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« Previous EntriesWhat About Those 12b-1 Fees on the Schwab Exchange-Traded Funds?
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009Last week, I mentioned that Schwab was introducing several new exchange-traded funds and that what was going to set these apart from the other ETFs was that they were going to trade commission-free to Schwab clients. Lucas, a reader and fairly frequent commenter on this blog read the prospectus and found this interesting tidbit [...]
Wow! The S&P 500 is Up 5.55% in November
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009The S&P 500 Total Return Index sits at 1795.12. It’s up 5.55% for the month of November and 23.55% for the year.
The S&P Midcap 400 is up 5.61% for November (31.58% YTD) and the S&P Smallcap 600 is 49.93% for the month and 18.21% YTD.
Just a little FYI for you.
Schwab is Introducing ETFs That Trade Commission-Free
Thursday, November 5th, 2009Charles Schwab recently announced that they were getting into the exchange-traded funds game by introducing several new Schwab-branded ETFs. I have listed the new ETFs below, along with their expense ratio and the description as provided by Schwab. What makes these particular ETFs interesting is that they will trade commission-free to Schwab clients. [...]
Reader Question on How to Determine How Your Investments Are Doing
Monday, November 2nd, 2009The following comment was left on this post from last week:
Have a question:
What reasonable standards should investors use to measure how well or poorly that they are doing?
I’m sure that an answer would include “it depends” but if so, depends on what?
We are about 10% under our 12.31.07 balances and we are pleased but how [...]
Companies Are Stockpiling Cash
Monday, November 2nd, 2009Interesting article in this morning’s WSJ about how companies are stockpiling cash:
In the second quarter, the 500 largest nonfinancial U.S. firms, by total assets, held about $994 billion in cash and short-term investments, or 9.8% of their assets, according a Wall Street Journal analysis of corporate filings. That is up from $846 billion, or 7.9% [...]
Another Interesting Look at S&P 500 Index Returns
Thursday, October 29th, 2009Take a look at the graphic below, which shows the percentage of months that were up and down for the S&P 500 Index going back to 1926 based on the month of the year:
For example, looking at the month of January….
There were 84 January months in my sample. Of those 84 months, 36.9% of [...]
October Looks to be the First Negative Return Month Since February
Thursday, October 29th, 2009As of yesterday’s close, the S&P 500 Index’s total return for October is -1.26%. If that number holds through tomorrow, it will break the seven-month streak of positive returns for the index.
Why was October a down month?
I can think of a few reasons:
1. Profit-taking. It seems to happen after we have a [...]
Bill Miller vs. the S&P 500 Index
Thursday, October 22nd, 2009If I were to ask you which one performed better since 1986, would you tell me Bill Miller-managed Legg Mason Value Trust or the S&P 500 Index, which one would you pick?
If you picked Value Trust you’d be…
WRONG!
Much was made about the end of Bill Miller’s 15-year streak of beating the S&P 500 Index a [...]
Your 401(k) Might Be Better Off Than You Think
Wednesday, October 21st, 2009From today’s Wall Street Journal:
Get this: Despite the biggest and broadest decline in financial markets in a generation, the median 401(k) retirement account at Vanguard Group on Sept. 30, 2009, was up 7% from where it was two years earlier, when the market was near its all-time high.
The Reason?…
Continued regular savings matter a lot. If [...]
Is it Irresponsible for Dave Ramsey to Assume a 12% Rate of Return in His Examples?
Thursday, October 8th, 2009My church participated in Dave Ramsey’s “The Total Money Makeover Live!” event a couple of weeks ago. I did not attend the event but did pick up a copy of the workbook that went along with the event.
I have never counted myself among the Dave Ramsey fans. Sure, his advice is better than [...]