Investment Research - The Dalbar Study


Very few people, even professionals, have heard of the Dalbar Study that originated in 1995. Its purpose is to determine the profitability of trading for the small investor of mutual funds. Their results are even worse than I thought.

The BuyNHolders will love the results as it "proves" that buying and holding is better than trying to switch to so-called "hot" funds. My readers know I think that mindless buy and hold is a guaranteed loser - and I can prove it.

During the greatest bull market of all time from 1984 to December 2002 the study came up with an annualized return of 2.57% compared to 12.22% for those who bought and held an S&P500 index fund. These dummies did not even keep up with inflation. The reason was they were switching from fund to fund after it had made its major move and they had no exit strategy if it did not make money.

I would guess it that they paid commissions which immediately put them in the hole. My recommendation is never to buy anything except a no-load mutual fund that does not have a redemption fee.

They also did not have a method to buy a fund with an excellent performance, but also had no plan as to when to sell. Every successful professional trader will tell you that you must have an exit plan as soon as any purchase is made. During any bull market there will be rotations among sectors. During periods of time, usually about 6 to 10 months, a particular sector will outperform all the others. For example, Asian funds might do well for 6 months and then fade, internet funds will do well for 10 months and then telecommunications will take the lead, and so forth.

A sector will do well and as more and more people find out about it the value of the stocks within that sector run to their valuation peak and go no further. That sector runs sideways or starts to fade.

Very few investors realize that mutual funds will only make money during a long term bull market. That bull ended in 2000. Going back in history as far as you want to you will find that every bull market has been followed by a bear market of equal length. During these bear periods there will be short-term opportunities to buy, but they must be held for only brief periods. The key to these is learning to time the market and pick the strongest sector funds. You can learn to do it on your own or subscribe to a proven timing service.

To me the Dalbar Study has proven that you (not your broker or financial planner) must learn market basics if you plan to profit from the stock market.

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

al@mutualfundstrategy.com; 1-888-345-7870


MORE RESOURCES:

Decoding Dick Davis Digest
Cabot Wealth Advisory, MA - 7 hours ago
For investors interested in more than just individual stocks, mutual funds and ETFs are also covered in the Digest. Diversification is an important ...


Law School to Provide Tax Help
Inside INdiana Business (press release), IN - Jan 5, 2009
Taxpayers with annual income of $42000 or less are eligible for the help if they have not received income from the sale of stocks, mutual funds or homes or ...


$72 billion was pulled from market in October
The Tennessean, TN - Dec 24, 2008
By ES Browning • THE WALL STREET JOURNAL • December 24, 2008 One of the hallmarks of the long market downturns in the 1930s and the 1970s has returned: ...


Valparaiso University law school to provide tax help
nwitimes.com, IN - Jan 5, 2009
Taxpayers with annual income of $42000 or less are eligible for the help if they have not received income from the sale of stocks, mutual funds or homes or ...


New Money features for you
USA Today - Dec 15, 2008
They include: •Year-to-date returns for stocks, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These can be found by entering the name or ticker symbol in ...


Like other stocks, mutual funds show heavy losses during 2008
LubbockOnline.com, TX - Dec 27, 2008
By Tim Paradis | AP NEW YORK - There was one safe bet that mutual fund investors could make in 2008 - that the stock market was a place to lose a lot of ...


High school investments team wins game
Greenwich Post, CT - Jan 4, 2009
The Greenwich High School investment course is more akin to a college-level course covering stocks, mutual funds, bonds and other securities. ...


Value? Growth? Both!
Motley Fool - Jan 2, 2009
The distinction between value and growth stocks is such a bedrock assumption that Morningstar routinely classifies stocks, mutual funds, and ETFs as one or ...


Be wary of US treasury bonds in 2009
Stockhouse, Canada - Jan 5, 2009
They pulled money out of stocks, mutual funds, money market accounts, even bank savings accounts and CD’s, and poured it into US T-bills and bonds at a ...


City pension funds may cost taxpayers
Allentown Morning Call, PA - Jan 4, 2009
... the crumbling economy has pummeled Allentown's pension funds, which rely on stocks, mutual funds, real estate and other investment tools for growth. ...

Stocks-Mutual-Funds - Google News

DomainsDaniel.com     Currency Trading    Investing    Real Estate    Insurance    Bankruptcy Avoidance
Index | Sitemap      TOS | PRIVACY | DISCLAIMER | Copyright © 2007 Paulo Daniel
domainsdaniel.com