Hedge Fund Advertising
Have you seen all those big full page ads for hedge funds in the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Investors Business Daily? You haven't. Maybe they are being drowned out by the regular mutual funds who continually tell you how great they are.
Shucks! I forgot. Hedge funds are not allowed to advertise. I wonder why. Maybe they think that their potential customers are too dumb to know that hedge funds are a poor investment. Could be. The Securities and Exchange Commission is trying to protect investors - I think?
To be able to buy into a hedge fund the smallest investor must have a net worth of $1,000,000 and an income of more than $200,000 per year. Maybe the SEC doesn't think these folks are bright enough to know a good thing when they see it.
There are other groups that are major investors with the hedge funds. Literally billions of dollars are invested by university endowments, charitable trusts, state and corporate pension plans. Could it be that they have a better return than regular mutual funds? Naw! The media would tell you wouldn't they?
The media is there to report the facts. It is hard to believe that just because a large portion of their income is from advertising revenues of mutual funds that they would be lax about this.
If you were a fund manager and your fund was under performing and it was reported in the local paper, TV, or radio would you pay them to carry your advertising? You sure would not want to be compared with performance of a hedge fund.
What is it that makes the difference of a standard mutual fund with a hedge fund? Why does the smart money gravitate to them? One word. Performance. A regular hedge fund manager is paid on HOW MUCH money he has in his fund and not on how much he makes for the investor. The hedge fund manager is paid a percentage of the PROFITS he makes for the investors. No profit means no bonus so he better do the job or he will be out of a job. Smart money moves. It moves to where the profit is being made.
The SEC will not allow standard mutual fund managers to be compensated in this manner. Their claim is that it will be too dangerous for the small investor. Hog wash! If a fund is losing money the little guy should be selling his current funds like the smart money and finding a better performing fund. None of the media recommend this to the little guy.
My guess is there are enough intelligent fund managers who would like to be paid for performance and would set up no-load funds to attract investors. The SEC seems to think more of the funds than they do of the smaller investors.
It is a shame you can't check the advertising claims of standard mutual funds against the returns of hedge funds.
Copyright 2005
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.
More Resources
Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exitingMore Stocks & Mutual Funds Information:
Related Articles
Eternal Sunshine
There is a current movie entitled "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". It is about a man who has had a painful love affair and will do anything to rid his mind of those pain thoughts of a former love.
Mousetrap
The spring-loaded rat catcher is the ultimate low-tech device invented more than 100 years ago and remains the best demouser in the world. It is so simple anyone can master it and best of all you can keep on using it year in and year out.
How to Short Stocks? How to Make Money when Your Stocks Go Down by Shorting
The stock market can present you with a lot of hot stocks every day. Many of them are new technology stocks that come from the nanotech, biotech, voip, healthcare, homeland defense or internet sectors.
Why the Majority Fail at Stock Investing
The gleam and bright lights of Wall Street lure in many new investors each year, only to send them home crying to their friends and family. Why do so many people fail when it comes to the stock market? The reason is very simple: Hard work! Most people are looking for a quick buck or a fast path to riches.
Will the Stock Market be Lower in October?
The stock market often closes a week in the middle of a "perceived primary-trend range." SPX closed at about 1,234 Fri, which is between a multi-year Fibonacci level at 1,253 (i.
Historical Briefing: Stocks, Finance and Money
The World Bank claims that some two billion of the world's citizens live on $1 per day or less! That fact absolutely shocked me. With this statistic in mind it becomes important to focus on all of the things that have served as money over the history of civilization.
The Next Bull Market
We are already in it, but you can't see it. It doesn't look like the one we had in '99.
Market Success
Who are the successful investors?There are those who follow the advice of their brokers and financial planners or those who choose to use their own good judgment? If you care to compare the results of the past 4 years from 2000 to now I believe you will see who as done the best job.In the old days at the Chicago stock yards they used to have an old sheep who led the lambs to the slaughter when they arrived on the train.
The Secret Art of Backtesting
If you have not back tested your trading system, you might as well trade with your eyes close. In fact, whatever technical analysis criterion you use to trade with, be it moving averages, candle sticks, volatility breakouts, fibonacci retracements or any other trading system you have devised you're going to need to back test your trading system thoroughly and objectively in order to remove any possible doubt about it's capability.
Long Term Investing
In his wonderful book, 'Multiple Streams of Income', best selling author Robert Allen advises Investors to divide their Stock Market investment and trading capital into three portions -50% invested long term (forever) in an Index Fund, 30% invested in Accelerated Stock strategies and 20% in options or high risk investment strategies.This article will discuss long term investing and how technical analysis can alert us to points in time when it is prudent to take profits and exit the Stock market.
Trading Tips No 8: Picking the Best Stock Market Price
Carefully thinking through your goal as a trader is of prime importance, when picking the best stock market price. It is very difficult if not impossible to meet a goal that is ill defined.
Cash Is A Position
I go to the Money Show every year to visit with friends who have booths and are speakers. Then when folks are filing out of lectures I listen to their comments on what I know the speaker has been saying.
Trading as a Business
What can I expect to make my first year of trading?We get questions like this one quite often. We find that most aspiring traders don't have a clue as to what to expect from the market.
Frog In The Pot
You remember the story about the frog that was put into a pot of cold water on the stove. He was not concerned.
Low Tide
When you stand on the ocean shore and watch the waves breaking you might become aware that the tide is coming in or going out. It is a slow process to watch the water retreat and when it finally gets to its lowest point it is almost impossible to tell if it has stopped or will retreat further.
Keep Your Profits
It looks like we have now entered a new bull phase in the stock market and I have a question for you. Will you give back the profits that you make this time as you did in 2000? You sure don't want to, but you are not going to get any help from your broker.
The Stock Market - How Just One Question Will Tell You All You Need To Know About Your Stock Broker
Last time we looked at the real performance of the stock market (we used the Dow Jones as a reference point) and the apparent performance that makes the headlines and can be seen by a casual look at a chart or "ballpark" figures - briefly; the Dow went up, for example, less than 50 points between April 1999 and April 2005 - essentially 6 years with no growth!But behind that seemingly "becalmed" Dow there were at least 10 significant moves each and every year totalling many thousands of points!But did the Wall Street Moguls, the so-called "Masters of the Universe" make you any money from those huge movements? No.Of course they didn't!Here's how I know.
Good Stock Market Tip; Good Return!
Forget making a profit; instead focus on the income provided from your stock portfolio. That's right! Forget making a profit.
Prosperity
It has fallen upon the consumer to make our economy strong. All the politicians, economists and talking heads on TV are telling him (that's you and me) to get out there and spend your money.
The Right Mutual Funds For Baby Boomers
If you are a baby boomer, time is not on your side. Many baby boomers see retirement age fast approaching with little to nothing in the way of retirement assets that will allow them to actually retire and live a comfortable lifestyle.