I go to the Money Show every year to visit with friends who have booths and are speakers. Then when folks are filing out of lectures I listen to their comments on what I know the speaker has been saying.
The Money Show is for investors from all walks of life; however, my guess is the median age is close to 60. Those who go have accumulated a nest egg and now are retired or very close to retirement. They came to learn more about how to make their money grow.
Last year there were 256 separate events not counting what was given in the Exhibition Hall. Almost without exception speakers were showing how cash can accumulate faster if the listener bought his product whether it was a mutual fund, stock, bond, partnership or who knows what. Are there that many money makers out there?
One speaker had an hour telling the market was due to crash and the thing to do was buy long term put options. He also said if you would not do that to buy some government bonds which were paying about 2 to 3%. The exit comments I heard were pretty well summed up by one lady who said, "Is he nuts. How can we live off 2%?"
When you are in a bear market the old saying is, "He who loses the least is a winner". No, you can't live on that small a return, but you can lose large sums by trying to be invested at all times. There have been many years in the past where cash with no percent return beat the heck out of the stock market.
Go back to 2000 and remember the NASDAQ lost 78% of it value in 3 years. Since March 2000 investors in the 50 hottest-selling mutual funds have lost an average of 42% according to the Lipper Analyst. Fidelity Magellan, the largest fund at that time remains a loser of 23% and Janus, 4th largest, is down 45%.The Buy N Holders have still not recovered their investments.
If you had sold out near (I did not say at) the top, say within about 10 or 15% your account would have been pretty darn healthy when it finally did start back up. You would not have lost 30 to 40% or more of your hard-earned money. That is what I refer to as a "reverse profit".
If you had put a loss limit on your portfolio of 10% on each position and taken out just enough to live on it probably would that have been less than letting it stay invested in the market? You can easily check that.
Putting 100% of your money in a money market while the market is declining does not mean you are not invested. You are invested ? in cash. This protects your savings from huge losses that can and do occur regularly in market cycles. I have written about those 16-year cycles previously.
The smartest investors set a limit from where they bought from the highest price their equity has reached as to where they will sell if it starts going down. Usually 10% is the rule of thumb, but it can be 5% or 20%. That is your choice.
All investors must learn that cash is a position or they are sure to lose their money.
Copyright 2005
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.
monthly home cleaning Buffalo Grove ..Are you paying any attention to your retirement savings? Do... Read More
Peter is a professional trader, Paul is not. Peter has... Read More
What is leverage?Here is a definition of leverage from an... Read More
Every Wall Street analyst, financial planner and broker will tell... Read More
Just 30 years ago the stock market was a shadow... Read More
I continually hear from economists, talking heads, other market letter... Read More
A few years back ? it seems like an eternity... Read More
The stock market is very unstable at this time going... Read More
Many people would like to diversify their portfolios to expand... Read More
With the stock market stubbornly refusing to settle down and... Read More
Suppose your position has made a big move and you... Read More
What! Me worry?Many of you remember the cover of MAD... Read More
Ever jumped out of an airplane? It's OK if you... Read More
Look back over the years and try to remember how... Read More
Yesterday I received my monthly issue of MONEY magazine. This... Read More
You have decided to buy some stock or mutual funds,... Read More
It seems that every day I turn on the TV... Read More
We learnt the following the hard way! If any of... Read More
It has been said that low cost or even free... Read More
There are many important things you need to know to... Read More
Wouldn't it be nice if you were only in the... Read More
Just about everything you have been told about Social Security... Read More
Let's say you are interested in this one company. You... Read More
As I have said many times before in this column... Read More
I mean it when I say that. While plastic silverware... Read More
scheduled maid service Mundelein ..It looks like the market is ready to start up... Read More
Let me start by saying that...Most online brokers do not... Read More
Reach in your pocket and take out that big roll... Read More
If you were to find that you had some severe... Read More
When it comes to buying a stock or mutual fund... Read More
How often have you come across an advertisement or e-mail... Read More
Before you embark upon a journey of trading stocks or... Read More
Four blind men were asked to give a description of... Read More
Over the past few months, several investment professionals have brought... Read More
Disclaimer: Please note that I do not necessarily purchase, own,... Read More
You'd have had to be living on a desert island... Read More
I am taking the time to help others learn the... Read More
Every day I see in the financial section of newspapers... Read More
This is a guide to the different types of mutual... Read More
If you have been watching the stock market at all... Read More
04/28/2005NASDAQ dropped -12.5% year to date in 2005. S&P500 index... Read More
After finding the price of a particular stock, usually the... Read More
"If you don't know where you are going, any road... Read More
A recent cartoon in my daily newspaper showed two guys... Read More
To begin, you might look at playing the stock market... Read More
In his wonderful book, 'Multiple Streams of Income', best selling... Read More
"Buy and hold" is one of the most heralded investment... Read More
As I said in Part I everyone in the insane... Read More
For years investors have been taught to look into the... Read More
Intervention. Now don't let that big word scare you. The... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |