Rebalance And Diversify

The stock market has not been very kind to your investments lately. Your broker knows this so you may have received a call from him suggesting it is time to 'rebalance and diversify' your portfolio.

What does this really mean? He wants you to sell some of your holdings and buy something else. Probably sell stocks and buy bonds "because of market uncertainty". Sounds good, but it really means he needs some commission and you are "it". Yes, I agree it may be time to sell all your stocks and mutual funds and put everything in a money market account until this bear market is over. Your broker doesn't like money market funds because he doesn't make any commission. That may be why he never recommends them.

Rebalance doesn't have any true stock market meaning. It is one of those Wall Street words they use to confuse you. It sounds good, but that's all.

Diversify is another broker and financial planner favorite. Have part of your money in stocks, some in mutual funds, bonds and maybe 5% in a money market so you can take advantage of an initial public offering when a new one comes along. Yeah! Now let's try the true meaning of diversify: put some here, put some there and a little there (and all of this does generate commission, of course) because I really don't know what to do so we will spread it around and hope for the best.

No, I don't hate your broker or financial planner. It is just that I know they have not been trained to protect your capital or how to make money. How do I know that? I used to own a brokerage company and I know how these guys consistently lose their customers and their own money. Yes, they even do it to themselves. That's how dumb they are.

If you have lost money this year in your nice "safe" mutual fund you are not alone. Did you know that 99% of all stock mutual funds have a loss? Scary isn't it. Is there any thing you could have done to have protected your capital from a major loss? Yes there is.

For example, in 1998 you could have bought Janus 20 mutual fund for about $40/share. You and several hundred thousand others did. All of you watched as it went up to $94/share. Wonderful! Uh oh, it is now selling for $35. If you had been told by your broker (and you weren't) that it is a good policy to protect your profits with a mental stop-loss order of about 10% you could have sold out at about $80/share, but you are in for the long haul and you are a conservative investor so you won't sell.

The term conservative investor is an oxymoron. There is no such thing when you have your money on the line. You are a speculator. It happens to be that you are a long-term speculator. And they get just as burned as the day traders. It just takes longer.

Don't fall for the nonsense of rebalancing and diversifying. When one of your holdings starts down more than 10% just sell out. You want to diversify and rebalance into cash until this bear market is over.

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.

detailed home cleaning Park Ridge ..

In The News:

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

OpenTable now uses AI to track your dining habits and share insights with restaurants. Learn what data they collect and how to protect your privacy.

Google's discontinued Nest thermostats still secretly upload home data to company servers despite losing smart features, raising serious privacy concerns.

New Android malware NGate steals NFC payment codes in real-time, allowing criminals to withdraw cash from ATMs without your card. Learn protection tips.

DoorDash confirms data breach exposing customer names, emails, addresses after social engineering attack. Learn how to protect yourself from scams.

Concerned about Google's AI scanning your Gmail? Learn how to disable Gemini features that access your emails, Drive files and Chat messages for privacy.

Google warns Android users about dangerous fake VPN apps hiding malware that steals passwords, banking details and personal data from phones and tablets.

Apple's digital passport feature lets iPhone users breeze through TSA checkpoints this holiday season using Digital ID technology at 250+ airports.

Rebalance And Diversify

Stocks & Mutual Fund