Wouldn't it be nice if you were only in the stock market when it was going up and have everything transferred to cash while it is going down? It is called 'market timing' and your broker or financial planner will tell you "it can't be done". What that person just told you is he doesn't know how to do it. He doesn't know his job.
Even the Federal Reserve wrote an article saying that market timing does out perform the S&P500 index which is one of the best market directional indicators.
There are many advisory services that offer market timing. If you search on the Internet under "Market Timing" you will find them or you may look in various publications such as Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities magazine or Investor's Business Daily newspaper. Once you have found several you will find that some have several buy and sell signals each year and a few average only one timing signal per year. Here it depends upon your personality and your approach to the market.
For the active trader the more signals the better and for the longer-term investor the slow signals are best. You will have to do your homework and will want to send for a trial subscription to their newsletters. You might have to try several until you find one you like.
Instead of subscribing to an advisory letter you may decide to make up your own timing signal. It will take some initial work, but once done you will not have to pay anyone else for the service.
Most of these timing methods use two a simple moving averages of from 50 days to 200 days plotted with the S&P500 Index or the NYSE Composite or the Nasdaq Composite if you are investing in the high tech stocks or mutual funds. Yes, this definitely works with mutual funds. The longer the time of the moving average the less frequent will be the Buy and Sell signals. The signal is generated when the index penetrates the moving average line. When the index is below the moving average and goes through it to the upside you have a Buy and visa versa for the Sell. Nothing complicated.
If you want to piggyback the work of Investor's Business Daily look at their Mutual Fund Index where they show both a 50-day and 200-day moving average lines. Both of these methods gave sell signals last September/ October. Would your investments have been more profitable if you had gone to cash at that time? Probably. The 200-day line still has you in cash while the 50-day line had a Buy/Sell in January and a new Buy about April 20.
Basically what market timing does is protect you from any big loss in a bear market. The first rule for all smart investors is to protect their capital. If your broker does not know how to do this you need a new broker.
It's your money. Keep it.
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
limo prices to midway Crystal Lake west of Randal .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareIf it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck... Read More
We all know the expression, "My country, right or wrong",... Read More
I mean it when I say that. While plastic silverware... Read More
In his wonderful book, 'Multiple Streams of Income', best selling... Read More
Much like the middle child, mid-cap stocks have long struggled... Read More
Economists know more about how the fragments of society work... Read More
Let me start by saying that...Most online brokers do not... Read More
Most advisors will tell you they can beat the market.... Read More
I was devastated!I just couldn't believe it. I was 10... Read More
Ever done any whitewater rafting or canoeing? Long periods of... Read More
The thinking process of the brain relating to the... Read More
AS BUILDERS BEGIN WORK ON THE FREEDOM TOWER in New... Read More
We learnt the following the hard way! If any of... Read More
As the man said, "I've got some good news and... Read More
A 'stock option' is a contract between two parties giving... Read More
Whenever I see mutual fund comparisons in the trade publications... Read More
There can't be many traders who haven't at least considered... Read More
Refuse is a serious issue in any society, about as... Read More
I use the P/E ratio as a secondary indicator for... Read More
Picking a beaten-down stock requires a different kind of selection... Read More
There are red lights, green lights, blue lights and spot... Read More
If you are serious about making and keeping money by... Read More
An investor can find and research the best stock on... Read More
It is wonderful to be alive in the information age.... Read More
As I have said many times before in this column... Read More
taxi o'hare Auburn ..People are constantly asking me why is the stock market... Read More
When it comes to buying a stock or mutual fund... Read More
Everything you invest in has risk so you want to... Read More
If there is one term over-used when talking about making... Read More
Do you have a financial planner? Does one of your... Read More
As the man said, "I've got some good news and... Read More
Wall Street has been preaching for years and years to... Read More
On the 40 year journey through the turmoil of a... Read More
I read a comment by a forum member on another... Read More
Should the market turn against you, it is important that... Read More
Investors who exclusively use broadly diversified, no load mutual funds... Read More
The recent criminal fiasco in the mutual fund industry is... Read More
I have a 2-car garage. There are nice shelves on... Read More
Mutual funds and brokers are always preaching not to buy... Read More
Are you paying any attention to your retirement savings? Do... Read More
It looks like the market is ready to start up... Read More
I don't know what kind it is, but I saw... Read More
In 1960 an engineer working for a watch company in... Read More
One of the big advertising kicks today from mutual funds... Read More
Let's say you are interested in this one company. You... Read More
How can you dispel an illusion unless you look directly... Read More
From the book 'The Stockopoly Plan' by the author Charles... Read More
Peter is a professional trader, Paul is not. Peter has... Read More
You've decided to try your luck at trading stocks or... Read More
The trading method you employ to approach the stock market... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |