If you’re a stock or mutual fund investor, odds are you’ve had second (or third or fourth) thoughts about what to do in this mostly down rollercoaster of a market. Between episodes of popping Tums and chugging Pepto-Bismol, it’s likely that you’ve contemplated selling your stocks and waiting on the sidelines until things settle down a bit. CNN Money says that while this might seem like a wise path, it’s exactly the wrong thing to do. They list four reasons why you shouldn’t sell now, but the one that stands out among the pack is their reason no. 3 — you underestimate the risk of being out of stocks:
stocks
Is Your CEO Getting Kickbacks Off Your 401k Fees?
By 3.6.08
Author David Loeper over in the WiseBread forums explains how your CEO could be getting a kickback from excessive fees on your company’s 401k. The “administration fees” on some company’s 401ks are sometimes 20 times as much as what it actually costs to run the fund. Part of these fees go back to the 401k admin via “revenue sharing.” Usually the admin keeps it but sometimes they’re so big that they go back to the employee’s accounts. But instead of being credited back equally… [More]
Study Links Speeding Tickets And Risky Trading
By 2.11.08
People who get a lot of speeding tickets also engage in risky investing behavior, according to a new study. Finnish researchers compared a speeding ticket database and a database of all the trading portfolios of Finnish households. Their findings suggest that for these speeders, a sensible long-term investment strategy simply isn’t interesting enough for them. They crave the thrill and excitement of churning over their investments more frequently. Each successive speeding ticket and investor received correlated to an 11 percent increase in their portfolio turnover. On average, the stocks they bought didn’t do any better than the ones they had just sold.
How Your 401(k) Is Ripping You Off
By 1.31.08
Another chapter in Bob Sullivan’s excellent book Gotcha Capitalism explores how Wall Street quietly devours your retirement plan through an array of hidden fees. Bob quotes a Wall Street money manager as saying, “If we had to disclose fees, half the people in this room wouldn’t have jobs.” [More]
By 1.24.08
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Personal finance blog FiLife’s Ron Leiber on why he bought stocks this morning: because he’s nowhere close to retirement. [FiLife]
By 1.23.08
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On investing in scary times: “The bottom line: If you don’t have a plan, develop one. If you do have one, stick to it,” – Larry Swedroe. [All Financial Matters]
By 1.23.08
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Just checking annnnnnnnnnnd… yep… global stock markets remain in turmoil. [NYT]
U.S. Markets Down Sharply Despite Emergency Rate Cut
By 1.22.08
Despite the fact that the Fed cut the federal funds rate on overnight loans between banks to 3.5 percent from 4.25 percent in an attempt to prevent a sell-off in U.S. markets, the Dow Jones Industrial average opened down by more than 460 points.
By 1.18.08
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In the first cost-cutting move by new Sprint CEO Dan Hesse, 4,000 jobs were cut. Its stock subsequently sunk 26% to a new 52-week low of $8.56. Wall Street is overreacting, we have this feeling in our heart of hearts that Hesse can turn things around. [Reuters]
By 1.10.08
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If you’re looking to invest in mutual funds and avoid capital gains tax, Vanguard Tax Managed International Fund (VTMGX) and Third Avenue Value Fund (TAVFX) are recommended as funds to look into, along with index funds and ETFs (exchange traded funds) in general. [WSJ]
By 12.21.07
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Circuit City posted a rather large loss this quarter, $207.3 million, up from $20.4 million a year ago. Stocks fell nearly 21% on the news. We went into a Circuit City a few years ago and remember it as being overwhelmingly gray in color. [CNN Money]
Sallie Mae CEO Ends Conference Call With "Let's Get The Fuck Out Of Here"
By 12.20.07
Dodging tough questions about the student loan company’s fiscal well-being and strategy in the midst of the credit crunch, not to mention his recent sale of 97% of his company stock, Sallie Mae’s CEO ended a conference call yesterday with investors by cursing, reports WSJ:
In an apparent reference to investors’ anger, he said: “I can assure you, you will be going through a metal detector.” He ended the conference call by saying “Let’s go. There’s no questions. Let’s get the [expletive] out of here.”
Retirement Investment Scams And How To Avoid Them
By 12.18.07
People who are about to retire often find themselves faced with a million different brokers who have a million different great ideas about what they should do with their savings. It can be overwhelming, but Kiplinger has a great article about shady investment scams and how to avoid them.
By 12.18.07
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Maybe not you, but someone’s been doing a lot of shopping at Best Buy this year, because they just posted higher 3rd quarter earnings than they had predicted, based on “strong sales.” Sales were $238 million versus $150 million a year ago. [Reuters]
By 12.12.07
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Feds add $40 bil cash for banks to borrow, stocks jump. [Business Week]
By 12.12.07
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Stocks fell yesterday as investors sold off after only a 1/4 point drop instead of the 1/2 point drop the market was priced for/hoping for. Pre-market trading indicates there could be a rally today. [AP]
Comcast Announces It Expects To Lose Customers In 2008
By 12.5.07
Yesterday Comcast lowered its growth expectations for 2008—not by much but down from 12% to 11% for the year. This morning at a media conference, Comcast’s CFO Michael Angelakis cited a “challenging economic and competitive environment,” with companies like Verizon and AT&T poaching its video customers to their new services. Oh, and also because nobody wants to be a Comcast customer unless it’s the only game in town.
