It depends on your level of understanding of the market and the amount of money you have.
If you a sophisticated investor with a substantial amount invested you are probably already receiving more than one. If you have very little market savvy it will be difficult to choose one that fits the size of your portfolio. If you are just getting started my advice is don't buy one - yet.
Most of the advice is Wall Street goobledegook and most of the remainder is stuff you can't use anyway. Even the simplest letters have too much information and require more time than most working people have to act upon their recommendations.
There are literally hundreds of stock and mutual fund letters from which to choose. The first thing you want to know is what has been the track record - how much annual return has the advisor received for his readers over the past few years. Some will quote you wonderful figures, but these may be predicated on following all of his advice all the time. If that is the case you had better first ask how much money is required to buy at least 100 shares of everything he recommends when he recommends it. Don't let him weasel out of it - make him give you an answer or don't buy it. That amount may be more than you have so you must then pick and choose between his recommendations and you might not pick all the good ones, just all the bad ones.
There is one type of letter I consider essential to everyone. It times the market. By that I mean they tell you when the general market is going up and when to sell out because it is going down. Almost every broker will tell you it can't be done. He tells you that because he doesn't know how to do it and won't take the time to find out. He is a professional loser and doesn't deserve to be your broker.
The market timing service I have been using since 1986 is Fabian's Investment Resource out of California. They have a 20-year real time track record.
In the last 100 years we have had 30 bear markets which are defined as the overall market going down more than 20 percent and some more than 40 percent. Even the best stocks and mutual funds will go down in a bear market because they act like ships - when the tide goes out all ships go down with it. You don't want to have any market positions at that time.
The first basic advisory service should be for market timing. Check their claims and actual track record. Then as you learn more you may expand your horizon to picking individual issues or mutual funds.
Al Thomas' book, "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It!" has helped thousands of people make money and keep their profits with his simple 2-step method. Read the first chapter at http://www.mutualfundmagic.com and discover why he's the man that Wall Street does not want you to know.
Copyright 2005
detailed home cleaning Park Ridge ..It has fallen upon the consumer to make our economy... Read More
Quick, look out the window. It's raining. No, the sun's... Read More
Look back over the years and try to remember how... Read More
I use the P/E ratio as a secondary indicator for... Read More
After some forty years of banking and investments, I retired... Read More
A stock market index is a statistical measure of changes... Read More
Disclaimer: Please note that I do not necessarily purchase, own,... Read More
It looks like the market is ready to start up... Read More
The broker told me not to sell because the mutual... Read More
The thinking process of the brain relating to the... Read More
Just about everything you have been told about Social Security... Read More
Two weeks ago I wrote about what the Securities and... Read More
Most people think the stock market is a zero sum... Read More
The stock market has been in an up trend for... Read More
You have decided to buy some stock or mutual funds,... Read More
Among the largest forces that affect stock prices are inflation,... Read More
Mutual fund investing is a lot like Thai cooking. Everyone... Read More
Everything you invest in has risk so you want to... Read More
If you have been watching the stock market at all... Read More
During our travel down life's path we come to many... Read More
There are formulas for just about everything, but it has... Read More
I made my very first investment in the stock market... Read More
The fight continues to rage among traders who use technical... Read More
Analyzing growth stocks is an important focus for any investor.... Read More
One of the things people are always asking me is... Read More
express cleaning service Des Plaines ..People are always asking me when should I sell my... Read More
I have watched my cat play with a bag of... Read More
On Friday or Saturday evening my wife gets a movie... Read More
In 1960 an engineer working for a watch company in... Read More
Time to look back2004 is over, now we are in... Read More
Quick, look out the window. It's raining. No, the sun's... Read More
Sometime in the third quarter of 1997, someone told me... Read More
Every day on CNBC-TV they show a 200-day moving average... Read More
Using Swing Trading Strategies and Technical Analysis when Trading Stocks... Read More
Do you have a nest egg? You know, a place... Read More
From the book 'The Stockopoly Plan' by the author Charles... Read More
Four blind men were asked to give a description of... Read More
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are a group of passive index... Read More
The stock market can present you with a lot of... Read More
You should ignore analysts on TV, the radio, the newspaper... Read More
In my opinion, due to the volatility of stock market... Read More
Among the largest forces that affect stock prices are inflation,... Read More
How can you dispel an illusion unless you look directly... Read More
This is a guide to the different types of mutual... Read More
It's about time someone spoke the truth concerning outsourcing. The... Read More
Right now there doesn't seem to be any "gold fever".... Read More
Let's first define insanity. It is doing the same thing... Read More
You'd have had to be living on a desert island... Read More
If you've ever flipped on the television to CNN Financial... Read More
When you become interested in a stock or mutual fund... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |