without a plan to protect your assets it will be too easy to seem them washed away. This does not mean diversification which is what brokers want you to do. It means a plan to exit (sell) stock and mutual funds that are going down. This can be done with a simple percentage stop-loss order for your stocks and a mental stop loss for funds.

Brokers never want you to sell even though there may be a commission involved because once you money is in a money market neither they nor the brokerage company makes any money. You and only you care about your money so you must protect it. Think about an exit plan now and put it into place.

Do not become a victim of the dark shadow.

About The Author

Al Thomas

F*R*E*E investment letter www.mutualfundmagic.com

Author of best seller \”IF IT DOESN\’T GO UP, DON\’T BUY IT!\” Never lose money in the market.

Copyright 2004 Albert W. Thomas All rights reserved.

Former 17-year exchange member, floor trader and brokerage company owner.

Writen By : Al Thomas

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

No Comments

True Investment Road Maps

Aug 23

Posted by admin in Stocks Mutual Funds

If you don\’t know where you are going any road will get there. After you get there you might not like where you ended up. You must plan ahead for your trip.

Do you know where you are going with your retirement portfolio? Do you have a plan mapped out? Do you know what to do if your plan starts hemorrhaging money like a stuck pig? Remember 2000? Of course that will never happen again, will it? I\’m glad you are so confident. I\’m not.

Every professional trader has a plan. Wait a minute. You say you are not a professional trader and you wouldn\’t trade like they do anyway. Well let me let you in on a little secret. If you don\’t learn to invest like a pro you are going to give him all (or most) of your money whether you like it or not.

What is it like to trade like a pro?

You won\’t like it and your broker and financial planner will like it even less. It is simple. The road to success is the road that has an exit ramp, in fact, several. It is like doing the Baja Road Race and carrying many spare tires. Without several tires you are not going to make it. Where are those exits? Why so many spare tires? Because without them you will be off the road in a ditch and unable to carry on.

The exits and the tires are your protection against becoming lost or broken down on your way to a comfortable retirement goal. To get where you are going in any vehicle you must not be stopped so you have to find an exit ramp when everyone else stays on the stagnating highway. That spare tire is one of your stocks or mutual funds that has gone flat and must be replaced. You are going to make it. The poor (sic) people who have no plan will remain mired on the highway to nowhere.

There is a secret to being a successful investor and it is one word – SELLING. Yes, any fool can buy, but it is the wise man who knows how to sell. That is called an exit strategy. If you do not have one you are doomed to lose money. During the long term bull market from 1982 to 2000 everyone became a financial genius. Now that we are in a long term bear market (that history shows us lasts an equal length of time) many of those financial geniuses are back in kindergarten and may not have time to graduate.

As the current stock market becomes more dangerous it is time to get out your road map to see where the exits are. It is time to realize that some of your tires could be wearing thin and may need to be replaced. No one is going to do this for you. Not your broker or your financial planner. You are the driver and a successful conclusion to this journey is completely up to you.

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

Writen By : Al Thomas

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

No Comments

Financial Crime

Aug 22

Posted by admin in Stocks Mutual Funds

Congress recently passed another new law that is supposed to outlaw financial crime. Corporate officers will be sent to jail for ?cooking the books? as it is called. Among other things it is taking the stockholders money and paying themselves huge bonuses for nonperformance. These guys are even worse than mutual fund managers who do the same thing ? get paid big salaries yet continue to lose your money.

I can remember many years ago (I?ve got a few years on me) when they started building very fancy prisons with nice cells and tennis courts and nothing but a tiny fence around them. The story was these were being built for government officials who might get caught with their hand in the till and I have no reason to doubt it.

Today we have the new Sarbanes-Oxley Act that makes it a federal crime to commit financial fraud of various kinds. This new piece of legislation is going to be about as effective as the Brady Bill was in eliminating crimes committed with a gun. A crook is a crook is a crook. With or without a gun.

It seems that most of these high-priced executives that were convicted have been going to halfway houses. No bars, no fences, no cells. About 50% of inmates (?) in these ?prisons? are those convicted of financial crimes. Most of the others are drug addicts and single moms. They can even get weekend passes to visit their palatial estates. Attorney General Ashcroft wants them to get the maximum sentences is a regular jail, but a group called the Sentencing Commission wants a lenient standard. I don?t know who is behind this group, but it seems to be in line with my motto of ?follow the money?. The more money you steal the shorter the jail time will be.

We recently had Merrill Lynch and other major brokers fined $1.4 billion (yes, that?s a B) for their lying to stockholders by giving out false information generated by their ?analysts?, read salesmen. Not one penny of this is going to the people who were cheated and none of the brokerage company executives will get any jail time.

Almost none of the individual company executives have been ordered to make even partial restitution to stockholders. Unless something is done this lenient policy will go into effect in the first week in January. If you have lost any money in the stock market these past 3 years I think it would be a good idea to let your Congressman know that you want those bums kept in jail until they give back as much as they have stolen or at least until they are as broke as their shareholders.

Many will agree that the punishment should fit the crime. Letting them serve their terms in halfway houses without repayment is not my idea of that. Maybe Washington should hear from you.

Al Thomas

Author of \”If It Doesn\’t Go Up, Don\’t Buy It!\”

Never lose money in the stock market again.

http://www.mutualfundmagic.com

Writen By : Al Thomas

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

No Comments