No Load Mutual Funds: Investment Hype vs. Investment Help

Written by Ulli G. Niemann


Withrepparttar internet such a huge part of our daily lives, many investors have access to a wide range of instant investment information.

Whether you’re into stocks, bonds, mutual funds, futures or options, there are tons of electronic investment newsletters offering to turn your small stake into a giant fortune. All you need to do is subscribe and watch your portfolio soar.

Yeah, right!

As a practicing investment advisor specializing in no load mutual funds, I have received my share of e-mails from disillusioned subscribers wanting to know how to better evaluate newsletter services.

While there are no absolutes, I can give you a few pointers that might help you make a better decision:

1. Stay away fromrepparttar 112606 most obvious hype. Ads promising to turn your $10,000 into $1 million in 2 years by buying this incredible stock or hot commodity are not promoting investing — they are selling gambling. Followrepparttar 112607 "If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is" rule.

2. Most mutual fund newsletters won’t make those outlandish claims, but some of them are still pushingrepparttar 112608 truth as far as they can. So try to get a free issue or two to examine. If you can't get a sample, check if they have a trial period? How about a money back guarantee? If not, pay with your credit card. These days you’re pretty well protected by this payment method even ifrepparttar 112609 newsletter doesn't offer a satisfaction guarantee.

3. Considerrepparttar 112610 editor as well asrepparttar 112611 disclaimer notes. Is he or she only publishing a newsletter? Or is he also an investment advisor with a practice?

Why would that last point matter? I may be biased, but I believe that you get far better advice from a writer who also is inrepparttar 112612 trenches every day investing their own as well as their clients’ portfolios. They would have far better insights as to what works and what doesn’t than someone who hasrepparttar 112613 theory down but no practical experience.

4. Look atrepparttar 112614 investment recommendations. Are they suggesting you buy into a certain orientation such as mid cap, small cap or large value? Or are they picking specific investments based on a variety of technical indicators?

Don't Overpay for a House, Even in Today's Market

Written by Christopher Mallon


If there's one thing American investors love, it's an over-inflated market. Which is why they keep buying houses and new ones keep coming ontorepparttar market. According torepparttar 112605 latest data, housing starts rose an annualized 3.4% in September, matching a 17-year high. Whoo-ha! Go, baby go.

I wonder ifrepparttar 112606 people buying these houses, for ever-rising prices, arerepparttar 112607 same people who couldn't get enough Amazon.com stock at $100 or Lucent shares for $75? Having been burned inrepparttar 112608 stock market, I guess they decided to re-invest what was left in their homes. Are we in a housing bubble? I don't know, but I suspect that we are, at least in some areas ofrepparttar 112609 country.

Don't misunderstand me, now. I own a home, and I think home ownership is one ofrepparttar 112610 great freedoms we enjoy in this country. I get nervous aboutrepparttar 112611 people who are pulling allrepparttar 112612 equity out of their homes with new mortgages. I suspect that most of these people are spendingrepparttar 112613 equity, not investing it. What they're left with is a larger mortgage, and a bunch of worthless Chinese made goods.

The current low-interest rate environment is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to lock in a cheap 30-year mortgage on your home. If you refinancerepparttar 112614 balance of your current mortgage, you've won. If you refinance, and max out on your equity, you're probably hurting yourself. You might say that by refinancingrepparttar 112615 equity in your home, you're just cashing in on your home's rise in value. Well, not exactly.

What you're really doing is collateralizingrepparttar 112616 portion ofrepparttar 112617 house that you own to get a cash loan, withrepparttar 112618 intention of paying backrepparttar 112619 loan at a later date. You've really transferred ownership ofrepparttar 112620 equity in your house to your lender, not cashed it out. If you want to cash out your equity, you have to sell your house, plain and simple.

For those who are buying new homes,repparttar 112621 low interest environment is a double-edged sword. Onrepparttar 112622 one hand, you can get a tremendous rate on a 30-year mortgage,repparttar 112623 likes of which you see once in a lifetime. Onrepparttar 112624 other hand, because we live in a world whererepparttar 112625 monthly payment is all that matters, lower interest rate mean higher home prices. The monthly payment staysrepparttar 112626 same, but now you've got a much higher mortgage balance, which could turn around to bite you inrepparttar 112627 future.

The dangers of refinancingrepparttar 112628 equity out of your home are readily apparent, but why shouldn't you buy a home inrepparttar 112629 current environment?

I'm not saying you shouldn't. What I'm saying is you have to be careful. Most real estate professionals understand thatrepparttar 112630 monthly payment matters, notrepparttar 112631 price ofrepparttar 112632 house, when selling a house. Therefore,repparttar 112633 lower interest rates fall,repparttar 112634 more money can be charged for a house. If you're a home buyer, with a set amount of money for a downpayment,repparttar 112635 price ofrepparttar 112636 house will determine how much equity you start with. And, it determines whether you get a conventional mortgage, with 20% down, or some other form with less downpayment. That equity percentage will determine whether you'll be paying forrepparttar 112637 great rip-off known as Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). Trust me, it's just another monthly payout that goes down a giant rat-hole. There's no value in PMI, and you don't want to pay it.

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