It is difficult to make money in a bull market, but what do you do when you are in a bear market? In what direction should you go not only to make money but to protect what you have from loss?
Almost immediately investors think what should I buy that will help me reach my financial goals? This answer may not be the one you will like. It is really not important what you buy as long as you know the rules of the game - the stock market game.
Rule One. You must know the general trend of the market. Is it going up or is it going down? You don't know and worse yet you don't know who does. There are many who do and you can be one of them if you wish, but you must also be willing to put aside the conventional wisdom of Wall Street otherwise known as lies. They tell you that you cannot time the market. You can and it is easy. I have been doing it for almost 20 years and so have many of my friends. Unfortunately, brokerage companies do not want you to learn this simple technique to protect your investments.
Once you know the general direction of the market you can act accordingly. If the trend is up you should own stocks and mutual funds. If it is down you should be out of the market in a money market fund or in bonds.
Go on the Internet to the web site www.bigcharts.com . Here you can type in the basic symbol for the S&P500 Index, SP500, and then use the Interactive Section to put in a 200-day Moving Average. If the price of the Index is below this line you should be in a money market and, if above, you should be buying stocks and no-load mutual funds. It is that simple.
Rule Two. Whatever you buy, and I don't care what it is, you must set a price below which if it drops that you will sell out. Period. As your equity moves up so should this stop-loss price so as to protect your profit. You don't want to give that back when the market or this particular equity starts down again.
The market direction changes from up to down in a rather steady cycle of about 14 to 16 years. It has been doing this since 1800. The year 2000 saw the top of the most recent up cycle and it is expected to repeat with another downward direction for the next 11 years. That is not very encouraging to people who have their retirement funds in a 401K or IRA. During this period a money market account will outperform a stock account.
The only alternative is a no-load bond mutual fund. This is better than trying to buy single bonds as there is always the chance a company will go out of business leaving you with nothing. Government bonds are excellent and safe.
Whether or not you agree the direction of the stock market remains down you should plan on a loss limit for the equities in your portfolio.
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
http://www.mutualfundmagic.com; 1-888-345-7870
professional maid services Deerfield ..Sidney felt sick as she looked at her latest OptionsXpress... Read More
How do you invest? What do you really pay? At... Read More
Spread trading is a technique that can be used to... Read More
Every year I go to the Money Show in Orlando,... Read More
With the internet such a huge part of our daily... Read More
The Surgeon General of the United States says that smoking... Read More
The gleam and bright lights of Wall Street lure in... Read More
The Law of Chaos is the theory of random unpredictable... Read More
Are you one of those many people who dread reading... Read More
What! Me worry?Many of you remember the cover of MAD... Read More
People are constantly asking me why is the stock market... Read More
The spring-loaded rat catcher is the ultimate low-tech device invented... Read More
Who are the successful investors?There are those who follow the... Read More
Recently I was invited to appear on a live CNNfn... Read More
Wouldn't it be nice if you were only in the... Read More
Right now there doesn't seem to be any "gold fever".... Read More
The debate rages all over Eastern and Central Europe, in... Read More
Never lose money in the stock market again. Yeah, I... Read More
As one of my regular readers you know I have... Read More
On Monday, November 25, 2000 Investor's Business Daily listed on... Read More
I know there are a lot of you out there... Read More
In 1960 an engineer working for a watch company in... Read More
Suppose your position has made a big move and you... Read More
One of the great truisms of Wall Street is "Don't... Read More
I read a comment by a forum member on another... Read More
quick home cleaning Lake Forest ..It is commonly reported that the stock market averages about... Read More
Robert Rodriguez likes to buy stocks at their lows. When... Read More
Everyone who follows the financial news has heard of mutual... Read More
Whenever I see mutual fund comparisons in the trade publications... Read More
Wouldn't it be nice if you were only in the... Read More
Mutual funds are doing more and more to discourage investors... Read More
Refuse is a serious issue in any society, about as... Read More
It looks like we have now entered a new bull... Read More
This is a rather simple strategy with which I am... Read More
If you haven't heard of the technical indicator with the... Read More
In his wonderful book, 'Multiple Streams of Income', best selling... Read More
IT'S REMINISCENT OF THE OLD children's tale about an old... Read More
Before you buy another car you walk around the lot,... Read More
Time to look back2004 is over, now we are in... Read More
Among the largest forces that affect stock prices are inflation,... Read More
AS BUILDERS BEGIN WORK ON THE FREEDOM TOWER in New... Read More
The recent criminal fiasco in the mutual fund industry is... Read More
Three little pigs went to the market to stock up... Read More
The stock market is very unstable at this time going... Read More
This is an extract of an article which was first... Read More
Are you paying any attention to your retirement savings? Do... Read More
The greatest stock market myth is the idea that investing... Read More
It has often been said that there is only two... Read More
As the man said, "I've got some good news and... Read More
There is no question that the stock market is being... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |