Articles by Michael A. Weiss, CFA on ArticleSnatch.com

Financial Advisors, Financial Planners and Investment Managers

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Finding a suitable investment professional is not easy. The number of different titles alone is enough to make your head spin. But in a nutshell, there are basically three different types of investment professionals: financial advisors, financial planners and investment managers. Financial Advisors. These investment professionals, also known as brokers, financial consultants, wealth managers and wealth advisors, are paid primarily to sell investment products and services. In other words, these professionals are primarily sales people and/or relationship managers. A relatively small percentage of these professionals have substantial analytical or academic investment experience. Hence, some financial advisors obtain an account and then outsource the investment management function to another department within their firms. Financial Planners. These investment professionals are also sometimes known as Certified Financial Planners, wealth managers and wealth advisors. Financial planners are generalists who help clients by providing advice regarding investment management, retirement planning, tax planning, estate planning and other areas. Some financial planners also outsource a substantial portion of their investment management and other responsibilities to other professionals. Some financial planners do not have very strong investment backgrounds. In fact, many financial planners come from other professions such as accounting, law and sales. Investment Managers. **End Summary** Topics: financial advisors]]> financial planners]]> investment managers]]> investment advisors]]> best no load mutual funds]]> financial consultants]]> portfolio managers]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Michael A. Weiss, CFA is the editor of The Mutual Fund Investor, a newsletter that provides recommendations for some of the best no load mutual funds in various investment categories. To learn more about The Mutual Fund Investor, please visit http://www.mutualfundinvestor.net/ . To learn more about Michael Weiss, please visit http://www.mutualfundinvestor.net/theeditor.html .

Best Mutual Funds: Which Mutual Funds Are the Best for You?

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Even the Best Mutual Funds Are Not Appropriate for Every Investor. People often ask the question, which are the best mutual funds? This is almost an impossible question to answer without knowledge of important information such as a personâ€'s time horizon, risk tolerance, preferences, tax situation and other financial circumstances. The Best Mutual Funds Should Be Consistent with Your Risk Tolerance The most important factor to consider when providing personalized mutual fund recommendations is a personâ€'s risk tolerance. High-risk/high return mutual funds may be appropriate for an aggressive investor but may not be appropriate for everyone. For example, an emerging markets fund may be the best in its investment category but may not be appropriate for a conservative investor. Similarly, an intermediate bond fund may be the best in its category, but may not be appropriate for an aggressive investor. Unfortunately, far too many people cannot even accurately assess their own risk tolerance. Many people have the tendency to overestimate their willingness to assume risk, especially during periods when stocks are performing well. A perfect example of this overestimation occurred in the late 1990s when technology stocks soared and investors increased allocations to this part of the market. **End Summary** Topics: Best mutual funds]]> mutual fund companies]]> mutual fund recommendations]]> value]]> growth]]> mutual funds]]> best no load mutual funds]]> mutual fund company]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Michael A. Weiss, CFA is the editor of The Mutual Fund Investor, a quarterly publication that provides recommendations for some of the best no load mutual funds in various investment categories. To learn more about The Mutual Fund Investor, please visit http://www.mutualfundinvestor.net/ . Or, for information on how to obtain a sample copy, you can click on http://www.mutualfundinvestor.net/Try_it_Free.html .

Mutual Fund Investing: ETFs and Index Funds versus Actively Managed Mutual Funds

Sat, 25 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Mutual Fund Asset Allocators: ETFs and Index Funds There are two distinct schools of thought when it comes to investing in mutual funds. One group, which I will call, Asset Allocatorsâ€, utilizes what is commonly referred to as a top-down mutual fund investment approach. The top-down approach emphasizes the big picture by first examining the economy and condition of the broad financial markets and then evaluating individual mutual funds based on standard financial measures of comparison. At the extreme, asset allocators may not even invest in mutual funds, believing that exchange traded funds (ETFs) are reasonable substitutes for actively managed mutual funds. Investors use ETFs for a variety of reasons but the most important and logical basis for using these financial instruments is their normally low costs, tax-efficiency, style purity as well as their specialized focus. There are many ETFs that emphasize individual parts of the market such as financials, technology and healthcare. The asset allocator who believes that technology will perform well over the next year and does not want to pay an active mutual fund manager to get this exposure would buy a technology ETF. **End Summary** Topics: Mutual fund investing]]> mutual funds]]> exchange traded funds]]> ETFs]]> index funds]]> low cost]]> best no load mutual funds]]> mutual fund expenses]]> performance]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Michael A. Weiss, CFA is the editor of The Mutual Fund Investor, a quarterly publication that provides recommendations for some of the best no load mutual funds in various investment categories. To learn more about The Mutual Fund Investor, please visit http://www.mutualfundinvestor.net/ . Or, for information on how to obtain a sample copy, you can click on http://www.mutualfundinvestor.net/Try_it_Free.html .

Mutual Fund Advice: Mutual Fund Recommendations, Resources and Radio

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Mutual fund investors seek advice, recommendations, information and news from a wide variety of resources such as Morningstar, CNBC, and Bloomberg to name a few. Some sources provide mutual fund advice while others provide news & information and some provide a combination of both. Mutual fund advice and/or information that is available online, in print, on television or on the radio is almost never personalized and needs to be evaluated in the context of each investorâ€'s own investment objectives and circumstances. Further, people should also understand that mutual fund information does not always equal mutual fund advice. Unfortunately, far too many people use information as though it were advice. Mutual Fund Advice versus Information It is very important for investors to recognize that when a media source like CNBC reports that XYZ mutual fund has gained 50% over the past 12 months that they are not providing an endorsement of the fund. Sometimes, portfolio managers appear on various television and radio programs describing how their mutual funds achieved their outstanding results. However, a portfolio managerâ€'s appearance on CNBC also does not necessarily represent CNBCâ€'s recommendation for that particular fund. **End Summary** Topics: Mutual fund advice]]> mutual fund recommendations]]> investment advisor]]> mutual fund information]]> mutual fund news]]> radio]]> investment advice]]> mutual funds]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Michael A. Weiss, CFA is the editor of The Mutual Fund Investor, a publication that provides recommendations for some of the best no load mutual funds in various investment categories. To learn more about The Mutual Fund Investor, please visit http://www.mutualfundinvestor.net/ . Or, for information on how to obtain a sample copy, you can click on http://www.mutualfundinvestor.net/Try_it_Free.html .

Top Mutual Funds: Building No Load Mutual Fund Portfolios

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Building a mutual fund portfolio requires a well thought out investment strategy that can prove rewarding over a long period of time. If you act as your own investment advisor, you will most likely implement a strategy that focuses on no load mutual funds. No load mutual fund investors normally either invest in the best mutual funds from one fund family, sometimes with the help of a mutual fund newsletter, or invest in the top mutual funds from several fund families. The rationale for implementing either of these strategies depends at least partly on your view on how to best add value to a portfolio. Selecting the Best Mutual Funds From One Fund Family Investors who believe that asset allocation is more important than manager selection are the likely implementers of a single-family approach. As long as you can find a fund company that offers high quality no load mutual funds that cover a wide variety of sectors and styles, you should be able to implement this approach. This strategy is top down and active in terms of asset allocation but passive regarding manager selection. While fund managers are important here, they do not drive the investment process. **End Summary** Topics: Top mutual funds]]> best no load mutual funds]]> best mutual funds]]> advice]]> no load mutual funds]]> mutual fund newsletter]]> mutual fund company]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Michael A. Weiss, CFA is the editor of The Mutual Fund Investor, a quarterly publication that provides recommendations for some of the best no load mutual funds in various investment categories. To learn more about The Mutual Fund Investor, please visit http://www.mutualfundinvestor.net/ . Or, for information on how to obtain a sample copy, you can click on http://www.mutualfundinvestor.net/Try_it_Free.html .

Best No Load Mutual Funds: Learn Why Mutual Fund Research Matters!

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Finding the best no load mutual funds is no easy task because todayâ€'s top funds often become tomorrowâ€'s worst performing funds and vice versa. As the saying goes, the faster they go up, the faster they come down.â€ The temptation for the average person to invest in this yearâ€'s best performing funds is almost overwhelming. Unfortunately, investors all too often focus solely on historical performance without considering how the fund achieved the superior results or whether the results are sustainable. Mutual Fund Research The better way to perform mutual fund research is to focus on factors that will stand the test of time such as fund expenses as well as the experience of the fund manager and the depth of his or her research team. Expense ratios, which are generally comprised of an investment management fee, a 12b-1 fee and other operating costs, do not typically deteriorate over time. Further, expenses vary considerably and can sometimes help explain the performance differential between the best no load mutual funds and the worst no load mutual funds over time. This is especially true for fixed-income funds, where sometimes only one or two percent separates the best from the worst funds. **End Summary** Topics: best no load mutual funds]]> mutual fund research]]> no load mutual funds]]> top mutual funds]]> Best performing mutual funds]]> top no load mutual fund]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Michael A. Weiss, CFA is the editor of The Mutual Fund Investor, a quarterly publication that provides recommendations for some of the best no load mutual funds in various investment categories. To learn more about The Mutual Fund Investor, please visit http://www.mutualfundinvestor.net/ . Or, for information on how to obtain a sample copy, you can click on http://www.mutualfundinvestor.net/Try_it_Free.html .