Bob, one of the guys I was chatting with at a party, asked what kind of returns I had made for my clients with my methodical no load mutual fund strategy during the past year. I replied that they had unrealized gains of slightly over 29%, after management fees, for the 8 months that we were invested.

Bob countered with a smirk that he had made a 40% return. I raised my eyebrows and told him that was darn good?and suggested that maybe he ought to be managing my money. At that point we were interrupted and, as the evening went on, I began to wonder exactly how Bob had gotten his great return.

I cornered him a little later on and, upon digging a little deeper, the story looked somewhat different. Yes, he had made a 40% return on a mutual fund he had some money invested in, however, we were comparing apples and bananas.

He had a total portfolio of $100k. Being cautious, he had invested only $10k into a mutual fund, from which he profited $4k after he sold it. The balance of his portfolio ($90k) was sitting in a money market fund earning some 0.35% per year.

So, while he had made 40% on 10% of his investment, he had only made 4.35% on his whole portfolio. My methodology was also focused on protecting my clients’ investments and it had increased their entire portfolio 29% (unrealized). That would be an apple to apple comparison when measuring my returns against his. Bob’s one fund realized 40% return. However, had I approached it the same way Bob had, I could have described one of the funds I used that had realized over 49% for the same period.

Actually, Bob’s not-so-good-news story didn’t stop there. Bob admitted to having followed the losing Buy and Hope strategy through the bear market of 2000 and had finally sold out at a 50% loss a year ago, before committing $10k to a mutual fund investment.

I was pleased to be able to tell him that my methodology had gotten my clients out of the market before the bear took his big bite, and they suffered only minimal losses before finding safety in money markets accounts. And when my trend tracking figures directed us to move back into the market, they still had most of their money poised to start earning for them again?which it did and very nicely, thank you.

The moral of the story is to look past the surface and don’t take any numbers thrown at you at face value. Remember, most people returning from a weekend in Las Vegas will shout about their winnings and mumble about their losses.

The mutual funds came into their recent form lately, but the idea had been conceived by the enterprising executives of United States of America and places in Europe. And today they have become one of the easiest and safest ways to invest in the fund market. The mutual funds USP is the high liquidity is can offer over any other equity instrument. The variations of investment and the types of mutual funds give a high level of reliability to the investor. Thus they have lately become very popular among the risk adverse investors.

Through out the twentieth century the mutual funds have seen a growth phase and they are still on the up. The mutual fund at the indexed market by was initiated by John. C. Bogel. And than throughout America they were becoming popular as basketball. The USA is on an investment spree and the total investment through the mutual funds is more then $5 trillion. Such staggering amounts show a high inclination of the investors towards this kind of investment. The investments are based on the certainty of growth and the size of the company. There are stock funds, the more risky growth funds, the chosen value funds etc. The whole concept depends upon the investor?s confidence in the company.

The more stable and convenient method of investment is through bonds. The bonds give the investor a secure return guarantee sort of thing. The ones who do not wish to venture into troubled waters prefer to stay in the safe zone. The returns in the money market are totally dependent upon the risk one is willing to take.

Now to succeed in the market one has to learn the language of the area. The jargons used by the dealers in his field have to well understand to get into the groove of the market. This gives a convenient method to understand the words used by the stock marketers.

Another upcoming trend in the stock market is the savings account and the deposit certificates. Another important incentive to the investors that as against the other investment types, only the mutual funds are having a compounding rate of return. Thus along with the risk, the returns of the mutual funds are at the top of the list. So as along as the money is to be secured mutual funds will be the best option possible.

Mansi aggarwal writes about mutual funds. Learn more at http://www.knowmutualfunds.com

Writen By : Mansi Aggarwal

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

If you are suffering from a disability it is important that you look at the different programs that are available to give you assistance. People who go through life with disabilities or handicaps often have a difficult time trying to establish a normal routine. Because the government does recognize this problem, there are government grants that are setup to provide assistance.

You will find there are many different kinds of programs and grants that are designed for different kinds of ailments. If you are suffering from a physical impairment you can look for specific grants that target the ailment. Choosing the right grant is very important when applying for the grant.

If you are looking to apply for a grant for someone who is suffering from a mental handicap you will need to apply for the specific ailment. The government recognizes that these ailments can have a serious impact on the well being of others. For this reason it is important for you to choose the right grant.

People who are interested in finding a grant that they can get approval for should consult the local government office. There are grants that are available from both the public sector and the private sector. You need to be sure you look at both of these grants.

Filling out the application is a very important step in the grant process. You need to make sure you accurately fill out the grant applications with all the information that it requires. Failing to provide the right amount of information is usually enough grounds to get your grant rejected.

Choose a grant that you will be able to get approval for. This will take time because you will need to research the various grants that are available. You will need to focus on trying to choose a grant that will be able to offer you financial assistance that you are looking for.

If you are trying to find a grants for disabled it’s important that you do your analysis and look around at the different products that are available. Another option that you may want to look at when you’re searching around is a minority government grants.

So what are the differences you need to consider when investing in bonds, stocks or mutual funds?

What are bonds? When you are investing funds in bonds, you are technically lending your money to a borrower. Who can this be? Some of these are the U.S. government, a state, a local municipality or a big company like General Motors. All these institutions need money to expand, to fund a federal deficit or to finance new ventures. So they borrow funds by issuing bonds. The price you pay for a bond is know as its? face value. The issuer promises to pay you back in a particular day, at a fixed rate of interest stated on the coupon itself. You are safely investing in bonds; these bonds give you a yearly income until the maturity date. When the bond matures, the borrower pays you back the principal plus interest. In most cases, investing in bonds is a minimal-risk free decision.

What about stocks? A share of stock is a certificate of ownership purchased by individuals who are investing or buying a proportional share of the business. The more stocks you buy, the bigger the share of profits you will get and the bigger your financial stake becomes. A stock?s value is affected by the financial situation of the company. Historical trends in stocks have shown that their value rises over time, although there are no sure guarantees. Also with stocks the only assured return is if it appreciates on the open market. And while it is true that there are companies that give their stockholders dividends, they are not obligated to do so.

What are mutual funds? In this financial scenario, you join a group of investors in investing your funds to buy stocks, bonds, or anything else your fund manager decides is worthwhile. If you do sustain losses, these losses are subtracted from the fund\’s capital gains before the money is distributed to you the shareholder. The fund won\’t pass out capital gains to shareholders until it has at least earned more in profits than it had lost.

Remember it pays to do research before investing.

Timothy Gorman is a successful Webmaster and publisher of Debt-Relief-Solutions.com. He provides more debt relief, consolidation and financial planning advice that you can research in your pajamas on his website.

Writen By : Tim Gorman

A year ago when the Nasdaq was 2000 points higher they were telling you the same thing. Buy. Buy. Buy. If they are so smart to get you to buy now then why weren\’t they smart enough to tell you to sell when it was way up there? There are two basic rules for professional traders: never let a profitable trade go to a loss and never take a large loss. The talking heads are either not professionals or don\’t understand their business.

Since the beginning of the year the tech stocks have lost 34% and from last year they are down from the highs 65% and it looks like they are going lower. Isn\’t it time to end the bloodletting and sell? The problem with the small investor is he doesn\’t believe he has a loss until he sells. Wall Street has taught him that the market \’always comes back\’. Folks, not this time.

All classes of mutual funds have posted losses in the first quarter of 2001 for the first time since 1980.

Has your broker or financial planner called you to sell out to go to the safe haven of a money market fund? I will bet he hasn\’t. Unfortunately these \”experts\” are not taught to protect your capital. They will watch their customers\’ account dwindle away 30%, 40% 50% and more and never do anything about it. It isn\’t their money. It is yours. You have to take the responsibility to guard it. The average broker has 300 clients. Unless you are a 7-figure account you will not receive any attention. Of the 77,000,000 mutual fund owners in the U.S. 80% of those accounts have less than $50,000. Their advice is either none or bad.

We know the economy is slowing down and has been since early last fall. The market was continuing to go up in anticipation and was ignoring underlying facts. The emotional enthusiasm was carrying it to new highs almost every day. Of course, Mr. Greenspan didn\’t help anything by raising interest rates when he should have known better. It is the brokers\’ job to sell stock and make commission, but it should also be his job to advise the neophyte investor to protect his capital.

The trend is your friend. The trend is down. It is still not too late to sell and put what\’s left of your cash in a money market account. Forget about your losses. That money is gone. You must protect what you have left. Never try to pick the bottom. There are no \”bargains\” at this level. Cash is the best position right now.

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

I have been trading for several decades and was an exchange memebr and floor trader for 17 years. You learn fast there or you go broke in a hurry. As you can see I managed to hold my own for a few years until I found the secret and started to become a successful trader. Every professional trader I know knows the one great secret and that is to keep your losses small.

We all learned that when we took a position – either long or short – that we better be able to jump out if the trade was not going our way. Many of my friends were scalpers. That means they were trading for just a few ticks and every night went home flat. Flat is no positions at all.

Others, myself included, took a longer look and planned to hold a position for a period of time. That could be several days or weeks. If you were right the longer you held on the more money you would make.

The general public seems think that exchange members know everything and always made money. Tain\’t so. Many traders were wrong more than 50% of the time. Huh? Yes, fifty percent. My account had losses 40% of the time and 20% were scratch trades (neither winners nor losers).

You ask, \”If you are out of the money 60% of your trades how can you make money?\” This is what every professional knows: Keep your losses small and let your profits run. How many times have you heard that one? BUT how many times have you ignored that rule?

At the end of the year when you analyze your trades you find that you made $3.00 for each $1.00 you lost you will show a nice big profit.

I don\’t care what business you are in you don\’t put your whole wad on a single outcome and stick with it until it either works or go broke. That is what brokers and mutual fund managers want you to do. They want you to buy, but never sell.

It is a tragedy for the small investor today that mutual fund families are putting in selling restrictions to discourage investors from dumping funds that are headed down. Many require long holding periods and if you sell prior to that time they charge an extra fee of 2%. They give lame excuses that I know are not true for doing this. Never buy any fund or trade with any brokerage company that has that kind of rule.

It is cheaper to pay the 2% or whatever fee there is and get out than hang around and lose 20% to 40% of your equity. Look back at 2000 to 2003. This can happen again despite what your broker tells you.

Be wrong and run home with most of your money. You still have enough to invest in a better opportunity. If you are disciplined to get out of any bad situation early you will end up a rich person.

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