Al Thomas, author of the book “If It Doesn’t Go Up, Don’t Buy It!” wrote in his weekly syndicated column about the “Attention Deficit Research Disorder.” Let’s listen in: Wall Street has everyone, even the “experts”, believing the myth that research is required to be a successful investor. Every fact about a company must be known before an investment is …
No Load Fund/ETF Tracker updated through 3/25/2010
My latest No Load Fund/ETF Tracker has been posted at: http://www.successful-investment.com/newsletter-archive.php The major indexes eked out another gain despite failed rally attempts on Thursday and Friday. Our Trend Tracking Index (TTI) for domestic funds/ETFs has now crossed its trend line (red) to the upside by +4.15% keeping the current buy signal intact. The effective date was June 3, 2009. The …
Active Or Passive Muni Bond ETFs?
Tom Lydon at ETF Trends posted an interesting question in “Muni Bond ETF Debate: Active or Passive?”Should an exchange traded fund (ETF) be created to beat the benchmark index or outperform it? Municipal bond ETF providers are butting heads over the polemical issue of whether ETFs should offer an investor pure exposure or provide investment know how. As it stands, …
Mutual Fund Fee Makeover
The NYT featured an article titled “Mutual Fund 12-b1 fees Could Get a Makeover.” Here are some highlights: Many investors might skip over the line on their mutual fund disclosure statements that says, ”12b-1 fee.” They might want to start wondering what’s behind that label. These fees are the money that many funds collect to offset a variety of expenses, …
One Reader’s 401k Issues
Reader Scott experienced some changes to his 401k set up and is considering a couple of choices. Here’s what he had to say: My question concerns my 401k account through work. We have been fully invested with Vanguard funds; however, we have recently been forced to transfer all our funds to T D Ameritrade brokerage since Vanguard is no longer …
Hedge Funds Anyone?
“Hedge Funds for the masses” features an update on how Long-Short (L/S) mutual funds have performed during the past couple of years. Are they really an alternative for the average investor? Here are some thoughts on this topic: Hedge funds enjoy a certain glamour that the humble mutual fund lacks, including wealthy investors, the promise of outsized returns and billionaire …