| |
| |
|
Stocks & Mutual Funds Information |
|
|
|
How To Buy And Hold
One of the most believed bits of conventional wisdom from Wall Street is to Buy and Hold. Any stock or mutual fund should be put away for eternity and never sold. This is total hogwash and is guaranteed to reduce your investment income. Brokerage companies never will advise you to sell. Last year over 1,000 stocks on the Nasdaq lost more than 90% of their value. During that same period of time brokerage companies issued 33,000 (yes, that's right, thousand) recommendations for their clients. Of that 33,000 only 125 were "Sell". What happened to those "expert" analysts who were telling you to buy on the way up? Couldn't any of them figure out to tell you to get out when a stock was headed down at breakneck speed? When you want to know something I have a favorite method. It is, "Follow the Money". Where does a brokerage company make its greatest return? Not on commissions as you might think. It is selling a new issue of stock or a secondary issue for a company now in business or debentures of some kind. We are talking about big bucks here. Minimum six figures and most times seven figure commissions for the brokerage company. Just one of these more than makes up for the customers piddling commissions. If the brokerage company analyst tells the truth that he doesn't think a company is a good buy anymore and to sell you can be sure the executives at that company have a long memory should they decide to sell more stock. Issuing a sell signal would be the death knell for the brokerage company ever selling any new issues for that company. And the analyst would probably get fired. Instead of telling you to Sell they downgrade the company from Buy to Neutral or Accumulate or Underperform the Market or Hold. The latter is the worst rating you will see. Any downgrade is your signal to Sell immediately. There is a successful way to Buy and Hold, but it will take about 15 minutes of your time each week. You could do it monthly, but you will have better results if you do it weekly. One of my basic criteria for owning any stock or mutual fund is that it must be going up. Not down or sideways. Let's say you have from one or several stocks in your portfolio. On Saturday morning you look at the closing price of the stocks you own. You figure out what 10% of the closing price would be. You might want it to be more or less. For example, if the stock is $40 per share that comes to $4. On Monday morning you call your broker and place an Open Stop Loss order for $36. Never lower the price. If the stock sells down to that level you want to be sold out. The Hold side of the Buy and Hold formula has been met. You held it while it was going up. You don't want to hold it while it is going down, do you? This is the right way to Buy and Hold, not the way Wall Street tells you. You bought. You held. You got out with a profit (or a very small loss). Congratulations. You have outsmarted Wall Street. Al Thomas' book, "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't BuyIt!" has helped thousands of people make moneyand keep their profits with his simple 2-stepmethod. Read the first chapter athttp://www.mutualfundmagic.com and discover why he's the man that Wall Streetdoes not want you to know. Copyright 2005
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Risk Control Everything you invest in has risk so you want to do your research before you put your money on the line.For example, when McDonald's opens a new restaurant (please, don't call it a hamburger joint) they will investigate as many of the relevant facts as possible. What To Buy Now I am sure that if you have a brokerage account with a "full service" broker you have been getting calls about what to buy and sell. If you have big losses in certain stocks you might be hit with that great Wall Street lie to buy more so you can 'Dollar Cost Average'. Why the Majority Fail at Stock Investing The gleam and bright lights of Wall Street lure in many new investors each year, only to send them home crying to their friends and family. Why do so many people fail when it comes to the stock market? The reason is very simple: Hard work! Most people are looking for a quick buck or a fast path to riches. 8 Penny Stocks to Avoid There are many good penny stock investments available, which could turn a small amount of capital into a small fortune very quickly. However, to discover these you need to know what to look for and what to avoid. The Big Bad Bear The big bad bear is stirring again. So far he has stretched, yawned and peaked out of his cave. Is Your Garage Full Of Junk? I have a 2-car garage. There are nice shelves on one side and a good practical workbench with a vice on the other side. Long Term Investing In his wonderful book, 'Multiple Streams of Income', best selling author Robert Allen advises Investors to divide their Stock Market investment and trading capital into three portions -50% invested long term (forever) in an Index Fund, 30% invested in Accelerated Stock strategies and 20% in options or high risk investment strategies.This article will discuss long term investing and how technical analysis can alert us to points in time when it is prudent to take profits and exit the Stock market. Acapulco - The Stock Market Dives There is a famous cliff on the ocean in Acapulco where experienced divers jump into the sea. It is very dangerous because the water at the base of the cliff surges from a depth of 2 feet to 12 feet. Dont Lose All Your Money That sounds like good advice doesn't it? Don't lose all your money.After all what is an investor without funds in the brokerage account? Hint: BROKE!On the subject of investing, this means getting out of a trade when it goes against you. How To Beat The Mutual Fund Companies At Their Own Game You'd have had to be living on a desert island with no TV, newspaper or internet connection to have missed hearing about the great mutual fund scandal of 2003.The issue was that some mutual fund companies allowed certain hedge funds to engage in after-hours trading, sometimes incorrectly referred to as market timing. Long Term Financial Vehicles Investing in long-term financial vehicles give you the most gains but it also puts your funds at greater risk. There is much truth to the saying, "there is no gain if there is no risk". Advantages and Disadvantages of Mutual Funds Outlined below are some of the advantages and disadvantages of mutual funds. Every investment has advantages and disadvantages. Trade Stocks for Real I read a comment by a forum member on another site earlier today that suggested that every investor should back test their system for at least twenty years. I disagree and will now tell you why. Market Success Who are the successful investors?There are those who follow the advice of their brokers and financial planners or those who choose to use their own good judgment? If you care to compare the results of the past 4 years from 2000 to now I believe you will see who as done the best job.In the old days at the Chicago stock yards they used to have an old sheep who led the lambs to the slaughter when they arrived on the train. NASDAQ 800? In November of 2000 when the NASDAQ was trading at 3000 I wrote in this column that the NASDAQ Index would fall to 1500 and I got lots of heat for saying it. Microsoft had fallen from $129 to $60 per share. Moving Averages Every day on CNBC-TV they show a 200-day moving average line superimposed on the stock price history. It seems they give great credence to this manufactured line as it represents 10 months of price action. Selling The stock market has been going up for more than 7 months and many investors who held on through the big crash of 2000 are seeing their portfolios get back some of what had disappeared. Is now the time to sell those equities that are 'even' with what you paid for them? No. Bottoms Ups If you have talked to a stock broker or financial planner in the last few days I will bet they all agree that there are some great bargains out there and now is the time to start buying in anticipation that the market will go back up. You will also find agreement from the talking heads on CNBC and those talk radio station stock mavens. Invest, Be Wrong, and Make Money in the Stock Market I have been trading for several decadesand was an exchange member and floor trader for 17years. You learn fast there or you go broke in ahurry. On Line Stock Trading: Small Cap & Micro Stocks Go Up and Down - How Can You Profit? Success in small cap & micro cap stock trading like with any other business in life comes from being able to see the big picture and from paying attention to the small details.Let's say for example that you are a business owner and you have a jewelry store on a given street just like the guy in the other corner does, but still the other guy is making 5 times more profits than you are only because he's doing something different.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |