In The Trade | Stocks & Mutual Funds |
|
|
|
|
Dollar Cost Averaging
Dollar cost averaging is one of the most popular ideas in the investment community. Everyone seems to like it and it has become a watchword among stock and mutual fund brokers. If it is properly done you will make money, if not you will lose money or at best stay even. Let's examine the basic premise behind this method of investing. You decide to buy shares in Mouse Trap, Ltd.(symbol CHZ), a computer company that produces sophisticated hardware. The shares are now selling for $40 and you want to purchase approximately $1,000 worth each month. Today you buy 25 shares. Next month the stock has gone up to $43 so your purchase is 23 shares (I'm rounding these off because you can't buy fractions of shares.) The following month it drops back to $40, you get 25 more. Then at $37, you have 27 shares. At $35, 28 shares. At $32, 31 shares. You have invested $6,000 and have 159 shares at an average cost of $37.75. With the current price of the Mouse Trap at $32 you have a loss of almost $1,000 (159 X $32 = $5,088). The object of buying any stock or mutual fund is to have more money than you put in, not more shares and less money. Who came up with this anyway? Many years ago a broker talked his client into buying a thousand shares of Gravy Train (symbol EZSt) at $50 per share. In 30 days Gravy Train had spilled down to $30 and the broker didn't want to tell his customer the bad news, but he had to call him so he came up with this: "Great news, Mr. Mushroom, Gravy Train is now at $30. If you buy another $50,000 worth you can get 1,666 shares and own all 2,666 shares at an average price of only $37.50. Isn't that wonderful!" So far a "wonderful" loss of $20,000. There is a basic rule I learned a long time ago as a floor trader: NEVER ADD TO A LOSING POSITION. I am in favor of dollar cost averaging, but there is a right way to do it. Only buy more shares as the price advances. Each purchase should be at a higher price per share than the previous price per share. This applies to both stocks and mutual funds. One good stock can make you a very rich person; one bad one can put you in the poorhouse. In 1996 one of the hot stocks was Boston Chicken selling in a range of $30 to $40 per share. You could really own a lot of these shares had you continued to pour in money. It currently is selling at 50 cents per share. And mutual funds are not exempt. Lexington Troika-Dialog Fund was $24 in 1997. Today it is $3.00 per share. If you had dollar cost averaged UP your only loss would have been your first purchase. Remember the object of investing is to make money not own a lot of shares. 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:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Roller Coaster I love roller coasters. The steeper the better. Stock Market Investing Odds The greatest stock market myth is the idea that investing in stocks is a form of gambling!The financial markets are often compared to a casino. Put some money on X stock and you might as well be playing craps!If that's your impression, and it's keeping you out of the markets, consider this: If investing is organized gambling, it's one of the rare kinds where the odds are stacked in your favor!Why is that?Corporate profits are the key to understanding the investor's edge. Chart Reading As an investor you will want to check out any equity before you buy it. Many investors go to Morningstar that is one of the largest providers of mutual fund information in the world. I Love You, Warren Buffet Sometime around 1980, can't remember exactly, there was a flight of money from many countries to Switzerland. The clock makers had so much money pouring in that the banks took interest rates to zero and even for a period of time were actually making you pay ½% interest to them to put your money in their banks. Advantages and Disadvantages of Mutual Funds Outlined below are some of the advantages and disadvantages of mutual funds. Every investment has advantages and disadvantages. The Club Yesterday I received my monthly issue of MONEY magazine. This issue has the special feature called "The Ultimate Investment Club" that highlights their picks for the top mutual fund managers. The Stock Market Doesnt Care if You are a Beginner?. Get Prepared to Succeed at Trading Stock trading remains a very competitive field and the stock market doesn't care if you are an experienced stock trader or an aspiring one. The rules and the trading opportunities are the same for all of us, so either youre going to make money when you pick a stock and make a trade, or you are going to lose some of it in favor of the more seasoned traders. When Should I Sell? People are always asking me when should I sell my stock or mutual funds?There are some relatively easy answers to this. In fact, so simple that you won't believe them, but they are things I have learned over the past 30 years as a professional trader on the floor of the commodity exchange in Chicago. Valuation Every day I hear from the "experts" on CNBC-TV and the radio gurus that the way to buy stocks is find value. One man's Rembrandt is another man's connect-the-dots and fill in the spaces. So, What is This Stock Market Thing Anyway? We've all heard of the stock market and probably have a general idea of what it is and how it works either from high school economics classes, television financial reports, and the countless film depictions of what happens on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. But how does it really work and what is meant by "playing the stock market?"The Stock Market in a NutshellCompanies sell shares of stock as a means of raising capital. Some Good News for A Change Before we get into all the good news out there, let us first take a look at what the term "news" really means. By definition, the term "news" means the exception to the norm. How Covered Calls Turned a Trader Around Sidney felt sick as she looked at her latest OptionsXpress trading statement. In just 8 months, she had managed to turn her $120,000 account balance into less than $70,000. Stock Market System ... ONLINE STOCK TRADING ... Beyond Day Trading Basics & Tips Day trading is all about making buy and sell decisions. When you make a trade either your going to lose money or your going to make money, and some other times you will break even. Downdraft For the year 2000 we have seen hundreds of mutual funds lose 40%, 50% and more of their value. This does not seem right since the fund is supposed to be managed by a professional. More Window Dressing Two weeks ago I wrote about what the Securities and Exchange Commission was doing to regulate the mutual fund industry to help the small investor, the "poor folks". It really added up to zero. Struggling Stocks, Booming Commodities 04/28/2005NASDAQ dropped -12.5% year to date in 2005. Smart Day Trading Strategies to Help You Make Money in the Stock Market Stock trading can be a very profitable activity. You can make big amounts of cash in a short period of time. Successful Trading - Establish Your Risk Level Before you embark upon a journey of trading stocks or futures, and before you make any trades, you MUST determine and establish your risk level. Traders that fail to do this are usually doomed from the start. When? When will the stock market stop going down and start up again? If we knew that we'd all be jillionaires. So what do you do now while stocks are going down and stealing away your money every day?What does history tell us? Here is one very interesting fact. 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.
|
| home | site map | Privacy Policy |
| © 2008 www.in-the-trade.com |