This week’s (somewhat awaited) market slide took no prisoners like most sudden sharp pullbacks in the recent past. At this point, effective with the closing prices yesterday, our holdings have come off their highs on average as follows: Domestic Funds ETFs: -2.75%International Funds/ETFs: -3%Sector Funds/ETFs: -4% The most hard hit sector was Utilities, and our holding there is closest to …
ETF/No Load Fund Tracker Update: StatSheet Changes Ahead
With the constantly expanding offerings of ETFs, I have been planning on improving the weekly StatSheet. While this is a work in progress, you will see come changes already in this Friday’s issue and from hereon forward. In its current format, the StatSheet contains some 30 pages of graphs and no load mutual fund/ETF data. One of the major planned …
ETF Investing: Should You Borrow To Invest More?
The short answer is no. I am not an economist, but I have always believed that having little or no debt as an individual (or as a country for that matter) is certainly more desirable than drowning in payments. While there is a period in everyone’s life where debt is necessary, the ultimate goal for most investors is to eventually …
Investment Methodologies: Market Timing vs. Trend Tracking
Most of the time, any attempt of investing in the market other than via Buy & Hold (Asset Allocation) is immediately labeled with the by now dirty word “timing.” MSN had an article about that called “Does market timing ever work?” The story starts with the fact that “rapid, short-term trading drives up costs” for other mutual fund investors. If …
Global Investing: Eastern Europe – Part II
A couple of days ago, I posted about investments in Eastern Europe and especially focused on EUROX, which had performed extremely well in the past. In reviewing the chart again, I need to point out that there is another important lesson to be learned when looking at the comparison with FEZ and EFA. Here’s the graph again: As you can …
Sunday Musings: How (Not) To Read An Investment Book
I used to feel guilty. There I had bought this new business/investment book I was looking forward to reading when, somewhere half way through, my fascination waned. I then either forced myself to finish it (with regret and lack of interest) or I shelved it and never picked it up again. I believe it was one of my favorite authors, …