How to Maximize Your 401k Mutual Fund ReturnsWritten by Ulli G. Niemann
When it comes to 401k's there is an overabundance of sad stories. Here is one that at least has a happy ending—and it's getting happier all time.Last year (in 2002) a friend of mine—let’s call him Jack—phoned and asked if I could help him with his 401k. Jack works for a large company as Senior VP of lending and is financially pretty astute. However, when it came to his 401k mutual fund decisions, he had repeatedly made same mistake most people were making. As a result, he saw his account drop in value substantially. At time we were in midst of 2000 bear market, which showed no sign of letting up. Jack had purchased into a Lifestyle fund because someone recommended it. By time he finally bailed out, it cost him dearly. However, he continued to make same mistake by reinvesting. He checked with 401k representative and subsequently switched to a variety of mutual funds ranging from World Stock to Domestic Hybrids, Large and Small Value as well as Growth. But nothing worked and his portfolio value headed further south. By time we met to discuss his 401k Jack was pretty disgusted by canned advice he had received and continued losses he was sustaining. Jack knew that I had pretty much eluded bear market of 2000 by having sold all of my clients’ positions on 10/13/2000. We were safely in our money market accounts weathering out storm (see my article "How we eluded bear in 2000." Thinking about this, Jack could only shake his head because at no point in market slide had he ever been given what I believe was right advice. That is, no one suggested that, since we were in a bear market, he might want to step aside and remain in safety of his money market account. So he stayed invested, hoping against evidence all around him to find something that was not crashing. That was his mistake, and one shared by many. The advice that he consistently and continually received was that market was close to a bottom, stocks “have to” move up from these levels, and, my personal money losing favorite, “the market can’t go any lower.” That's what people wanted to hear and believe. But my tracking system said otherwise, and I followed its indicators—much to delight of my clients.
| | Enlightened Thinking For Creating WealthWritten by Lauri A. Pruitt
Enlightened Thinking For Creating Wealth By Lauri A. Pruitt We become what we think. If you think poverty, it is inevitable that you will be poor. Whereas if you think prosperity, your life will generate wealth, you will blossom like a rose bud in sunshine, like a caterpillar metamorphosed into a beautiful butterfly. Creative ideas will start flowing, you’ll wake up each day looking forward to it, expecting new ideas to unveil themselves to you that day, to generate wealth, to make a difference in world. Your destiny depends upon you, by what you dwell on and choices that you make. We all have choice to either think, or dwell on negative things of life, impossibilities or positive things, possibilities. In Bible it states that, “Anything is possible, if you have faith.” In other words, what do you believe in, what are truths that you base your life on. If you truly believe that nothing is impossible to you, for you, then unlimited wealth is at your doorstep. We all have power to control our thoughts, it may be tough at times, but it is not impossible. Surround yourself with good, positive friends, that will build you up rather than tear you down. Read good, positive, uplifting books at all times. Keep learning new things, keep your mind active, focused, continually dreaming. Study how wealthy live, how they think, how they accomplished their dreams, even when all odds were against them. Listen to how they talk, words they speak, read their autobiographies and their stories.
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