I am in favor of any investment methodology that uses some type of reasoning for getting into an investment and, more importantly, getting out of it to either take profits or to limit losses. Any such approach is better than the mindless “Buy & Hope—things will somehow work out in the long-term” way of thinking. While I am admittedly biased …
Mortgage Backed Securities: Can They Affect Your Mutual Fund/ETF Investments?
Even though I am not specifically looking for it, I seem to come across articles dissecting the potential effects of either the SubPrime Loan debacle or the real estate bubble. This latest one offers a sobering analysis of losses sustained from mortgage backed securities (MBS). While it has been estimated that so far some $100 billion has been lost, the …
Trend Tracking And The S&P 500
With the S&P; 500 having finally closed above the 1,500 level for the first time since Sept. 7, 2000, let’s look at a bit of recent history. Incidentally, that date occurred just 1 month prior to our Trend Tracking Index giving an all out sell on Oct. 13, 2000. This broad based index made its all-time high of 1,527 on …
No Load Fund/ETF Tracker updated through 5/4/2007
My latest No Load Fund/ETF Tracker has been posted at:http://www.successful-investment.com/newsletter-archive.phpThe markets marked their 4th week in a row of closing higher. Our Trend Tracking Index (TTI) for domestic funds made new highs as well and now sits +6.17% above its long-term trend line (red) as the chart below shows: The international index rallied into record territory and has now moved …
How High Can This Market Go?
That was the question new newsletter reader Jack asked yesterday as we were discussing my trend tracking methodology. As an experienced investor, he was looking at all the fundamentals that can drive the markets ranging from corporate deal making to stronger than expected earnings and outlooks. Oh yes, and the revised forecast from Thomson Financial changing their S&P; 500 1st …
Turning ETFs Into A Casino
I can’t believe that this could actually be true. A story in the Money section of the NY Daily News features a new series of ETFs called StateShares that allow you to buy or sell portfolios based on 21 state specific stock indexes. Each of them contains some 50 issues. There will also be a composite of 500 stocks available …