And I think George W. Bush is in trouble. For the first two quarters of this year, I was getting growth accross the board after a couple of years of slipping investments. This quarter not only saw a downturn, but I'm now negative for YTD. I don't think this bodes well for the President. Most people don't read the financial pages, but we do look at our own investments and when they fall, we blame someone.

Or perhaps you should start thinking for yourself, look into what funds are available... instead of waiting for someone else to do something for you...

That's right, Jqueer, it's all YOUR fault!

Dont worry jqueer - we're turning that corner!

Mission Accomplished. Oh, wait...that's a phrase related to the "Catastrophic Success".

[ October 15, 2004, 07:45 AM: Message edited by: bobby78751 ]

FUNDS AVAILABLE????.....bonds are down, stocks are WAY down, futures?..HA!...the only FUND that may be available soon is my "emergency" fund!!!!
PULEEZE! :mad:

Actually, yes... if you want a guaranteed return on your 401k, just invest in the guaranteed retruns you can get in certain bonds, low risk investments. Very little reward.

Look into the other funds available and make a decision. You can invest portions in all areas, in one area... or just a few areas. It's called choice. It's called learning what is available to you.

No one hands anything to you, no return is guaranteed and if it is, it's very slight. That is what the market is all about folks.

Anyone who sits around without thinking for themselves, learning what is available to them, then making a decision is nothing more than... an idiot. There are nice coned hats just waiting for some of you...

I suppose, PhillyFan that the wealth you have accumulated in the stock market has been through your own astuteness. Why don't the managers of many stock funds consult you so they might have better showings?

I'm a 32 year old professional. My 401k portfolio is largely moderate risk investments. It is such because I have a relatively long time before I'm going to be taking money back out of it. I'm not complaining that my investments aren't doing well. I keep putting money in, and every time a fund drops, I wind up with more shares of it. I should be able to count on the fact that sometime in the next thirty years we'll see an upturn. I'm buying low. Hopefully, I'll be selling high. My mind was made up about this election in 2000. Seeing poor numbers on my 401k statement is not pushing me into the Kerry camp. My point was that my 401k statement isn't going to be the only one seeing poor performance. Even my so called "safe" fund, which has thirty-five percent of my portfolio has seen a dismal quarter compared to the first two of the year. There are undecided voters out there who are going to read their statements and say to themselves that George W. Bush is not the leader who can safeguard their investments. It doesn't matter whose fault it actually is. The only thing that matters is the perception that the president isn't doing enough to improve the economy. You can argue whether people will have that perception, but arguing over the reality of the economy is pointless. People don't vote reality, they vote their perception.

[ October 15, 2004, 01:45 PM: Message edited by: jqueer ]

No it is quite simple, a 401k is a long term investment and that is how the funds are set up. You should not look at it from a qtr to qtr range but a 10-20 year investment depeneding on your age.

If you are a day-trader you can look at these ups and downs, however, you would know a little bit more about buying and selling... good companies and bad companies... selling short and such.

For most of you, i think the local community colleges offer classes to help you through these difficult decisions in life, rather than waiting for Kerry to figure it out for you...

Shouldn't you have a 401k before commenting on it there PF? I mean really, I didn't think welfare came with benefits!

Yes, I rely on my babies daddy to help pay for the 10 kids i have that i could not support. I'll wait for the gov't to up my bene's when i'm not spending my food stamps on chips at the 7-11 while picking up my 40.

PF, How many times do I have to tell you. THOSE DAMN KIDS AREN'T MINE!!! :mad:

Your babies litter the east coast, not the desert southwest.

Ah the logic of the right,,, we must all be accountable for our actions, unless your a republican office holder!
I guess next we will hear that its the troops fault for not ducking to miss the bullet...like GWB did

[ October 15, 2004, 05:04 PM: Message edited by: p2insdca ]

Actually ummm - not ALL funds are down (yes 95% are down - but not all - and don't forget that 95% of those funds can't outperform the DJ Index anyway. I pick carefully, am not constrained by a poor 401k contractor - and yes it is possible to do well.

Once you have collected your employers matching contribution and are fully vested - consider rolling the money over to a self directed IRA for example. If your fund is really badly performing - do the math - if you are actually losing money by contributing; First complain to your company and fund manager - LOUDLY; then take your invetment dollars elsewhere.

Be sure to invest money over and beyond your 401k contributions - it alone will not be enough to see you through. You should be putting away 10 -15% of your GROSS at MINIMUM.

I have not had a down year in the past 4 - or the past 20 for that matter - not the high double and triple digit returns of the 90's -but no actual losses.

401k contractors are notorious straightjackets flogging underperforming funds to companies for huge fees - and usually payments to the company for their business - only in America...

Lesson - buyer beware.

If you want decent returns - YOU need to put in some serious time and effort in your investments.

Most people I know spend more time choosing a new suit or a CD - or even a DVD for the evening than they spend on their investments in a year.

I am not defending SHRUB - god knows I LOATH the man; and think he has been a disaster for the economy and country.

But people do need to take some initiative too.

My 2 cents:

Look for small, well established fund famlies that have made money in good and bad times over the long haul - look for fund managers who have been around for at least 15 years consistantly making money - - invest in no less than three and no more than six or seven funds - dollar cost average - invest Long term, but be prepared to reallocate once a year or so...

Some of my current favorites:

Dodge and Cox Balanced (has NEVER lost money; I've been in for 14 years)
Dodge and Cox Stock (has NEVER lost money;I've been in for 16 years)
Strong Mid Cap Disciplined
Columbia Acorn International Z
Fidelity Real Estate Investment
Fidelity Ginnie Mae

With that portfolio I am running up about 10% YTD; 16% last year and for 3 year average.

Suggested Reading:

The Wealthy Barber by David Chilton
Anything by Ken and Daria Dolan

Rob

[ October 16, 2004, 01:00 PM: Message edited by: ITJock ]

nice post ITJock...thanks for the recommendations.

Ohhh - forgot about this - one great site for financial informationis the online CNN/Money Magasine site...

http://money.cnn.com

Very helpfull to the individual investor.

If you are looking for a professional management firm because you refuse to do the work yourself;or if you need help and guidance over legal issues or a very large portfolio; I can highly recommend;

Christopher Street Financial
5th Ave, NYC
http://www.christopherstreet.com/

They are highly experienced in dealing with the Gay communitty.

Rob

[ October 16, 2004, 01:08 PM: Message edited by: ITJock ]

Its all about those money markets! Youll never lose out on that 1% interest

Great suggestions, ITJock!

Also consider investing in real estate, though interest rates are going up so it'll be more costly paying off those mortgages. But there are REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) that you may be able to buy into that offer long-term investment possibilities, particularly in areas (cities, suburbs) that are on the upswing. I always say, the people who bought up real estate in New York in the 1970s, or San Francisco in the 1980s, or Chicago as recently as the early 1990s are now smiling all the way to the bank....

That said, yes, W has been an overall disaster for the economy, as he has for everything else (except if you're working for Halliburton or Bechtel, or Ahmad Chalabi, or you're one of the former Soviet Bloc fake-presidents and have your hands out waiting for US tax dollars).

[ October 17, 2004, 09:51 AM: Message edited by: fantomas ]