Investment Management: Brokers vs. Investment Advisors

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If you are planning to employ the services of a professional to help you manage your portfolio, you need to know that not all financial advice is regulated in the same manner. For example, commissioned brokers operate on a different standard than do Registered Investment Advisors. Since I am a fee-only investment advisor, I definitely have a bias as to …

ETF Income Investing: Should You Take A Short-Term Gain?

Ulli Uncategorized Contact

Yesterday, one of my readers posed an interesting question: “I own both IIC and EVM (Muni CEFs) in my taxable Scottade account. This week, I noticed a large price spike about mid week followed by a price drop today and yesterday. I believe it had to do with some news of dividend payout dates. Here is my question for you. …

Mutual Fund Wisdom: Quit Hanging On To Losers

Ulli Uncategorized Contact

Yesterday’s piece in MarketWatch titled “Quit hanging on to milquetoast funds” contained a lot of truth. In an interview, Steve Goldberg of Tweddell Goldberg Investment Management said that “investors should look at their mutual funds as if they are buyers or sellers, rather than holding on to lukewarm performers hoping for improvement.” He added that “most people hang on to …

No Load Fund/ETF Tracker updated through 4/13/2007

Ulli Uncategorized Contact

My latest No Load Fund/ETF Tracker has been posted at:http://www.successful-investment.com/newsletter-archive.phpSideways to upward bias pushed all major market indexes slightly higher. Our Trend Tracking Index (TTI) for domestic funds moved higher as well and now sits +4.60% above its long-term trend line (red) as the chart below shows: The international index rallied as well and has now moved to +9.37% above …

A Bear Market Killer: One No Load Fund That Bucked The Trend

Ulli Uncategorized Contact

A few days ago, I was discussing the bear market of 2000–2003 with a prospective client, when he pointed out that he actually held on to one fund profitably through the severe downturn. Really! Even though we avoided most of the bear by being in cash on the sidelines, any fund which has the ability to hold up against the …

No Load Fund Investing: How Important is a Fund Manager?

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This question is like a two-edged sword, and I am bound to step on somebody’s toes. I think the most important issue in answering that question is what type of investment approach you are using. If you are one of those Buy-and-Hope followers and always in the market, then, by all means, you want a fund manager with a good …