One of the basic laws of physics is that a body in motion will remain in motion unless disturbed by another force. What has this to do with the stock market?
For the last 2 years the long-term trend of the market has been down with a few momentary deviations. When a baseball player hits a ball it comes off his bat at full speed and as it makes its arc through the air it slows down and is buffeted by the wind. Sometimes he hits a weak shot and once in a while he gets a home run. You can almost tell when it leaves the bat whether it will be a good one.
On March 1 and March 4 the market came to the plate and it went up so fast and with so much energy it looks like we have a home run in the making. It has been my experience not to argue with an accomplished athlete. The athletes we are dealing with here are the professional traders such as hedge fund and mutual fund managers. They have come forward and put their money where their mouth is. It looks like the ball is going to go a long way.
You as the small investor will want get on board while the ball is in the upward trajectory. Picking individual stocks is extremely difficult as I discussed in last week's column, but it can be done if you want to do the work. There is an easier way.
No-load mutual funds are the answer. Good ones (that means those that have been going up steadily for the past 6 months) are relatively easy to find, Do NOT buy any fund with a commission charge. If you do you will be starting in a hole and must crawl out before you have a chance to make money. Brokers will tell you that the load funds are better. They are lying.
There are several places to look. At the library you should see the Investor's Business Daily newspaper. In the Mutual Fund section you will find the top 25 funds for the past 6 months. This is not published every day so you will have to look in several issues to find it. You can make a list of the first 15 and in the same newspaper is the listing of all mutual funds you will see their toll free number. Call each one to be sure it has no commission charge or redemption fee. You can select from this group for your investments.
If you don't have a computer at home use the one at the library and go to www.smartmoney.com. Under mutual funds they will show you a list of the best performing funds for the past year. They also show if they have a commission charge. From this list you will be able to buy some very good no-load funds.
Which ones you buy are not that important as long as they are going up. Never keep any fund that is not on one these lists. When they stop going up it is time to sell them.
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
recurring cleaning service Mundelein ..A stock market index is a statistical measure of changes... Read More
Every Wall Street analyst, financial planner and broker will tell... Read More
If you have talked to a stock broker or financial... Read More
You have heard about a particular mutual fund from a... Read More
We learnt the following the hard way! If any of... Read More
Fundamental analysis.Fundamentals analysis says the best way to predict the... Read More
Just 30 years ago the stock market was a shadow... Read More
Everything you invest in has risk so you want to... Read More
It is difficult to make money in a bull market,... Read More
According to Investopedia Inc. the penny stock market has seen... Read More
Using Swing Trading Strategies and Technical Analysis when Trading Stocks... Read More
When most analysts, financial planners, fund specialists and investors try... Read More
Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a... Read More
Carefully thinking through your goal as a trader is of... Read More
Intervention. Now don't let that big word scare you. The... Read More
I have watched my cat play with a bag of... Read More
Trading is a fascinating activity.There are so many layers to... Read More
If you are a baby boomer, time is not on... Read More
This is a guide to the different types of mutual... Read More
I often hear from people, "I don't trade. I invest.... Read More
Inverted interest rates? What's that? Who cares? Even if you... Read More
How many times have you said to yourself, "I'd like... Read More
Do you have a nest egg? You know, a place... Read More
The stock market has been in an up trend for... Read More
Since I can remember, and that's a long time ago,... Read More
tidy up service Buffalo Grove ..With over 6,000 mutual funds available, it may be tempting... Read More
I receive emails from Morningstar. This company provides statistics and... Read More
Let's assume that you want to make some serious money... Read More
As the man said, "I've got some good news and... Read More
Have you been listening to the talking heads on CNBC-TV?... Read More
04/28/2005NASDAQ dropped -12.5% year to date in 2005. S&P500 index... Read More
Outlined below are some of the advantages and disadvantages of... Read More
When purchasing mutual funds we are cautioned to read the... Read More
The stock market is very unstable at this time going... Read More
If you are fed up with early redemption charges and... Read More
Maximizing a stock market investmentThere are several factors an investor... Read More
With the stock market stubbornly refusing to settle down and... Read More
I go to the Money Show every year to visit... Read More
So you're started trading, you bought some positions with your... Read More
Caught in a whirlpool and being sucked under. No life... Read More
What is leverage?Here is a definition of leverage from an... Read More
I continually hear from economists, talking heads, other market letter... Read More
Someday you may want to retire and continue to live... Read More
There are so many kinds of work that needs to... Read More
All of the talking heads have been telling us that... Read More
How many times has this happened to you? You're at... Read More
There can't be many traders who haven't at least considered... Read More
If you're like many investors who squander those small dividend... Read More
The bear market that showed up at the end of... Read More
When you become interested in a stock or mutual fund... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |