http://www.articlesnatch.com/profile/Ulli-G-Niemann/21077 Ulli G.Niemann is an author at ArticleSnatch.com Article Directory. Below are the most recent articles from Ulli G.Niemann. For more of articles by Ulli G.Niemann please use the link above. http://www.articlesnatch.com/profile/Ulli-G-Niemann/21077 http://static.articlesnatch.com/i/logo.gif en-us http://www.articlesnatch.com/profile/Ulli-G-Niemann/21077 PHP/5.0.26 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Lies--Damn-Lies-and-Mutual-Fund-Returns/220687 How many times has this happened to you? You're at a social function and the conversation turns to investing. Pretty soon, people are comparing how well their investments are doing. As you might imagine, being an investment advisor this happens to me a lot. However, I recently had an experience with it that startled me. Bob, one of the guys I was chatting with at a party, asked what kind of returns I had made for my clients with my methodical no load mutual fund strategy during the past year. I replied that they had unrealized gains of slightly over 29%, after management fees, for the 8 months that we were invested. Bob countered with a smirk that he had made a 40% return. I raised my eyebrows and told him that was darn good—and suggested that maybe he ought to be managing my money. At that point we were interrupted and, as the evening went on, I began to wonder exactly how Bob had gotten his great return. I cornered him a little later on and, upon digging a little deeper, the story looked somewhat different. **End Summary** Topics: Lies]]> Damn Lies and Mutual Fund Returns]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Ulli Niemann is an investment advisor and has been writing about objective, methodical approaches to investing for over 10 years. He eluded the bear market of 2000 and has helped countless people make better investment decisions. To find out more about his approach and his FREE Newsletter, please visit: www.successful-investment.com. Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Lies--Damn-Lies-and-Mutual-Fund-Returns/220687 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/How-to-beat-the-mutual-fund-companies-at-their-own-game/220686 You'd have had to be living on a desert island with no TV, newspaper or internet connection to have missed hearing about the great mutual fund scandal of 2003. The issue was that some mutual fund companies allowed certain hedge funds to engage in after-hours trading, sometimes incorrectly referred to as market timing. Unfortunately, some companies have used the confusion about the term "market timing" to further their own cause. How? They have used this issue to pretty much ban all forms of trading their funds, and some companies are imposing hefty short-term redemption fees—penalties for all intents and purposes—in the name of avoiding impropriety. But the real idea behind it all is: Buy our fund and never sell it! These companies advocate a stubborn Buy & Hold philosophy despite the devastating effects that approach had on investorsâ€' portfolios during the recent bear market. Performance is immaterial to them—they want your money in their fund whether it's going up or down. With all of the negative press over the months you'd think that mutual fund companies would have cleaned up their act and started giving more consideration to the individual investor. Not so. **End Summary** Topics: How to beat the mutual fund companies at their own game]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Ulli Niemann is an investment advisor and has been writing about objective, methodical approaches to investing for over 10 years. He eluded the bear market of 2000 and has helped countless people make better investment decisions. To find out more about his approach and his FREE Newsletter, please visit: www.successful-investment.com. Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/How-to-beat-the-mutual-fund-companies-at-their-own-game/220686 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Rolling-your-401k--Contributory-IRA-vs--Rollover-IRA/220683 In an ideal world you would start your working career with a great company in your early 20s, steadily climb the corporate ladder, retire at age 65, and draw a sufficient income from your accumulated 401k account to live happily ever after. Unfortunately, thatâ€'s not how the real world works. If you are like most people, you will change careers, or at least companies, several times. Each time, you'll be faced with the question of what to do with your accumulated 401k benefits. You will likely have a few choices: keep your 401k with your old employer (sometimes possible), roll the proceeds into your new employer's 401k plan, or put them directly into a self-directed IRA at a brokerage firm of your choice. Since leaving your 401k with your ex-employer has no benefits whatsoever and most employers will prefer you transfer out anyway, that leaves only the last two as viable options: 1. Roll your 401k proceeds into the new employer's 401k plan of (if allowed) This is the most painless solution and the one that does not require much decision making. While this is certainly acceptable, there is a bigger picture. **End Summary** Topics: Rolling your 401k: Contributory IRA vs. Rollover IRA]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Ulli Niemann is an investment advisor and has been writing about objective, methodical approaches to investing for over 10 years. He eluded the bear market of 2000 and has helped countless people make better investment decisions. To find out more about his approach and his FREE Newsletter, please visit: www.successful-investment.com. Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Rolling-your-401k--Contributory-IRA-vs--Rollover-IRA/220683 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Prospering-with-Mutual-Funds--How-anyone-can-Afford--------an-Investment-Advisor/220682 Recently I was invited to appear on a live CNNfn television show to discuss my article How to evaluate Load vs. No Load Mutual Funds.” (You can read that article on my website http://www.successful-investment.com/articles21.htm ) As the producer and I were working out the logistics of my appearance, she mentioned in passing that most people canâ€'t afford an investment advisor.” While that wasnâ€'t the time or place for me to discuss this, I realized that many people might have a similar misconception. Had conditions allowed, I would have pointed out the following to her. There are only two ways an individual can invest in mutual funds: Selecting and investing themselves or using outside help. If they use outside help theyâ€'ll have a couple of choices again: A commissioned salesperson (broker, financial planner or Registered Representative) or a fee-based investment advisor. Most people donâ€'t know the difference and often start with a broker who charges about 6% commission off the top to purchase a mutual fund. The fund is usually from a limited selection of fund families the broker has a relationship with. **End Summary** Topics: Prospering with Mutual Funds: How anyone can "'Å"Afford"' an Investment Advisor]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Ulli Niemann is an investment advisor and has been writing about objective, methodical approaches to investing for over 10 years. He eluded the bear market of 2000 and has helped countless people make better investment decisions. To find out more about his approach and his FREE Newsletter, please visit: www.successful-investment.com. Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Prospering-with-Mutual-Funds--How-anyone-can-Afford--------an-Investment-Advisor/220682 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/No-Load-Mutual-Funds--Investment-Hype-vs--Investment-Help/220681 With the internet such a huge part of our daily lives, many investors have access to a wide range of instant investment information. Whether youâ€'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 from the 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. Follow the "If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is" rule. 2. Most mutual fund newsletters wonâ€'t make those outlandish claims, but some of them are still pushing the truth as far as they can. **End Summary** Topics: No Load Mutual Funds: Investment Hype vs. Investment Help]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Ulli Niemann is an investment advisor and has been writing about objective, methodical approaches to investing for over 10 years. He eluded the bear market of 2000 and has helped countless people make better investment decisions. To find out more about his approach and his FREE Newsletter, please visit: www.successful-investment.com. Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/No-Load-Mutual-Funds--Investment-Hype-vs--Investment-Help/220681 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Buy-and-Hold--How-to-Perpetuate-Your-Investment-Losses/220678 A recent cartoon in my daily newspaper showed two guys sitting in a bar. One is saying to the other: I did learn something from my broker...how to diversify my investment losses.” While this struck me as funny, there is certainly an element of truth to it judging by the number of tragic e-mails and phone calls I have received over the past couple of years. This was brought home even more so by a reader who responded with strong disagreement to one of my articles. I advocate a methodical, disciplined approach to investing in no-load mutual funds. It keeps me invested during up markets and on the sidelines during down markets. It was exactly this approach that got me and my clients out of the market in October, 2000 and put us back in to take advantage of the April, 2003 upswing. Judging from the readerâ€'s e-mail it appears that he works for a major bank and is adamant about Buy & Hold and Dollar Cost Averaging. Maybe it's the approach he has chosen and he doesn't like hearing that the emperor is wearing no clothes. **End Summary** Topics: Buy and Hold: How to Perpetuate Your Investment Losses]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Ulli Niemann is an investment advisor and has been writing about objective, methodical approaches to investing for over 10 years. He eluded the bear market of 2000 and has helped countless people make better investment decisions. To find out more about his approach and his FREE Newsletter, please visit: www.successful-investment.com. Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Buy-and-Hold--How-to-Perpetuate-Your-Investment-Losses/220678 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/No-Load-Mutual-Funds-or-Exchange-Traded-Funds--ETFs--/220676 If you are fed up with early redemption charges and ever increasing mutual fund management fees on top of bad-performing fund managers, read on. There is a quiet revolution going on in the no-load mutual fund industry and you, the individual investor, may benefit from it greatly. I am referring to Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), which have been around for years, but have grown tremendously since their inception. There are currently over 100 choices with around $10 billion in assets. In a nutshell, an ETF is a specific kind of no-load mutual fund that you might consider to be a basket of stocks. ETFs are diversified like mutual funds, only they trade like stocks. They are cheap to trade (as low as $8.00) and donâ€'t hit you with any short-term redemption fees. And they offer investing opportunities across the board. ETFs track every index under the sun including the S&P 500, the Nasdaq 100, The Russell 2000 and many others. Available through any discount broker, they basically fall into one of three categories: broad-based U.S. indexes, sectors and international. The have esoteric names such as iShares, StreetTracks, HOLDRs and SPYDRs. **End Summary** Topics: No Load Mutual Funds or Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)?]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Ulli Niemann is an investment advisor and has been writing about objective, methodical approaches to investing for over 10 years. He eluded the bear market of 2000 and has helped countless people make better investment decisions. To find out more about his approach and his FREE Newsletter, please visit: www.successful-investment.com. Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/No-Load-Mutual-Funds-or-Exchange-Traded-Funds--ETFs--/220676 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/How--NOT--to-Buy-Mutual-Funds/220675 When it comes to mutual funds, there is a lot more to success than just finding a good one. Sad investment stories like the following are all too common. I hope my sharing it with you will help you avoid making the same devastating financial mistake one of my former clients made. This story begins during the height of the investment madness in 2000, just prior to the bear market. I had been managing an IRA account for "Bob" for around six years, with a better than average record of success. So I was surprised when Bob sheepishly called in July, 2000 to let me know he was transferring his IRA account, which had done particularly well during our latest Buy cycle going into the year 2000. However, his tax preparer, a long time personal friend of Bob's wifeâ€'s, was now also offering investment services, having recently received his Registered Representativeâ€'s license. Fast forward to the end of September. It had become increasingly clear to me that the Bull market had run its course. **End Summary** Topics: How (NOT) to Buy Mutual Funds]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Ulli Niemann is an investment advisor and has been writing about objective, methodical approaches to investing for over 10 years. He eluded the bear market of 2000 and has helped countless people make better investment decisions. To find out more about his approach and his FREE Newsletter, please visit: www.successful-investment.com Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/How--NOT--to-Buy-Mutual-Funds/220675 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/How-to-Maximize-Your-401k-Mutual-Fund-Returns/220673 Last year (in 2002) a friend of mine—letâ€'s call him Jack—phoned and asked if I could help him with his 401k. Jack works for a large company as Senior VP of lending and is financially pretty astute. However, when it came to his 401k mutual fund decisions, he had repeatedly made the same mistake most people were making. As a result, he saw his account drop in value substantially. At the time we were in the midst of the 2000 bear market, which showed no sign of letting up. Jack had purchased into a Lifestyle fund because someone recommended it. By the time he finally bailed out, it cost him dearly. However, he continued to make the same mistake by reinvesting. He checked with the 401k representative and subsequently switched to a variety of mutual funds ranging from World Stock to Domestic Hybrids, Large and Small Value as well as Growth. But nothing worked and his portfolio value headed further south. By the time we met to discuss his 401k Jack was pretty disgusted by the canned advice he had received and the continued losses he was sustaining. **End Summary** Topics: How to Maximize Your 401k Mutual Fund Returns]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Ulli Niemann is an investment advisor and has been writing about objective, methodical approaches to investing for over 10 years. He eluded the bear market of 2000 and has helped countless people make better investment decisions. To find out more about his approach and his FREE Newsletter, please visit: www.successful-investment.com. Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/How-to-Maximize-Your-401k-Mutual-Fund-Returns/220673 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/How-to-Evaluate-Load-vs--No-Load-Mutual-Funds/220670 If you have been dealing with mutual funds for any length of time, you undoubtedly have faced the question of which is better: Load Funds or No Load Funds. If you are new to investing, "load" simply refers to the commission paid to the broker selling the fund. "No load" means there is no commission on the purchase or sale. Most discussions in the past have centered exclusively on performance comparisons. Even rating services like Morningstar have occasionally chimed in with their opinion. However, rather than focusing only on performance, there are some other issues I consider far more important: 1. Who is selling load funds and why? 2. Who markets no load funds? 3. Which one is right for you? Who is selling load funds and why? Most load funds are being sold through brokerage houses, financial planners and Registered Representatives. With few exceptions, most of those folks operate on the basis of selling as much product as possible. They collect their commissions up front, as a back end charge, or both (usually in the range of 5 - 6%). Whether you make money or not is not their primary concern. **End Summary** Topics: How to Evaluate Load vs. No Load Mutual Funds]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Ulli Niemann is an investment advisor and has been writing about objective, methodical approaches to investing for over 10 years. He eluded the bear market of 2000 and has helped countless people make better investment decisions. To find out more about his approach and his FREE Newsletter, please visit: www.successful-investment.com. Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/How-to-Evaluate-Load-vs--No-Load-Mutual-Funds/220670 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/How-to-Find-Value-in-No-Load-Mutual-Fund-Investing/220669 What are you thinking when it comes to your no load mutual fund selections? Are you saving pennies and sacrificing dollars? Are you spending your time looking at expense ratios, analyzing Morningstar ratings and searching for funds with low fees and no 12b1 charges? If you are like most people, you know these things in and out. You've spent hours evaluating them, and your chosen mutual funds cost little to purchase and maintain. But they still don't perform to your hopes and expectations. So, why is this happening? Because this kind of investing focuses on cost as opposed to value. Investors with this philosophy have usually interviewed numerous advisors. But instead of trying to find someone suitable with a sensible approach, they only want to know who has the lowest fees. That's like going to the cheapest auto repair shop and getting the best price, but your car still doesn't run well. Then there are the investors who call or email me wanting a recommendation on a no load mutual fund. They want one with no 12b1 charge, but they completely ignore the issue of how the fund might perform. **End Summary** Topics: How to Find Value in No Load Mutual Fund Investing]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Ulli Niemann is an investment advisor and has been writing about objective, methodical approaches to investing for over 10 years. He eluded the bear market of 2000 and has helped countless people make better investment decisions. To find out more about his approach and his FREE Newsletter, please visit: www.successful-investment.com. Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/How-to-Find-Value-in-No-Load-Mutual-Fund-Investing/220669 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/The-Inside-Scoop-on-Mutual-Fund-Rip-Offs/220666 The bear market that showed up at the end of 2000 has every brokerage house—as well as the entire mutual fund industry—scrambling to find creative ways to boost both their image and bottom line. Unfortunately, this is often at the investors' expense. Fund managers are ever on the lookout for ways to spin the stats to hide lousy track records and to find ways to obscure fees. To add insult to (financial) injury, investors end up being penalized for selling. So what's an investor to do? In this case, knowledge is power. Here are some of the ways mutual fund investors are being taken advantage of: Performance is always an issue for any investor. Formerly great funds, which Iâ€'ve used myself during the 90s, are the junkyard dogs of this century. Janus Fund comes to mind and is one of many that buy-and-hold investors got stuck with. Itâ€'s down 59%, since we acted on our Sell signal on 10/13/2000. Most of the funds today have 12b-1 fees place, and some go as high as 1% of a fundâ€'s assets per year. **End Summary** Topics: The Inside Scoop on Mutual Fund Rip Offs]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Ulli Niemann is an investment advisor and has been writing about objective, methodical approaches to investing for over 10 years. He eluded the bear market of 2000 and has helped countless people make better investment decisions. To find out more about his approach and his FREE Newsletter, please visit: www.successful-investment.com Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/The-Inside-Scoop-on-Mutual-Fund-Rip-Offs/220666 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/How-to-find-an-Investment-Advisor/220664 Do you think you need an Investment Advisor? Hold on before you answer because this is sort of a trick question. Also, I am definitely biased because I am an Investment Advisor. Nonetheless, I think I can assist you in looking at this issue in a way that will serve you. Working with a fair number of investors over the last nearly 20 years, I have observed that while most are intelligent people, and many are fairly knowledgeable about the market, they are, as a group, not terribly successful with their investing. Why should they be? More likely than not they have made their living doing something other than investing, so why would they think they can do what a professional does better than a professional? (After all, they go to professionals for health care or for car repairs when needed!) Most investors—even some professionals—tend to be "off" in their timing: they buy things when they are hot, not when they are cold. But for the greatest benefit, it should be the opposite. The media doesn't help much when it comes to this buying approach, and let's face it; **End Summary** Topics: How to find an Investment Advisor]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Ulli Niemann is an investment advisor and has been writing about objective, methodical approaches to investing for over 10 years. He eluded the bear market of 2000 and has helped countless people make better investment decisions. To find out more about his approach and his FREE Newsletter, please visit: www.successful-investment.com. Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/How-to-find-an-Investment-Advisor/220664 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/How-to-Pay-Less-and-get-More--Discount-Broker-vs-Professional-Management-Fees/220663 How do you invest? What do you really pay? At the end of the day, what are your real results? These are questions smart investors should be asking themselves (but usually don't). In this era of more fees, misc. charges, holding periods and back end redemptions, even at discount brokers, how are you really making out? Working with a new client brought this all to my attention. I know what I found may not apply to everyone; however it will apply to many and very likely apply to you. I need to preface this by saying that, unlike the majority of registered investment advisors, I have built my practice over the past 15 years by dealing with small” investors. Many of them are first timers because my minimum account size is only $5,000. I targeted this group because I enjoy the educational part of my business. A happy side benefit has been that by providing million dollar service to these so called small” investors, they naturally refer me to parents, relatives, friends and business associates, often with considerably more assets than the original client. What a happy consequence. **End Summary** Topics: How to Pay Less and get More: Discount Broker vs Professional Management Fees]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Ulli Niemann is an investment advisor and has been writing about objective, methodical approaches to investing for over 10 years. He eluded the bear market of 2000 and has helped countless people make better investment decisions. To find out more about his approach and his FREE Newsletter, please visit: www.successful-investment.com. Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/How-to-Pay-Less-and-get-More--Discount-Broker-vs-Professional-Management-Fees/220663 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Your-Worst-Enemy-to-Successful-Investing----------the-Media/220662 How do you make your investment decisions and where do you get your information? If you're like most of the people I know, you look to the experts. That's fine, however it's important to be aware that for every expert, there's an opinion and for every opinion there's an expert. I have a friend who says that opinions are like noses: everyone has one but you wouldn't live in anyone else's nose! Around the first of the year, along with the New Year's resolutions, come the New Year predictions for what will be hot and what will not. As if that isn't enough to produce a massive case of information indigestion, now we have the cable financial shows with pretty much the opinion of the hour. What this is producing is a frenzy of buy and sell activity for stocks in general, and now for mutual funds as well. I don't think this approach serves either the investors in particular or the funds in general. The big problem with this for mutual fund investors is that all the experts are recommending different funds. It might be one thing if experts had a solid basis for their perspective. **End Summary** Topics: Your Worst Enemy to Successful Investing "'" the Media]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Ulli Niemann is an investment advisor and has been writing about objective, methodical approaches to investing for over 10 years. He eluded the bear market of 2000 and has helped countless people make better investment decisions. To find out more about his approach and his FREE Newsletter, please visit: www.successful-investment.com Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Your-Worst-Enemy-to-Successful-Investing----------the-Media/220662 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/The-Demise-of-Buy-and-Hold/220660 Based on consistent results I think Buy & Hold should be renamed Buy, Hold & Bye Bye. It sounded great for a while, especially for the huge majority of investors who don't have the time or interest in really doing due diligence on investments. Investing, for some, might be just a hobby, but it can sure be an expensive one. Yet, if you're like many of us, you know there are opportunities for putting your money to work and having it grow. Nonetheless, investing, like any business (and it is a business) has its own unique challenges. Here are what I consider to be the top three. 1. Intelligently Deciding What to Buy When it comes to Mutual Funds, there are today over 13,000 choices. You're going to check out each one, right? Yeah, right. And even for those you do check out, what are you going to look at? Past performance. What else can you look at? But as it says on the bottom of every prospectus, past performance is no guarantee of future results. And in these days of cockeyed cooked books, past performance is barely a guarantee of past results! **End Summary** Topics: The Demise of Buy and Hold]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Ulli Niemann is an investment advisor and has been writing about objective, methodical approaches to investing for over 10 years. He eluded the bear market of 2000 and has helped countless people make better investment decisions. To find out more about his approach and his FREE Newsletter, please visit: www.successful-investment.com Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/The-Demise-of-Buy-and-Hold/220660 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/The-Conflict-of-Interest-Game/220658 Disgruntled investors are going after Wall Street once again, this time accusing one of investment bank Morgan-Stanley's high-tech mutual funds of making biased stock picks. Recent lawsuits allege the Morgan Stanley Technology fund was influenced to buy and hold stocks of companies that delivered huge investment banking fees or could potentially bring big business to the investment bank. According to the lawsuits, the Morgan Stanley fund followed the biased recommendations of the firmâ€'s analysts decisions that have cost shareholders millions of dollars since the portfolioâ€'s October 2000 inception. The fund lost 48 percent in 2001 and was down another 50 percent during the first nine months of 2002. While Morgan Stanley strongly denied the allegations, I fail to see how the management of the fund is somehow distinct from the other divisions of Morgan Stanley. Ultimately, they all work for the same boss. The suits further claim that the tech fund failed to disclose that the firm had investment banking ties with a number of companies whose stocks were part of the portfolio. They also failed to reveal that those links could affect the fundâ€'s buy or sell calls. Why bring all this up? **End Summary** Topics: The Conflict of Interest Game]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Ulli Niemann is an investment advisor and has been writing about objective, methodical approaches to investing for over 10 years. He eluded the bear market of 2000 and has helped countless people make better investment decisions. To find out more about his approach and his FREE Newsletter, please visit: www.successful-investment.com. Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/The-Conflict-of-Interest-Game/220658 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Find-a-Methodology-and-Minimize-Investment-Madness/220657 There are many reasons to be investing these days, and too much opportunity to not have your money working for you. However, I believe the majority of people dread having to deal with investment matters, and tend to jump into purchases and then hold their breath hoping for the best. After a long day at work and taking care of the family, itâ€'s hard to get excited about reading up on your 401(k) options, Morningstar ratings and fund performances. If this sounds like you, there are basically 3 choices. 1. You can have your investments professionally managed, 2. you can continue as you have in the past & keep your fingers crossed, 3. or you can find a methodology that objectifies the investing process (that's buying and selling investments) and helps you maximize your long-term results. To determine if you need help managing your investments(and this doesn't necessarily mean having to pay for advice) you might want to ask yourself these questions: Do I really have the time and interest to follow the market closely on a daily basis? Have I done well in the past managing my own investments? **End Summary** Topics: Find a Methodology and Minimize Investment Madness]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Ulli Niemann is an investment advisor and has been writing about objective, methodical approaches to investing for over 10 years. He eluded the bear market of 2000 and has helped countless people make better investment decisions. To find out more about his approach and his FREE Newsletter, please visit: www.successful-investment.com. Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Find-a-Methodology-and-Minimize-Investment-Madness/220657 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/How-We-Eluded-the-Bear-in-2000/220653 The date October 13, 2000 will forever be embedded in my mind. It was the day after our mutual fund trend tracking indicator had broken its long-term trend line and I sold 100% of my clientsâ€' invested positions (and my own) and moved the proceeds to the safety of money market accounts. Some people thought we were nuts, but I had come to trust the numbers. The shake out in the stock market, which started in April 2000, had all major indexes coming off their highs, violently followed by just as strong rally attempts. The roller coaster ride was so extreme that even usually slow moving mutual funds behaved as erratically as tech stocks. By October, the markets had settled into a definable downtrend, at least according to my indicators. We sat safely on the sidelines and watched the unfolding of what is now considered to be one of the worst bear markets in history. By April 2001 the markets really had taken a dive, but Wall Street analysts, brokers and the financial press continued to harp on the great buying opportunity this presented. **End Summary** Topics: How We Eluded the Bear in 2000]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Ulli Niemann is an investment advisor and has been writing about objective, methodical approaches to investing for over 10 years. He eluded the bear market of 2000 and has helped countless people make better investment decisions. To find out more about his approach and his FREE Newsletter, please visit: www.successful-investment.com. Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/How-We-Eluded-the-Bear-in-2000/220653 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Do-Lifestyle-Funds-Provide-Greater-Security-/220652 With the stock market stubbornly refusing to settle down and smooth out, Wall Street has been scrambling to come up with "product" they can sell to gun shy investors. One such new concept is the Lifestyle fund; an extremely diversified package designed to be the single fund in an investor's portfolio. There are two general types of these funds, in which assets are spread out across a wide range of stocks and bonds. In one, securities are held directly, in the other, assets are held through other funds. Fidelityâ€'s Freedom 2030 is an example of the first type. It targets a specific retirement date, and the cash and bond stakes rise as that date approaches. This type of fund has created a perception among investors that its value will not drop and that it is safe. But, in fact, these are no safer than a standard mutual fund. Since we sold all of our investment positions on October 13, 2000 and preserved our capital, Fidelity Freedom 2030 has lost 39% (through 2/21/03). Do you think thatâ€'s an isolated incident? **End Summary** Topics: Do Lifestyle Funds Provide Greater Security?]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Ulli Niemann is an investment advisor and has been writing about objective, methodical approaches to investing for over 10 years. He eluded the bear market of 2000 and has helped countless people make better investment decisions. To find out more about his approach and his FREE Newsletter, please visit: www.successful-investment.com. Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Do-Lifestyle-Funds-Provide-Greater-Security-/220652 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/The-10-Rules-for-Successful-Tax-Free-Income-Investing/220650 Do you sometimes question the performance of your investment portfolio? If you are like most investors you have your income producing assets thrown in together with your equity portfolio. You look at the total mix of dividend paying stocks, bonds, mutual funds and equities, and youâ€'re confused as to why theyâ€'re not producing enough income or growing your portfolio value sufficiently. I have found that part of the reason is the nearly universal propensity of investors to ignore the long-term implications of their income investment decisions while they focus on short-term effects. Because fixed income investing simply isnâ€'t regarded as being as exciting as other stock market investing, it has often been relegated to the ho-hum” category by writers and not as much ink has been devoted to its ins and outs as has been expended on other types of investing. I think thatâ€'s a disservice to those interested in this type of investment. Investing for income, be it taxable or tax-free, -- and, for the record, my preference for generating tax-free income for clients is the use of CEETBFs (Closed End Exchange Traded Bond Funds) as described in my free e-book How to earn 5% - 6. **End Summary** Topics: The 10 Rules for Successful Tax-Free Income Investing]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Ulli Niemann is an investment advisor and has been writing about objective, methodical approaches to investing for over 10 years. He eluded the bear market of 2000 and has helped countless people make better investment decisions. To find out more about his approach and his FREE Newsletter, please visit: www.successful-investment.com. Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/The-10-Rules-for-Successful-Tax-Free-Income-Investing/220650