Stocks & Mutual Funds Information

Mutual Fund Commissions


You have heard about a particular mutual fund from a friend, saw it advertised on TV or read about it in some publication thought it would be a good buy. Next you call your broker to get his advice before you buy because he is an expert and is there to help you make money.

"Hello, Billy Sol (see Billy Sol Estes on Google), this is Joe Mushroom and I want to buy some XYZ mutual fund. What do you think?"

"Joe, I was just thinking about you and was going to call you, but first let me look up XYZ for you. Uh oh! Joe it has a high expense ratio of about 1 ½ per cent. I would not recommend that for you."

Billy Sol fails to mention that XYZ has no load (that's commission) so he would not make any money if you bought it. There are thousands of excellent no-load funds that outperform the load funds. Billy Sol says the fund his brokerage company recommends is ABC and again fails to mention it has a 5% load (commission) and goes on to paint a beautiful picture of ABC and how well it has done in the past 5 and 10 year period. Furthermore the expense ratio is only one per cent which is savings of 33%.

WOW! Joe thinks that sounds pretty good so he lets Bill Sol buy ABC instead of XYZ. Let's see what really happened.

Joe saves ½ percent per year on the expense ratio, but pays and extra 5% up front. Maybe I'm wrong, but if you divide ½% in 5% that goes 10 time. In other words it is going to take Joe Mushroom 10 years to makeup that 5% commission charge not counting what that 5% charge would have made if it had been working in Joe's account for that 10 year period.

What it boils down to is never pay commission for any mutual fund. If the broker will not sell you a no-load fund then get another broker. He is not trying to help you make money. He is trying to make money for himself and his company and may tell you his company does not carry a particular fund because they don't think it is a good. Hog wash. Another broker lie. It is your money and you are entitled to buy any fund. Go to a discount broker who handles that fund and open an account. It will save you a bundle over the years and they are as safe an any big-name broker.

Advice from a financial planner is no better if he is making commissions. The smart method is to have a fee based broker who has a winning track record. Have any financial planner show you his model account. He should have one or maybe several model portfolios. Unless they make money every year he is not a successful money advisor. Don't let them hoodwink you about their performance "is better than the S&P500". That's nonsense. You want to see a cash increase every year.

The first and basic rule is never pay commissions for any mutual fund.

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:

Action: Tips for finding status of old insurance policies
Tampabay.com, FL - 18 hours ago
In addition to matured or terminated insurance policies, you may find bank accounts, safe deposit box contents, stocks, mutual funds, bonds, certificates of ...


Why Picking Stocks Is Better Than Picking Funds
CNBC, Englewood Cliffs - Aug 29, 2008
Investing can be confusing. Luckily, Cramer has mapped out some road rules for all you Home Gamers trying to navigate the jungle that is Wall Street. ...


Cramer's Tip For Investing In A China Rebound
TheStreet.com - Sep 3, 2008
I can't stand ETFs. These "exchange-traded funds" are an affront to my stock picking abilities. Be darned if I am going to own some instrument that has ...


Morningstar, Inc. Completes Acquisition of Financial Computer ...
MarketWatch - Sep 2, 2008
Morningstar provides data on more than 280000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles. The company has operations in 18 ...


The New 'Cakedex' vs. the S&P 500
Seeking Alpha, NY - Sep 4, 2008
Cake has ratings for 2033 stocks, mutual funds and ETfs (versus 3069 for Schwab and 4074 for Morningtsar). Cake Scout: A stock recommendation system that ...


Preparing for house ownership through mortgage credits
The Punch, Nigeria - Aug 31, 2008
It is also interested in the borrower‘s other assets, like stocks, mutual funds or personal property like a boat or cars. All these are also considered in ...


Why you can't beat forced savings for long-term gain
South China Morning Post (subscription), Hong Kong - Aug 30, 2008
Besides life-insurance policies, I invest in blue-chip stocks, mutual funds and properties. When I buy a new property and move in, I usually keep the ...


SEC Weighs Overhaul of 'Index' Annuities
Wall Street Journal - Aug 16, 2008
But the SEC wants indexed annuities to be considered "securities," just like stocks, mutual funds and even variable annuities. ...


It doesn't take much to be green
Norwich Bulletin, CT - Aug 30, 2008
Because of the newness of this industry, there are no long track records for these company stocks. Mutual funds have generally been safer vehicles for ...


Ibbotson Selected by ING Financial Advisers to Create Model ...
MarketWatch - Aug 13, 2008
Morningstar provides data on more than 280000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles. The company has operations in 18 ...

Stocks-Mutual-Funds - Google News

home | site map
© 2006