ComputerHunter.org

 

Missleading Fund Names Wreak Havoc On Investor Returns!


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. 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 by 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 shouted 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. Visit Dr. Brown's site at http://www.BonanzaBase.com or sign up for his investment tips at http://www.WalletDoctor.com







Google News - Top Stories

The Associated Press

European Companies Batten Down Hatches Amid Crisis (Update2)
Bloomberg - 32 minutes ago
By Fergal O'Brien Oct. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Europe's worsening credit crisis is forcing companies from carmakers to fashion designers to reduce investment and cut payrolls, deepening the region's economic slowdown.
Fed offers unlimited support CNNMoney.com
US moves to get $700B bank rescue effort started The Associated Press
New York Times - MSN Money - Swissinfo - Economist
all 1,176 news articles


Boston Globe

RPT-Morgan Stanley stock up 65 pct in Frankfurt trade
Forbes - 24 minutes ago
FRANKFURT, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Shares in Morgan Stanley climbed around 65 percent on the Frankfurt stock exchange's trading floor, as local dealers said the stock was benefitting from relief that a $9 billion deal with Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Financial ...
Morgan Stanley and MUFG renegotiating pact Reuters
Morgan Stanley Climbs in Germany on Mitsubishi UFJ Discussions Bloomberg
BusinessWeek - CNNMoney.com - Houston Chronicle - CNN
all 1,139 news articles


Voice of America

Sarah Palin Tones it Down a Notch
ABC News - 57 minutes ago
ABC's Imtiyaz Delawala and Ron Claiborne report: Gov. Sarah Palin significantly ratcheted down the rhetoric in her Sunday evening at an outdoor rally in Rush Run Park in St.
Republicans Fear McCain in Trouble After Hard Week ELECTIONS 2008 RedOrbit
Congressman says McCain sowing 'seeds of hatred' Reuters
Aspen Daily News - Los Angeles Times - Columbus Dispatch - Lawrence Journal World
all 1,673 news articles


Joy Online

Zimbabwe: Zimbabweans Flood SA As Power-Sharing Deal Troubled
AllAfrica.com - 1 hour ago
Park station in downturn Johannesburg, South Africa teems with Zimbabweans arriving in the land of plenty in rattled buses that dramatise the escalating economic crisis back home.
Zimbabwe Opposition Leader Threatens to Quit Power-Share Deal Voice of America
Mbeki in bid to save Zimbabwe power-sharing deal AFP
The Associated Press - International Herald Tribune - Bloomberg - Telegraph.co.uk
all 2,575 news articles


Radio Australia

US Move on N. Korea Assailed in Japan
Washington Post - 1 hour ago
By Blaine Harden TOKYO, Oct. 12 -- A day after the Bush administration removed North Korea from its terrorism blacklist, the country announced that it would resume tearing down its main nuclear plant, and South Korea welcomed the move as a step toward ...
Critics of US-North Korea Nuclear Deal Say US Concedes Too Much Voice of America
North Korea to give UN monitors access to nuclear facilities guardian.co.uk
Reuters - Los Angeles Times - Wall Street Journal - New York Times
all 3,347 news articles

Google
 

Copyright © 2006 Computer Hunter - A Division of Arthur´s Job Base