| |
| |
|
|
Stocks & Mutual Funds Information |
|
|
|
Complacency Indicator
If you haven't heard of the technical indicator with the stock market symbol VIX it is now time to pay some attention to it. When the number is running low, as it is now, around 15 to 18 it means everyone is happy and thinks the stock market is going to continue up or at least continue on its current path and there is no need to sell anything. This is a measure of complacency. When the number goes above 35 it means everyone is very nervous and thinks the market is going to fall. It is considered a contrarian indicator. Wall Street calls this the Volatility Index which disguises its real underlying meaning. What it really should be called is the FEAR and GREED Index. The average investor buys with a greed motive when the VIX is low and sells only after fear sets in when the number is high because he is afraid of further loss. These are emotional moments and the market is an emotional animal. The truly smart investor has a planned exit strategy before he buys anything; he knows when to sell even before he buys. Notice that the higher and smoother the movement of the market the more complacent the investors become. The investor becomes overconfident that his stocks will always go up. It is a truism that investors buy with only thoughts of how much they will make and never consider that it is possible to lose. When I was a broker and a member of the exchange I would only keep customers who would place stop-loss orders as soon as they bought something. I always stressed protection of capital. When you are a serious and reasoning investor you must always think about loss first. If what you buy goes up you don't have to worry. Winning takes care of itself. Losses don't. As of March 26, 2004 the VIX can now be traded like a stock. If the VIX is currently 18.5 the value of the contract is $18,500 and trades in $10 increments. It can be very volatile; a move from 18 to 38 can make (or lose if you are short) $20,000. This is not for the feint of heart and should be left to the professional speculators. When you look at the historical charts and run a comparison of both the VIX and the S&P500 Index you will see the inverse correlation. As the S&P goes up the VIX goes down and visa versa. There are many technical indicators that are used to determine market direction and this is just one of the many. It can be part of your analysis if you are a technician along with moving averages, various ratios and other stratagems. Whatever you do do NOT become complacent about the money you have invested in your 401K or any other stock market investment. Protection of your capital is always your first consideration. Al Thomas' book, "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It!" has helped thousands of people make money and keep their profits with his simple 2-step method. Read the first chapter at http://www.mutualfundmagic.com and discover why he's the man that Wall Street does not want you to know. Copyright 2005
MORE RESOURCES:
Stocks-Mutual-Funds - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The Elephant Four blind men were asked to give a description of an elephant. They had not seen one or ever encountered such a beast. 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". A Personal Stock Market Investment Philosophy ∙ Make every investment in the stock market a long-term investment.My Mother worked as a teller in a small bank in Dover, New Jersey. 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. Its A Duck If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and looks like a duck it must be a duck.In the stock market if there are more buyers than sellers, more stocks are going up than down and the trend of the general market is higher it must be a bull. When? When will the stock market stop going down and start up again? If we knew that we'd all be jillionaires. So what do you do now while stocks are going down and stealing away your money every day?What does history tell us? Here is one very interesting fact. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Stock Market On the 40 year journey through the turmoil of a volatile stock market I've noticed "P/E Ratios," "Consensus Estimates," " Bull and Bear Markets," stock ratings of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, star ratings of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Also, stock ratings of "buy," "strong buy," "sell," "hold;" stock rankings of "market perform," "market outperform," "market underperform," "market underweight," "market overweight," "market equalweight," and "market neutral. Investing in Stocks and The Game of Monopoly To begin, you might look at playing the stock market as though you were playing a game of Monopoly. That's right; for playing the stock market 'game' is not unlike playing a game of Monopoly. A Stock Market Investment Strategy I feel that an investment strategy in the stock market can instill in the individual investor not only an assured confidence in all future stock market investments, but also an almost Zen-like sense of peace and well being. A stock market investment strategy spelled out, proven, and instilling within the investor the power to succeed in the stock market with an assured confidence. Discipline One of the great "secrets" of successful people is discipline and it doesn't make any difference whether it is manufacturing, processing, servicing or investing in the stock market.Before you can have that discipline you must have a successful plan and stick with it. Mutual Funds are Dead You may have wondered why your mutual funds have been going down for the past 2 years. The answer is very simple, but not one you will hear from Wall Street as they want you to send money. Stock Options Trading Strategies - Lean Professional stock options traders use the term lean to refer to one's perception about the directional strength of the stock. When you own a stock option and intend to hold it for a period of time, you are aware that you will probably be holding it while it goes up and while it goes down. Who Knows? The Shadow knows. Remember him? It seems a shadow has a firm grip on this stock market. Expense Ratios Mutual funds and brokers are always preaching not to buy any fund with a high expense ratio. That is the annual costs of the fund to pay for trading of stocks within their portfolio, salaries, rent, telephone, analysts, etc. Hedge Funds: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Alfred Winslow Jones started hedge funds in 1949. He was a pioneer of non-traditional investment strategies. 401K-itis Are you one of those many people who dread reading their 401K statements? You have been watching it decline for about 2 years and are wondering if will ever stop. Just about everyone says the market will come back. 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. What Our Investment Advisor Wont Say Off The Bat Most advisors will tell you they can beat the market. They may even point to years in which they did. Shorting Stocks - The Basics, Part II of II After the publication of the first part of this two part series, I had a few questions asking if shorting stocks is legal and I will quickly reply with a big YES. Some people believe that shorting shares of American companies is not patriotic or does not seem like the right thing to do. The Club Yesterday I received my monthly issue of MONEY magazine. This issue has the special feature called "The Ultimate Investment Club" that highlights their picks for the top mutual fund managers.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |