I am hearing predictions by brokers, financial planners, talk show hosts and the talking heads on TV that the market is going back to its old highs - DOW 11,700 and NASDAQ 5000 here we come.
It seems to me that in 2000 I heard these same people saying there was no top to the market and were looking into their crystal balls for DOW 30,000 or some other fantastic number. Suddenly the market turned over with the DOW dropping 3,000 points and the NASDAQ losing 80% of its value. Can it happen again? I don't predict and all I can say is the market can do anything.
BUT what if it does turn down? Are you going to sit as you did before and watch your money disappear? Right now everything looks rosy and the momentum is carrying the indexes higher almost every day. Buy and hold is the right strategy.
Hind sight is always 20/20 and you will want to own stocks and mutual funds now, but not get caught in the next down draft. There will be one! There always has and you can see it clearly if you are a student of market history. Since 1900 there have been 16 to 18-year cycles of bull and bear markets and within those there have been other shorter cycles of ups and downs.
Many brokers and investors try to predict when those turns will occur and they are mostly wrong. It is definitely not a good idea to try to outguess the market. You must learn to read the rather obvious signs of the major turns. I say obvious, but it is clear they are not obvious to most brokers or financial planners. Having been a professional trader, exchange member and floor trader for many years I will tell you the obvious 'secret'.
Using a 200-day moving average of any one of the major indexes (I prefer the S&P500) you can plot these every day and when the index penetrates the 200-day line in an upward direction it is a signal to buy. That is where we are now. Inversely when it penetrates that line going down it is time to sell and put your money in cash or bonds. If you don't want to do the math computations there is an excellent chart in the Investor's Business Daily newspaper called their Mutual Fund Index that will do all the work for you.
It is nothing more complicated than that and you can go back into history as far as you wish and you will see it proven time after time. You are holding stocks or funds while the market is going up and you are in cash while it is going down. Don't be fooled by "research" or by any other complicated method. This works.
There is no need to predict the market. It will tell you in simple language what it is doing and whether you should be a buyer or seller.
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
affordable house cleaning Park Ridge ..Ever turn down a street, get half way and suddenly... Read More
Investing in long-term financial vehicles give you the most gains... Read More
Time to look back2004 is over, now we are in... Read More
We need a rabbit!This was a pretty horrible week for... Read More
We keep hearing about this bear market and that the... Read More
On November 17 I bought 7 different mutual funds and... Read More
I go to the Money Show every year to visit... Read More
When will the stock market stop going down and start... Read More
When is a dividend not a dividend?The latest thing "conservative"... Read More
Wall Street's watchword has always been diversification, but what does... Read More
This article describes the model of a natural relationship between... Read More
If you have been watching the stock market at all... Read More
We all know that emotions control every decision that an... Read More
Wall Street has been preaching the doctrine of Buy and... Read More
I made my very first investment in the stock market... Read More
For the last 12 years we have seen the Japanese... Read More
On Monday, November 25, 2000 Investor's Business Daily listed on... Read More
Three little pigs went to the market to stock up... Read More
The date October 13, 2000 will forever be embedded in... Read More
As I said in Part I everyone in the insane... Read More
In 1960 an engineer working for a watch company in... Read More
How many times has this happened to you? You're at... Read More
∙ Make every investment in the stock market a long-term... Read More
The ABC's of Stock Trading SuccessStock trading success...why is it... Read More
If you want one.And I don't recommend any broker with... Read More
affordable house cleaning Mundelein ..You may have wondered why your mutual funds have been... Read More
If you go to Haiti or other places in the... Read More
The ABC's of Stock Trading SuccessStock trading success...why is it... Read More
Dollar cost averaging is one of the most popular ideas... Read More
One of the great truisms of Wall Street is "Don't... Read More
What can I expect to make my first year of... Read More
An insane person cannot evaluate an insane evaluation system.As you... Read More
It has often been said that there is only two... Read More
Wouldn't it be nice if you were only in the... Read More
How can you dispel an illusion unless you look directly... Read More
Trading is a fascinating activity.There are so many layers to... Read More
Ever turn down a street, get half way and suddenly... Read More
I am hearing predictions by brokers, financial planners, talk show... Read More
If you have talked to a stock broker or financial... Read More
I constantly hear the talking heads on CNBC-TV, the radio... Read More
The Surgeon General of the United States says that smoking... Read More
When it comes to mutual funds, there is a lot... Read More
The stock market has not been very kind to your... Read More
We have two candidates for president that have really different... Read More
The Shadow knows. There used to be a radio program... Read More
Since I can remember, and that's a long time ago,... Read More
Every day I hear someone on CNBC proclaim that "this... Read More
According to Investopedia Inc. the penny stock market has seen... Read More
For the last 12 years we have seen the Japanese... Read More
When you become interested in a stock or mutual fund... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |