"Sooner or later, those who win are those who think they can."Paul Tournier
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Insurance providers weather the storm while the claims of consumers flounder
We have just had the first year’s anniversary of the flash flooding which occurred at Boscastle in Cornwall. The floods saw some of the worst damage wrought by sudden rainfall in the UK for many years. The flood was caused by the remains of a hurricane ...
Ten Things You Should Know About Medical Savings Accounts
Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs) are promoted as the salvation of small businesses in desperate need of affordable health insurance plans. Forbes called MSAs "Super-IRAs" and Business Week wrote "almost too good to be true". Kiplinger’s Personal Finance ...
Tips To Avoid Getting Into Debt
While many articles and books have been written to help you once you're in debt, very few have been written about how to avoid getting into debt in the first place. Many people choose to go to credit counseling only after they're on the brink of filing ...
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Mutual fund managers use fake fund names to part you from your money such that you cannot judge what a fund does by its name. Many funds have names that are outright misleading or even deceptive. In the late 1990’s, for instance, during the technology stock bubble, some portfolio managers took advantage of public’s desire to chase the latest fad by slapping “internet” in front of their fund names.
The chances of that happening now are possibly lower. As of July 2002, the SEC requires funds to have at least 80% of their assets in securities that their fund name implies, up from 65% previously. This new rule is forcing funds that called themselves something like the America’s Government Fund to either dispose of East Asian government debt if it exceeded 20% of fund assets, or to change the fund’s name.
Likewise for funds that call themselves an equity income fund but have 25% of assets in stocks that paid no dividends. More than five hundred funds have had to change their names because they failed the 80% rule. Invesco’s Blue Chip Growth fund, for example, is now called just growth fund, since 60% of its holdings are in technology stocks, and many of those can hardly be called blue chips these days.
The 80% rule still allows mutual funds to invest in just about anything up to 20% of holdings. Why don’t you just avoid the entire problem by buying shares of an indexed mutual fund when you only have a selection of mutual funds to select? For this reason I strongly recommend that if you can only buy mutual funds, as in the case of the 401(k), then restrict your purchases to indexed funds such as the Vanguard 500 (VFINX). The best you can do is to learn to select individual stocks in your Roth IRA or individual account.
About the author:
Dr. Scott Brown, Ph.D., a.k.a. “The Wallet Doctor”, is a successful futures trader, real estate investor, and stock investor. Dr. Brown holds a Ph.D. in finance from the University of South Carolina and a Master in International Management from the prestigious American Graduate School of International Business a.k.a. Thunderbird. His 1998 articles in Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities were prophetic in predicting an impending stock market crash. He has helped many people become profitable investors teaching them to look out over many years to spot stocks that are low and primed for rise in the new bull market. His second article met with approval by Dr. Bob Shiller of Yale University. Dr. Shiller is the economist that Alan Greenspan most highly regards who coined the term “Irrational Exuberance.” In 1998 he was shouting out to the world to “get out” of the stock market but now he is shouting to everyone that it is time to “get in!” The Wallet Doctor is not only sought after for investment advice and coaching in stock investing but also in futures trading and real estate investing. He also teaches investing in Spanish and Portuguese. His free newsletter www.WalletDoctor.comis jam packed with personal finance and investment tips and advice! His course which is described in detail at www.BonanzaBase.comteaches home study stock market investment students more than an undergraduate or MBA degree in finance...how does he know? Because he is also a university finance professor!
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PERSONAL FINANCE: Why pedigreed pooches cost moreReuters(The writer is a Reuters contributor. The opinions expressed are her own.) By Alina Dizik NEW YORK Feb 9 (Reuters) - Bruce, a Finnish Lapphund who's best described as a Pomeranian meets Alaskan Husky, will attend the canine equivalent of the Oscars for ...and more » |
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PERSONAL FINANCE: Pet insurance-a costly necessityReuters"It is only to protect our finances, so we don't go bankrupt treating our pets. Or worse, we might have to make a difficult decision to put them to sleep for a treatable illness," says Bodzon. "We could not afford to pay the deductible if they all ...and more » |
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6 personal finance tips for new CanadiansCBC.ca“In my personal experience,” Yang says, “their emotional swings are way bigger because they've never been through the market cycles.” The advice from the experts is to try and look at financial planning through a logical rather than an emotional lens.and more » |
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