How and/or What do I change whatever needs to be changed to MAKE money instead of losing it?
2007-12-20 01:29:42 · 5 answers · asked by Kathy G 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Personal Finance
No. If you are not losing money off fees then stay where you are. Practically all mutuals and other retirement "fund"s are at a stand still or loss lately. (Value wise, b/c of the recent drop of the dollar, we are all actually losing money even with 10% returns!) Changing Brokers will probably result in unwanted back or front "loading" fees.
Do some research online look at the available funds at Merrill Lynch to choose from. Look for and the past return of International exchange or FX or investments all around. For stability look at which ones did best between Sept. and Nov. If you are looking for risky gains see you did best in the 2nd quarter of the year last year.
I would recomend keeping this in mind. OUR COUNTRY AS A WHOLE IS LOSING MONEY! If you want to keep some of your buying power you need at least 20% just to stay even right now. (The Euro gained 50% in 2 years on us.... That means we lost 33%) Don't expect 20%+ without a private international broker in some high risk stuff. Remember you should always diversify your portfolio. I would recomend 70% of your portfolio in 3-4 international "funds". DO NOT invest in domestic Real Estate or a REIT (Real Estate Investment Trusts) for at least 3 more years. It will continue to decline for a bit longer.
The expense and privatization of the war and our banking system is draining the American Economy and you need to understand this when investing. Hoping things are getting better is one thing, but believing it will cause your acccounts to continue to shrink.
Good luck I hope this advise will bring you a better return in the near future. (23% this year for me.)
2007-12-20 01:47:15 · answer #1 · answered by Brewer 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
why is it going nowhere? maybe you haven't heard, but the stock market has been in a slump for the past few months. Sounds like you should try to read up more about investments and become an active investor instead of looking for someone else to make your decisions for you. There are lots of good sources of investment info like Yahoo Finance, the Wall St. Journal or Money Magazine.
2007-12-21 07:14:54 · answer #2 · answered by njyogibear 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Been there, done that Kathy! Most of the time it is the type of fund/investment that you have chosen instead of the broker, although brokers have good years and bad years.
Forget the super returns and invest in steady, highly diversified funds for this year and next. High yields are no good if you have lost them two years later.
2007-12-20 09:45:00 · answer #3 · answered by bullcalf2003 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It probably isn't the broker, its what you're invested in. You need to examine your timeline and risk tolerance and choose accordingly. Remember that retirement accounts are for LONG-term gain and you shouldn't freak out about short-term volatility.
2007-12-20 10:07:12 · answer #4 · answered by npk 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In a IRA with a stock broker, you can buy stocks, bonds, even gold...............it is not the broker that is the problem..Buy a couple of books on investing,rad them a couple of times.........,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,your the problem............it is your money! Learn how to invest
2007-12-20 10:25:57 · answer #5 · answered by richard t 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋