Last Sunday, I talked about “Looking Ahead To The Next Crash.” Today, let’s look at some highlights from “The Last Down Leg:”

My market outlook hasn’t changed much since 2000: we’re in a secular bear market.

I know, the market made a new high in 2007. It made a new high in 1973 as well, then fell off a cliff until it reached bottom at the end of 1974.

If you look at all the secular bear markets on a chart, they all look pretty much the same; three down legs interspersed by two profitable counter-trend rallies. October 2002 to November 2007 was a very profitable counter-trend rally; the rally off the March 2009 lows has been pretty spectacular as well.

The thing is, you have to have that last down leg to finish out the cycle.

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Reader Jason is looking to have his portfolio managed and emailed me as follows:

I am looking for someone to help manage my qualified, non-qualified and 401K accounts. I have spoken with a financial planner who wants 1.15% of account value annually for assets under management. I am concerned about how much we will be paying long term for this.

I don’t have any experience and am looking for someone to help manage these accounts. Is this the right direction to go in or do you have any other recommendations?

I sure do have some thoughts and comments.

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My latest No Load Fund/ETF Tracker has been posted at:

http://www.successful-investment.com/newsletter-archive.php

It was a roller coaster ride in the markets, but in the end, the S+P 500 added only 0.10%.

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Crude Oil was the major influence on market direction yesterday as it powered through the $102/barrel barrier and closed above it.

Crude’s move was the result of reports that unrest continued in Libya and the Middle East in general. Supporting upward momentum were news that almost all of Libya’s daily oil production was halted and that Gaddafi continued his assault on rebels in a major oil center.

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While the month of February ended on an up note, the month March started on a downer, as various events combined to knock the major indexes off their lofty levels with almost non-existent rally attempts.

Red was the dominant color on most computer screens. Bucking the trend were precious metals, commodities and oil, which topped the $100/barrel mark causing fears that the economic recovery might enter stall mode.

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What a difference a week makes. Last Tuesday, the markets retreated sharply and now, 5 trading days later, decent economic news, sliding oil prices and hopes of a quick Libyan resolution pushed the major indexes higher.

Providing the necessary ammunition to reverse yesterday’s mid-day sell off were decent reports on consumer spending and manufacturing. Adding to the bullish mood were Warren Buffett’s comments that he’s on the prowl for some new acquisitions this year.

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